Visit Southern Wales Blog

Event - FIM British Speedway GP 2013
Location - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Date -1^st June 2013
Millennium Stadium Website
Speedway Grand Prix Website

The Millennium Stadium will once again come alive to the roar of motorbike engines as the FIM British Speedway GP races into the capital city.

The world's top riders including the UK's own Tai Woffinden will fight it out to be number one in this exciting, adrenaline fuelled event for the whole family.

For those that have never been to speedway the rules are simple. Four riders keep turning left over four laps of an oval track with each race lasting less than a minute.

Seems simple enough. Except that the riders race 500cc, single geared machines with no breaks!

Hold on tight

Event - ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup
Location - Cardiff International White Water, Cardiff Bay
Date - 17 - 20 June 2013 (Practice sessions)
21 - 23 June 2013 (Competition)
Website


Following on from the success of last year's competition, the Canoe Slalom World Cup returns to the Cardiff International White Water Centre again this year.

This top class competition sees the world's best canoeists go head to head over the ferocious rapids and will test the very best as they tackle a testing course of obstacles and gates.

Organised by International Canoe Federation, the Cardiff event is one of several rounds as part of the World Cup Series with other events taking part in Germany, Spain and Slovenia.

Tickets for the event are available from the official website and if you find yourself inspired to give it a go you can find out more about the venue at the Cardiff International White Water website.

And just to whet you're appetite take a look at the 2012 promo video - 2013 promises to be just as exciting.

The fanfare sounds, the tension mounts, the sensational Knights of Royal England are back at Cardiff Castle this summer (22 & 23 June) for the annual Joust extravaganza!

Pomp, pagentry, amazing horseback stunts and bruising falls await the crowds as the Knights go head to head in the noble art of Jousting.

As well as the main jousting arena, there will be a medieval encampment to explore, minstrels to meet, storytelling sessions and you can even learn a few jousting skills of your own.

A packed programme of medieval action throughout the day makes this a great value family day out, topped off by a mass battle with everyone invited to join in.

For more information visit the Cardiff Castle website

Event - Speedy Services Wales Senior Open
Location - Porthcawl
Date - 14 - 16 June 2013
Website

The Speedy Services Wales Senior Open will move to a new date on the European Senior Tour schedule, when it returns to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club from June 14 - 16, 2013 for the first time since 2010.

Englishman Barry Lane captured the 2012 title when the event was played at Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club on the August Bank Holiday weekend, with the former Ryder Cup player holding off the challenge of compatriot Philip Golding.

Royal Porthcawl had previously hosted the event in 2009 and 2010, before the tournament returned to the Senior Tour schedule this season after a year's absence with Speedy Services as the new title sponsor.

The new June date - with the final round due to be played on Father's Day - marks the 12th edition of the Speedy Services Wales Senior Open, which was first played in 2001.

Royal Porthcawl welcomes the tournament as a precursor to hosting The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex in 2014 - the first Major Championship to be played in Wales - with both events part of The Ryder Cup legacy following the staging of golf's premier team competition at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010. 

The Speedy Services Wales Senior Open will once again have a prize fund of £250,000, and is expected to attract some of the leading Senior Tour players. Previous champions have included Bill Longmuir (2003), Carl Mason (2005, 2007), José Rivero (2006), Peter Mitchell (2008) and John Bland (2010).

Take a look at this video of Merthyr Tydfil.  It might not be the obvious choice when thinking of a holiday in Wales, but as the video proves there's so much to do and some stunning scenery.  Enjoy!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus (Happy St David's Day).  Okay, I'm a couple of days early, but this week does mark our National Day and on 1^st March, up and down the country, people will be celebrating.

The day commemorates our patron saint St David and marks the day he died in 589AD.  He is said to have performed many miracles including when he caused the ground to rise beneath him when preaching so that everyone could see and hear him.

The Cathedral of St David's in Pembrokeshire, where his remains are buried, became a popular place of pilgrimage.  It was said that two pilgrimages to St David's equalled one to Rome.

The highlight of the festivities is the annual St David's Day Parade through Cardiff City Centre.  Beginning from outside City Hall at 12:30 pm the parade snakes its way through the capital's streets before ending up outside (quite fittingly) St David's Hall where there will be traditional musical entertainment as well as a St David's Day Market.

If you fancy taking in one of our castles then Cadw, the organisation responsible for most of our historic sites have announced that their properties will be opened free of charge on the day.

These include the biggest castle in Wales at Caerphilly, one of the oldest at Chepstow and the best preserved medieval abbey in Wales, Tintern Abbey.  More details can be found on the Cadw website.

Porthcawl will also be marking the occasion, when the town hosts the annual Celtic Music Festival.  Dancers, singers and entertainers from all over the world descend on the seaside town for a weekend celebration of all things Celtic.

Whilst we've already mentioned some of Wales best attractions that are well known about, we also have a lot of hidden gems.

Dewstow Gardens, near Chepstow is quite literary one of Southern Wales' hidden gems. The gardens were originally built around the turn of the 20^th century and included all the things you'd expect in gardens - rockeries, ponds, water features and loads of plants and shrubs etc.  But the highlight was a subterranean world of tunnels and grottoes housing many tropical and unusual plants.

Over the years the gardens fell into disrepair and the tunnels and grottoes were filled in and forgotten about.  That is until the start of the 20^th century when the land's new owners started clearing the land.  Curiosity got the better of them so they started digging and were amazed to discover the network of tunnels that had laid undiscovered for over 50 years.

A massive restoration project was undertaken and today the gardens have been restored to their former glory so that we can enjoy what was hidden away for decades.

To find out more about Dewstow Gardens click here

It's that time of year again.

The eyes of Wales will this weekend be focused on Cardiff as the Six Nations rugby tournament kicks off.

Wales will be looking to repeat their heroics of last year when they won all five of their games to secure their 3^rd Grand Slam in seven years.  

There'll be a tremendous atmosphere up and down Wales as the country comes to a stop to watch the game and the streets of Cardiff will be full of rugby fans enjoying the city's legendary match day atmosphere.  There is nowhere in the world better to be than Cardiff on the day of a big match. 

Wales' fixtures in this year's championship are below:

Saturday 2 February - Wales v Ireland, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Saturday 9 February - France v Wales, Stade de France, Paris
Saturday 23 February - Italy v Wales, Stadio Olympico, Rome
Saturday 9 March - Scotland v Wales, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Saturday 16 March - Wales v England, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

I saw a very good tweet this morning from @marcwebber (re-tweeted by @trutourism).  It read:

Expensive business being a Welshman. We have TWO Valentines days to shell out for! (25th Jan & 14 Feb)

Yes, that's right, as well as the more widely known St Valentine's Day, we also have our own, traditional day to celebrate - Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen (or St Dwynwen's Day if you prefer), and it is celebrated this Friday (25 January)

The history of St Dwynwen and how this day came to be celebrated is told on the Museum Wales website.

If you're looking for an ideal gift to give someone special then how about a traditional Welsh lovespoon.

Traditionally the wooden spoon was given by a man to a lady as a token of his affection.  He would carve the spoon from a single piece of wood and was considered an early form of an engagement ring.  The spoon usually contained a number of symbols which all had different meanings, including a horseshoe for luck, bells for marriage, hearts for love and a lock for security.  Caged balls are said to indicate the number of children the couple would have.

The tradition continues today, although we're more likely to cheat and buy the spoons from a craft shop rather than make them ourselves.  Of course, being in the technological age, you can even make and send an e-lovespoon.

More information on Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen and the Top 10 romantic things to do in Wales can be found on the Visit Wales blog

Take a look at this great video.  It features Gorge Walking, Horse Riding, Golf, Foraging, Surfing and Shopping.

Fantastic that you can all do these things in an area of Wales not usually renowned for outdoor activities - Bridgend.

Have a look and then click Discover to find out more