World Traders’ liverymen and women travelled by train from Paddington to Cardiff Central and walked a short distance to the conveniently situated Angel Hotel, right by Cardiff Castle and Bute Park, to leave our luggage and begin our amazing tour of this great city. We started with a welcome coffee, breakfast bap and traditional Welsh cake (picau ar y maen) in the Bute Park garden café before the day’s activities began.
Visit to BBC Wales
We took a short walk to BBC Wales for a fascinating presentation about the future of the BBC, its Royal Charter and the many revenue‑generating models being considered. The BBC is unique in having a government charter renewed every ten years, and those of us from a business background know how hard it is to manage a financial model under this type of uncertainty. A Board Director, and the Head of Operations took us through an excellent presentation and then answered some penetrating questions from World Traders.
Dinner with the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales
We then returned to the hotel to prepare for our dinner with the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales, who hosted us for a lively curry night and a brilliant historical tour through the story of Cardiff Castle and, indeed, Cardiff itself. Fiona Peel OBE, DL, was a fantastic speaker, holding us riveted with tales of the quirks and rivalries of the wealthy families of the area. We met at the Cardiff and County Club where we chatted with members of the Welsh livery company, and a great evening was had by all.
Cardiff Bay and The Welsh Parliament
The following day we were up early and ready to go, with coaches taking us to Cardiff Bay (formerly Tiger Bay), dropping us by the Norwegian Church, from whose port Captain Robert Falcon Scott departed on his ill‑fated British Antarctic expedition in the “race” to the South Pole.
We visited the Senedd, the spectacular Welsh Parliament building overlooking the bay where once the heavy‑duty docks exported cargos of coal as far as the eye could see.
Today it is a modern waterfront where coal rarely features. We were fortunate to have Fiona with us for a second day to guide us through the history and fill in the many details that standard tours sometimes miss. We watched an excellent film on the history of the Pierhead Building and its surroundings, learning about the parts played by the docks and Welsh soldiers during the wars.
After a quick lunch at the former Coal Exchange, a magnificent building on the bay, we walked across to the Welsh National Opera. Its home is an open and inclusive space that serves as much more than an opera theatre. We were shown backstage of two operas in production and heard compelling stories of how the WNO operates around the world – truly World Traders in every sense. We finished there with a visit to the costume department, chatting to the seamstresses and milliners, led by the Head of Department. It was a fascinating insight into how a production – particularly an opera – is transported and adapted to a new setting.
The evening was spent at the Parkgate Hotel, the impressive former Post Office building, where we heard Nigel Payne, Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic in Wales, based in Cardiff, speak about the work the Welsh are doing within the honorary consular network and the importance of this in growing the presence of Welsh culture and business opportunities around the world.
Welsh Impressionists
On our final morning, we were up early and, after breakfast, walked to the National Museum Cardiff, where we visited the Gwen John exhibition celebrating this important Welsh Impressionist artist. Our last stop of a fun and insightful trip was lunch at the Customs House restaurant overlooking the bay, where we listened to Hugh Hinge, a Welsh political commentator, explain the latest changes to the Senedd and how the new voting system will work as it is integrated alongside the Westminster system.
Throughout the trip we were warmly welcomed and expertly hosted by the delightful Dr. Jane Croad, Senior Warden of the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales, who organised us, answered our questions and helped with our logistics, together with Fiona, whose knowledge seemed to know no bounds. It was a fascinating visit and a real eye‑opener.
Jane and Fiona, thank you for the opportunity to see behind the scenes and to fall in love with the Welsh nation ❤️
Lesley Batchelor
Court Assistant
