Nailsea & Backwell to Cardiff Bay (7^th April 2010)

Story

Cardiff is somewhere I'd been meaning to go to for a long time but never got around to. You know how it is, things come up, and before you know it it's next year... But I had the day at home, nothing better to do, it was sunny, so I decided I would go. To wit I got on my bike, made my way to Nailsea & Backwell station (which was luckily downhill for the most part). I bought my ticket, and got up onto the platform just in time to see 143611 leaving with the direct service to Cardiff Central. Typical. Thus, I had to wait, in the mean time being insulted by a crowd of teenagers on westbound 143621 who didn't like my shirt. Eventually 158766 arrived with the service to Bristol Parkway, which gave me three change options - Temple Meads, Filton Abbey Wood or Parkway. I chose Filton because I'd never changed there before, and besides the 158 I was on was quite comfy. It also reduced wait time. I was at Filton for about five minutes before 158950 with the next Cardiff service, which took me through the Severn Tunnel for only the second time (following the trip on the 15^th February), spotting 175116 and 150208 at Newport as we passed through, and on to a new section of track for me. Actually, there was remarkably little new track - this wasn't a huge cross-country jaunt, just a slight extension from Newport to Cardiff. It didn't look that far on the map anyway. I arrived in to Cardiff at around 1238, and I have to say it's quite busy, with 142s, 143s and 150s heading every which way, with occasional interruptions from 43s, 66s, 158s and 175s. I stayed about 40 minutes, admiring the Millennium Stadium and generally wandering around, before taking the Rhymney train (150229) to Cardiff Queen Street, which is apparently the second busiest station Wales. I was just there to get on to the shuttle service to Cardiff Bay, which is usually done by a Class 121 heritage DMU. But not on that day. Instead I had to cope with 143614 which was very disappointing. As, frankly, was Cardiff Bay station - it looked run down and uncared for, which considering that the bay is a huge tourist attraction was rather surprising. For that matter, Queen Street hadn't been especially smart.

I left the station, and headed for the bay, something which was really badly signposted, and after a few minutes of walking saw the Millennium Centre and the Torchwood waterfall. Before you ask I did not stand on the stone - after all, who knows how many people have fallen down that thing. I took some photos then had a bit of a wander around the Millennium Centre. They had a mini-exhibition - photos of people holding photos of celebrities, with a letter to the celebrity saying how they were important to the person. There were ones of politicians, prog-rockers, Wolf and Jet from Gladiators (the original one), Terry Nutkins, and the first one was Danny Jones, my favourite boyband member, who had apparently stolen someone's girlfriend and then later cheated on her, but it was ok because the guy had found someone new. Humm. Bad boy. I walked to the bay and ended up on a tourboat with an especially gregarious captain. It was fun - the bay is really quite big, and has some interesting architecture. I of course spent the entire trip standing up in the central gangway with the children, taking photos. I decided to get out on the far side of the bay, in Penarth, to wander around the locks. Unfortunately, due to boats coming in I got trapped on the wrong side and missed the next boat back and so spent an hour there, wondering why someone painted a building pink, or why there were large swathes of the lock painted in concentric yellow lines. It did give me a chance to get some lunch - a tuna melt from a convenient food van.

I eventually got back to the right side of the lock and got on the same boat I'd arrived on, completing the tour then settling down to eat my lunch on a bollard. I went to go and have a look around the welsh assembly building, but they wanted to do X-rays and make me go through security, which I really couldn't be bothered with, so I just started walking back to the station. I'd intended to walk all the way back to Cardiff Central, but 143614 arrived just as I was passing, so I took it, and then changed on to 143610/142085 at Queen Street to take me back to Cardiff Central. I spent a few minutes wandering around again, then went for a quick walk outside to find a postbox and look at the Millennium Stadium, which is remarkably pressed against the nearby buildings. So after that it was back to the station, and on to 175116 which took me to Newport, where I changed on to a First Great Western service topped and tailed by EWS 67022 and 67017, which took me directly back to Nailsea, and luckily my Dad came to pick me up so I didn't have to cycle all the way back some ridiculously steep hills.

Route

Nailsea & Backwell  ·  Parson Street  ·  Bedminster  ·  Bristol Temple Meads  ·  Lawrence Hill  ·  Stapleton Road  ·  Filton Abbey Wood (change)  ·  Patchway  ·  Pilning  ·  Severn Tunnel Junction  ·  Newport (South Wales)  ·  Cardiff Central (change)  ·  Cardiff Queen Street (change)  ·  Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay  ·  Cardiff Queen Street (change)  ·  Cardiff Central

Cardiff Central  ·  Newport (South Wales) (change)  ·  Severn Tunnel Junction  ·  Pilning  ·  Patchway  ·  Filton Abbey Wood  ·  Stapleton Road  ·  Lawrence Hill  ·  Bristol Temple Meads  ·  Bedminster  ·  Parson Street  ·  Nailsea & Backwell

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