Can you believe summer is nearly over?! We haven’t had a bad one have we? There’s been more sun than average AND we had over a week of HOT weather!
We hope you’ve all had fun exploring the lushness of the wonderful green spaces in Barry- we were chuffed to find some new spots to walk our lovely gang of doggos on our travels!
And so on to Cardiff — We are super fond of the capital, it’s where Tom and I met, and lived for 5 years. We started dog sitting in our little flat opposite Victoria Park in Canton, and got to know some lovely walks.
As a tribute to the city we love, we thought we’d give you all a run down of our favourite walking spots in Cardiff, as well as the dog friendly places you can visit along the way- There are so many! We’re excited to get back to our old hang outs.
Cefn Onn
We discovered this place shortly before we left Cardiff — its on the tip of North Cardiff hidden in suburban Lisvane. Finding this place was completely by accident — we went to a house party in Lisvane, left the car there on the Saturday night, and had to make the pilgrimage from Canton to get it the next day via about 8 buses and a few miles walking. When we realised it was a woodland park we took the next opportunity we could to go for a wander around it — we didn’t know what to expect but it’s pretty special!
What hits you about this place as you enter it is it’s so quiet — which is weird considering a train tunnel runs alongside it and a duel carriage way above it. The trees seem to shield you from the hustle and bustle of the outside world and as you go deeper in to the park you walk through thick woodland, come across pretty lakes and trails to pretty greenery and fields. It’s a great place to wander with a curious pupper — to refresh our memories we took Stella on an adventure there last week, she loved the place! Plenty to sniff, lots of squirrels to chase and plenty of furry friends to meet along the way. This place may be a bit out of the way if you aren’t local to the area, but it’s worth the visit if you’re looking for a new walk or a place to spend a sunny afternoon.
Coetiroedd Nant Fawr Woodlands
These Woodlands seem to go on forever! They surround Llanishen and Lisvane reservoirs and have several entrances — we entered this time from a side street just off of the top of Cyncoed Road, but one of the main entrances is on Rhyd -y- Penau Road. This park might be one of North Cardiff’s best kept secrets. Tom had never been here before, but as I used to work in Cyncoed and meet my pal Jen to walk her pupper Bear pretty regular, I knew the place pretty well. As this park surrounds the reservoirs its a popular running route, but in my humble opinion — its heaven for doggos. Woodland trails? Check. Streams? Check. Long grass to gallop though? Check. Open fields? Check. I could go on and on — basically — your doggo will LOVE IT. If you’ve never been to this trail before it can be quite easy to get lost, as there are lots of different walkways to chose from that look very similar, but there are maps sign posted regularly which is handy. As long as you keep a look out and remember the way you came you shouldn’t have a problem!
Roath Pleasure Park and Lake
I always forget how bloody lush this place is! I know most dog walkers will have been to Roath Park for a change of pace, but it wouldn’t be a proper list of Cardiff hot spots without mentioning it. The Pleasure Gardens are beautiful — perfectly mowed lawns and flower beds galore sat alongside woodland for your pooch to explore. There are plenty of walkways, entrances and routes you can take to make the walk different each time — there’s even a greenhouse selling all the plants and flowers you can see in the gardens, so you can take something home with you!
A short walk up from the pleasure gardens is the glorious lake — it’s really beautiful to stroll around on a sunny day, although we suggest keeping dogs on the lead for this part- there are geese and swans galore (and they are HUGE)! We tend to do a full loop of the gardens and the lake when we visit, but you could take the short walk from the lake through the wild gardens, past Cardiff High school and pop in to the Coetiroedd Nant Fawr Woodlands via the Rhyd-y-Penau Road entrance. Alternatively, when you leave the pleasure gardens, you could take a stroll down Ninian Road to Roath Recreation Park. The playing field is great for a picnic while the doggos have a sprint.
Bute Park
My gosh — We love Bute Park! it’s such a lovely city park, with so many wonderful views and angles of Cardiff, it’s a really lovely place to wander round, especially with a four legged friend in tow! Bute Park is one of Stella’s usual walking spots when she’s not staying with us, so we decided to take a venture out with her and Archie this week for a bit of an explore. It had been a while!
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