Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay
  • Welsh: Bae Caerdydd
  • The Bay
Area and Lake
Image of Cardiff Bay's Waterfront from the bay, with the 1897 Pierhead Building to the left, the Senedd building to the right, and the coppery roof of the Millennium Centre behind them.
Cardiff Bay in 2020, Pierhead Building (left), Senedd building (right), and Millennium Centre (behind).
Cardiff Bay is located in Cardiff
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Location within Cardiff
Principal area
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCARDIFF
Postcode districtCF10
Dialling code029
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
Websitehttp://www.cardiffharbour.com/ Cardiff Harbour Authority http://www.visitcardiffbay.info/ Visit Cardiff Bay
List of places
UK
Wales
Cardiff
51°27′47″N 3°09′50″W / 51.463°N 3.164°W / 51.463; -3.164

Cardiff Bay (Welsh: Bae Caerdydd; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake[1][2] in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of water was converted into a 500-acre (2.0 km2) lake as part of a pre-devolution UK Government regeneration project, involving the damming of the rivers by the Cardiff Bay Barrage in 1999. The barrage impounds the rivers from the Severn Estuary, providing flood defence and the creation of a permanent non-tidal high water lake with limited access to the sea, serving as a core feature of the redevelopment of the area in the 1990s.

Surrounding the lake is a 4.25 sq mi (11.0 square kilometres) area of redeveloped former derelict docklands[3] which shares its name. The area is situated between Cardiff city centre and Penarth, in the communities of Butetown and Grangetown. Its waterfront is home to notable attractions, in particular regarding Welsh politics and devolved institutions, such as the Senedd building (housing the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament), Pierhead Building and Tŷ Hywel; and cultural attractions including the Wales Millennium Centre and Norwegian Church. The presence of devolved institutions in Cardiff Bay has led to its name's use as a metonym for devolved Welsh politics. According to Cardiff Council, the creation of Cardiff Bay is regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom.[4] The bay was formerly tidal, with access to the sea limited to a couple of hours each side of high water but now provides 24-hour access through three locks.[5]

The Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve is situated along the northern edge of the lake, on the site of a former salt marsh.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Visit Cardiff Bay | Things to see and do in Cardiff". Visit Cardiff Bay. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Cardiff Bay: Our History — About Cardiff Bay". Cardiff Bay. Archived from the original on 7 April 2000. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Cardiff Bay: What has 30 years of development achieved?". BBC News. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. ^ Cardiff Bay Economic Development, Cardiff: Cardiff Council, April 2005, p. 8
  5. ^ Cardiff Harbour Authority, Tiger Bay Barrage, archived from the original on 10 May 2008, retrieved 28 April 2008
  6. ^ "Top things to see and do in Cardiff Bay". VisitWales. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Attractions". Cardiff Harbour Authority. Retrieved 6 September 2021.