An ABN trainee s guide to Cardiff We hope you will be able to attend the 2014 Association of British Neurologists Annual Meeting, to be held in Cardiff on 6th 9th May. Here is a short guide to the city which may help you plan your trip. Daytime activities Cardiff City Centre: Cardiff Castle: one of Wales leading heritage attractions located within the beautiful Bute Park. Admission costs 11 to 14 for adults. Millennium Stadium tour: rugby fans may choose to explore the features that make the Millennium Stadium one of the most impressive icons of modern Wales. National Museum Cardiff: two wealthy sisters bequeathed their large art collection to the centrally located National Museum in the mid 20 th century resulting in Cardiff housing one of the most extensive collections of Impressionist paintings outside of Paris. Shopping: nestled between the popular St. Mary Street and Queen Street is the recently developed St David s centre, an undercover shopping opportunity. However, the discerning delegate may prefer to amble through the historic arcades that extend left and right from St. Mary s Street. Discover Spillers (the oldest record store in the world), Wally s Delicatessen with its Viennese style coffee house, the overwhelming Troutmark books or the hip outfitters, Barkers. Bay Area: The Wales Millennium Centre: our conference venue is the stunning WMC, an arts centre which opened in 2009 and is located in the large Roald Dhal Plass a bowlshaped plaza/ amphitheatre. The WMC is home to the National Orchestra as well as housing several other opera, dance, theatre and literature companies. The building is created solely from Welsh materials, predominantly slate, metal and glass. On the exterior of the dome, above the main entrance, are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis. The Welsh version is Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen, which means "Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration." The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing. The centre has made several appearances in populat TV such as Doctor Who, Torchwood and Gavin and Stacey. Guided tours of the building are available daily, costing 6. The Norwegian church: founded in 1868, the church serves as a reminder of a time when Cardiff was one of the major seaports of the world. The Norwegian church acted as a seaman s mission for the sailors who transported timber to Wales for use in the coal mines, and transported coal back to Norway. Now it functions as a café and exhibition space. The Pierhead building: built in 1897 as the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company, this distinctive terracotta building is now part of the estate of the National Assembly for Wales. The Senedd buildings: entry is free to the seat of the National Assembly of Wales, including the chance to observe the Senedd in session, and guided tours are available if pre booked.
Barrage walk: the bay development was made possible by the creation of the 220 million barrage which creates a sheltered fresh water bay. We recommend a brisk walk across the barrage, with its bridges and sluice gates, to Penarth where the Custom House provides a superb eating opportunity. Cardiff Sea Safaris: powerboat rides not for the faint hearted. International White Water centre: offers a chance to try surfing an indoor wave, white water rafting or canoeing. Cardiff International Swimming Pool a stunning Olympic size pool and leisure pool located across the bay from the WMC. The Doctor Who experience: an interactive experience of specially created sets and interactive exhibitions along with the world s most extensive collection of Doctor Who artefacts. Tours: try the Doctor Who walking tour or a guided bus tour of the city Further afield: St Fagans National History Museum: an open air museum which provides a walk through Welsh history from Celtic times to the present day. Rhossili Bay: located on the Gower peninsula this has been voted the nation s favourite beach Rural Pembrokshire is well worth a visit Rugby: the Cardiff Blues are due to play away to the Scarlets in Llanelli during the weekend following the conference; a fierce derby and the last match of the regular season to boot. Eating and drinking Bay Area: Mermaid Quay: houses the predictable middle and high end chain restaurants that are ubiquitous on the UK high street. Signor Valentino s the menu adds a distinctly Welsh accent to traditional Italian fare. Bayside Brasserie: unashamedly chic with views over Cardiff s fashionable waterfront. Juboraj Indian Restaurant: British and Irish Lions rugby captain Sam Warburton s favourite curry house. Ffresh: the restaurant located within the WMC. It offers high class dining prepared with local ingredients. Bar Cwtch: located underneath Jolyons boutique hotel (opposite WMC). Cwtch is an untranslatable Welsh word; it is simultaneously a safe and warm hug as well as a snug. In addition to wood stone oven pizzas and tapas, this tiny bar can accommodate those in search of a subterranean cocktail. Cardiff City Centre Buffalo Bar: offers bar food, cocktails and live music Gwdihw: good coffee, free wifi and board games by day and has a well stocked bar at night.
Clwb Ifor Bach: a bona fide institution for live music. The fun is spread across three floors in this ever popular culture magnet, which has the dual purpose of being a lightning rod for new music and perpetuating the Welsh language. The Potted Pig: within spitting distance of Cardiff Castle, this cosy basement restaurant serves affordable, high quality British/French food. Casanova s: authentic Italian food. Thai House: award winning Asian cuisine. Pontcanna is a short walk from the city centre and is home to many members of Cardiff s art and media scene and offers some trendy alternatives for eating and drinking. Bully s: a family run French restaurant with some exotic twists. The award winning Purple Poppadom is a gourmet Indian restaurant. The Chapter Arts Centre offers cheap and cheerful eats as well as exhibitions and the latest in world cinema. Accommodation locations Rather than providing an exhaustive list of accommodation, here we aim to give a brief overview of the main locations to stay during the 2014 ABN meeting. Cardiff Bay: If you want to be close to the meeting venue, you may choose to stay in Cardiff Bay. Many hotels in the Bay area tend to be large 4* or 5* venues, including the luxurious St David s Spa Hotel. There are also some cheaper options such as the Future Inn, Holiday Inn Express or the cosy Jolyon boutique hotel. It is also worth looking out serviced apartment options which would be more cost effective for trainees wising to share accommodation costs with their colleagues. City Centre: Staying in the city centre offers a slightly more varied night life and proximity to some of the key sights of Cardiff. However, there is a short commute from the city centre to the conference venue (see below). There are some good budget hotel options in the city centre, such as Sleeperz, Ibis and Premier Inn or the slightly more upmarket, but still affordable to trainees, Mercure Holland or Park Plaza. Pontcanna: Pontcanna is just a short walk from the city centre and offers good transport links to the Bay as well as a fine selection of local bars and restaurants. There are several good bed and breakfasts or boutique hotels to be found along Cathedral Road. Transport Links To reach Cardiff you may use rail, bus or air routes. Cardiff Airport lies 14 miles to the west of the city centre. Airport Links The airport is a 20 to 30 minute taxi ride from Cardiff Bay or the city centre (approximately 30). Taxis can be paid for upfront as a fixed fare at the booking office outside the airport terminal building. Rail connections link Rhoose Cardiff International Station with Cardiff central or Cardiff Bay stations. Services are hourly, take around 45 minutes and cost less than 5. The Cardiff Airport Express Bus (T9 service) links Cardiff Airport with both the Bay (30 minutes) and the city centre (40 minutes) and costs around 5. City Centre to the Bay
Bus: Links between the city centre and the Bay include 1, 6, 8 and Bay Car. The journey duration is around 15 minutes. See www.cardiffbus.com for timetables and routes or www.traveline cymru.info for a journey planner. Water bus: The Cardiff Boat and Aquabus water bus services are a lovely (though more leisurely) way to travel from Bute Park (in the city centre) to the Bay. Services run every 30 minutes between 10:30am and 5pm and tickets cost less than 4. Train: Good rail connections link Cardiff Queen street station and Cardiff Bay. The journey takes less than 5 minutes and costs around 2. I hope you find the Cardiffians a friendly bunch: if we can help with your trip at all just drop us a line: emma.tallantyre@nhs.net or Rhys Thomas@doctors.org.uk. Maps of Cardiff http://www.visitcardiff.com/travel information/maps Links Arcades http://cardiffarcadesproject.com/ Bayside Brasserie http://www.baysidebrasserie.com/ Buffalo Barr http://buffalocardiff.co.uk/ Bully s http://bullysrestaurant.co.uk/ Cardiff Bay http://www.cardiffbay.co.uk/index.php/en/ Casanova s http://www.casanovacardiff.co.uk/ Chapter Arts Centre http://www.chapter.org/ Custom House http://theoldcustomhousepenarth.co.uk/ Cardiff International Sports Village http://www.internationalsportsvillage.com Cardiff Sea Safaris http://boattripscardiff.co.uk/ Doctor Who http://www.doctorwhoexperience.com/ http://britmovietours.com/bookings/doctor who cardiff walking tour/ Clwb Ifor Bach http://www.clwb.net/ Gwdihw http://gwdihw.co.uk/ Jolyons http://www.jolyons.co.uk/ Juboraj http://www.juborajgroup.com/big windsor/
Millennium Stadium Tours http://www.millenniumstadium.com/tours Potted Pig http://www.thepottedpig.com/ Purple Poppadom http://purplepoppadom.com/ Roath Lock http://roathlock.com/ Rhossili Bay http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/travelerschoice Beaches Scarlets http://www.scarlets.co.uk/ Signor Valentinos http://www.signorvalentino.com/ St Fagans Museum of Welsh Life http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/ The Thai House http://www.thaihouse.biz/ Wales Millennium Centre http://www.wmc.org.uk/whatson/ Waterbus http://www.cardiffboat.com/