Cardiff 3-hour self-guided walking tour and scavenger hunt

• Starting point: outside the City Hall Lawn, Cardiff CF10 3ND, UK
• Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 mi
• Duration: 3 hours
• Method: walking
• Required: Fully charged smartphone with internet access (data plan) – Wifi will not be enough.
• Suggested:
  • Water bottle
  • Local map

Ancient History

This area was settled at least 8000 years ago during the Neolithic. That’s 1500 years before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Celtics flourished here until the Roman conquest.

Romans arrived and built a fort and established a presence here as of 50 CE. They remained until the 2nd or 3rd centuries when the Saxons moved in.

In the 11th century, Normans conquered the British isles. In the early 15th century, Owain Glyndwr burned the city and took possession of the castle. Welsh culture took hold. 

The port was completed by the end of the 18th century. This facilitated trade with Bristol. The railway arrived in the 1830s. Cardiff finally became a county borough in 1889.

Modern History

Cardiff became a city in 1905 and the capital of Wales in 1955. The city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1958.

In 1997, Cardiff voters rejected a Welsh National Assembly, in favor of British identity.