you don't see so many people hanging around there now that they've put these little metal strips on the low wall running down to the underpass and on the raised platform with the statue on (I'm guessing it was to stop people skateboarding there -or I guess it's just quiet when I've been passing).
Back home after a detour to Ross on Wye to visit relatives. Great and hot day out - I didn't need that coat after all! @Byron C - P&R worked well and saved a lot of messing round, we got to see various places around the university and spent some time in the city centre. Loads of people on hand to guide us round to the Business School; course talks were well worth hearing, along with the 'Cardiff rah rah rah' PR @Bindibadgi - The Grazing Shed was the best burger we've had in ages . Loved the unusual sodas: brilliant Ginger Beer, not so keen on the Cherry Bakewell. The Cloudy Lemonade tasted like lemon starburst [Opal Fruits to old timers like me...], all welcome on a hot day. The boy didn't believe me about Root Beer when he asked what it tasted like... I said 'like Germolene antiseptic cream smells' - he agreed rapidly after one mouthful . All in all a great day out and time to catch up with my son in a calm atmosphere, driving to Wales. Thanks again all for your input guys (& Mrs Byron); he really liked the course and location; that's the first, a couple of more visits to follow soon.
A friend’s daughter recently did her visits. My friend found her daughter liked best the most recent one she’d seen! May be worth encouraging him to write down a few pros and cons in a spreadsheet so he can rate them in order of importance and compare while he can remember the bits he liked and didn’t!
Excellent, glad it was a good day If you do another visit, it might be worth popping in to Roath & Cathays so he can see what's about. It's more than likely that he'd be living in Roath & Cathays if he studies here; it's pretty much StudentLand in Roath & Cathays, Cathays especially. It's dead easy to walk there from the Uni buildings. Plus Fanny Street is in Cathays and for some reason people tend to find that street name amusing...
If it remains top of the list, we will go back and check out Cathays and Roath as suggested. I'm sure he'd like Fanny Street too - I'll tell him later! Reminds me of my visit to Cambridge years ago to meet an ex who was living there and catch up with old friends. She took me to the botanic gardens, and they're on Bateman Street which was (and has been again) altered to be Bat man Street Sad, but that always makes me smile. @Zoon , great idea as the memories fade and the visits blur. So far, there were no cons for him for Cardiff...
It might even be worth him writing down a few notes about what his ideal uni experience will be and he can measure them all against his wishlist instead!
Roath is nice - very multicultural, lots of students and families and (well it was when I lived there) very safe. I used to play in the streets often. Albany Rd-City Road there's plenty to eat. Cathay's can be bit rough around the edges, but it's fine. At least it's not the South/East-side: Splott-Adamsdown, which is pretty often a shithole.
It's not as bad these days. I'd say Riverside & Grangetown look rougher than Adamsdown & Splott tbh, but they're a bit out of the way for a student at Cardiff University. Splott definitely has a reputation, but like many cities with areas that have a bad rep it's really not that bad. Steer well clear of Rumney & Llanrumney though, they really are rough as balls!
Fanny St. One of my best pals lived along there, and some other friends lived at 69 Dogfield Street. Those were the days! There are loads of great roads up the back between Woodville Rd. and Cathays Terrace, and stuff up towards Crwys Road - I was never a 'Roather' so I can't comment there
haha that is great. I always notice funny road names. Back when I lived in Dorset I used to walk to the co op when the ex and I had had a row. Any way I used to walk past this... It's supposed to say "Leading to Happy Bottom" but Google FTL. I never went down there.. I wonder what would have happened it I did lol
Ironically enough I was never a student in Cardiff but I moved to Arran Street in Roath about 10 years ago, so I got very familiar with the area. But it's all changed so much in the years since I moved, I was most displeased when I learned that the Poet's Corner, née Ruperar Arms, on City Road was demolished (despite the fact that someone pickpocketed my phone in there once (and I really liked the HTC Touch Diamond...)). Roath & Cathays are like a rabbit's warren though, plenty of times I managed to get myself lost when stumbling home drunk. If I could find City Road, Cryws Road, or Albany Road then I was fine - take a wrong turn on a back street though and I'd be wandering around for ages!
