Penarth factfile

How to get to Penarth
Penarth is a seaside town down the coast from Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. If you're driving there, turn off at junction 33 of the M4 motorway.

Regular trains run from Cardiff, and there are plenty of buses too. You can even catch a steamer across the Severn Estuary from North Devon resorts such as Minehead and Ilfracombe.

Penarth through the ages
Once a small village, Penarth was developed in the 19th century as a port to ship Welsh coal around the world.

But the docks that used to dominate the seafront are gone now, replaced by Penarth Marina, which provides berths for more than 500 yachts and cruisers.

With its lush parks, dramatic seafront, beaches, cliff-top walks and elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, Penarth is known as The Garden by the Sea. The town enjoys a healthy tourist industry today.

Things to see and do around Penarth
The seafront, with its esplanade surrounded by parks and gardens, is a popular tourist destination. A Summer Festival featuring parades and fireworks is held every year.

The seafront is dominated by Penarth's restored Victorian pier, which holds summer season shows. Also in the summer, you can enjoy a trip from the pier along the Severn on the paddle steamers Waverley or Balmoral.

Famous landmarks in Penarth
Walk down Penarth Beach and you'll be able to see the tiny island of Flat Holm in the Bristol Channel—the southernmost point in Wales, and now a haven for birds.

Penarth Pier has twice survived potential disaster. On a bank holiday in 1931 a fire swept along it—800 people were dramatically rescued, including many trapped in a dancehall at the pier's end. In 1947 it was repaired again when a 7,000-ton ship ploughed into the pier during gales.

Natural beauty spots around Penarth
A few miles outside of Penarth, along the B4267, is Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. The park was a quarry that flooded to create lush wetlands, woods and lakes.

Cosmeston Medieval Village was excavated in the park and, in a unique project, an entire 14th-century community has been recreated on the site. Costumed villagers can give you a tour, and historical events are regularly staged, including jousting and medieval combat re-enactments.

Eating and drinking in Penarth
As you'd expect from a town with a lively tourist trade, there are many restaurants, cafés, coffee houses and bars to enjoy—Penarth has established itself as a Fairtrade Town. The bright lights of Cardiff are a short drive up the coast.

Penarth's claims to fame
In 1897, Marconi, the inventor of radio, transmitted the first ever wireless signal—from Lavernock near Penarth, to the island. The message, sent in Morse Code, was: "Are you ready?"