Things to do in Glamorgan

Opened in June 1999 complete with the first fully retractable roof in the UK, it has hosted some of the world’s most famous sporting events as well as concerts featuring the biggest entertainers in show business, from Take That, One Direction and Oasis to Madonna, Rihanna and Beyoncé.

A 12-sided medieval keep offering panoramic views across the city from a platform at its top is at the castle’s heart, but the site is also full of later additions that capture the imagination. Fabulous mock-Gothic features, including an extravagant banqueting hall and clock tower, were added during the Victorian era.

The main area of the arena is a hugely versatile space capable of staging a wide variety of events, from trade exhibitions to music concerts and stand-up shows. It is capable of holding a standing audience of 7,500 people, a number that falls to 5,000 for seated events.

Sun worshippers have been flocking here since Victorian times to what is essentially a small island, though joined now to the mainland since 1896 by a small pier. The site of a Butlins holiday camp during the 1960’s, Barry Beach is perfect for families, with its signature calling card being Barry Island Pleasure Park. Come here for crowds, candy floss and sticks of rock, the scream of the rollercoaster and the thump of the dodgems.

The centre, opened in 2004, was designed by Jonathan Adams and is made up of slate in shades of green, grey and purple enveloped in an attention-grabbing bronzed steel shell. The roof above the main entrance is pierced by huge letter-shaped windows, beautifully backlit at night, which spell out poetic phrases.

One of the UK’s major teaching and research universities, in its 2014 University Guide the Sunday Times described Cardiff as “the acknowledged leader of higher education in Wales”. The previous year it hailed it as a “powerhouse of academic and research excellence”.

Constructed during the late 19th Century, it was designed by W. Sutcliffe Marsh for the Mumbles Railway and Pier Company as the terminus of the line from Swansea. Visitors these days will find a range of traditional seaside attractions like bowling alleys, air hockey tables and arcade machines in the same spot where once a bandstand serenaded the passengers boarding and disembarking the steamers of the P & A Campbell White Funnel Fleet. The Victorian-style beach cafe offers a cream tea to die for, while the Pirate Captain ride offers the chance to see who's the greatest sea-dog of Mumbles Pier.