Drama and Daffodils III

So to the last of the three Golden Triangle weekends, this time Dymock.

a great year for celandines too

Then off to Wales for the theatre, this time an audience with the incomparable Dylan Moran at the amazing Donald Gordon Theatre in the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

just an amazing stained wood interior

It was packed to the rafters. Moran's unique brand of humour left - very reminiscent of the early days of Billy Connelly -  you with aching sides. Have to say, though, on balance his Black Books side kick Bill Bailey has the edge on sheer versatility and vitality.

Also had time to peruse Cardiff Castle and its neighbouring park. Seems much of South Wales was colonised by the Earl of Bute and his cohorts bringing their own unique style of interior decorating to the area:

The Roman fort at Cardiff was probably established at the end of the 50s AD, on a strategic site that afforded easy access to the sea.

After the Norman conquest, the Castle’s keep was built, re-using the site of the Roman fort. The first keep on the motte, erected by Robert Fitzhamon, Norman Lord of Gloucester, was built of wood.

The Castle passed through the hands of many noble families until in 1766, it passed by marriage to the Bute family. The 2nd Marquess of Bute was responsible for turning Cardiff into an international coal exporting port. The Castle and Bute fortune passed to his son John, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, who by the 1860s was reputed to be the richest man in the world.

From 1866 the 3rd Marquess employed the genius architect William Burges to transform the Castle lodgings. Within gothic towers he created lavish and opulent interiors, rich with murals, stained glass, marble, gilding and elaborate wood carvings. 

The 3rd Marquess and Burges went on to create Castell Coch, which can be seen in the distance from the battlements of Cardiff Castle:

During the war reinforced battlement corridors were opened as air raid shelters holding almost 2,000 local residents.

Following the death of the 4th Marquess of Bute, the family decided to give the Castle and much of its parkland to the city of Cardiff. For 25 years, the Castle was home to the National College of Music and Drama.

Earl of Bute's country seat :)

There is a wonderful walk along the river in Bute Park which begins and ands at the wonderfully atmospheric Pettigrew Tea Rooms.