Castle is basically the bit of Cardiff most people mean when they say they are going into town. It is not just Cardiff Castle itself. It is the whole central stretch around the castle, St Mary Street, High Street, the Hayes, Queen Street, the arcades and up into Cathays Park. That is why it feels less like a neighbourhood in the usual sense and more like the core of the city. Castle is the community that includes Cardiff city centre, Cardiff Castle and the civic buildings of Cathays Park. (en.wikipedia.org)
This is the Cardiff people picture first
If you know Cardiff, Castle is where so much of the city’s identity sits. Cardiff Castle itself is right there in the middle of it, and from that point everything spreads out into roads and landmarks people already know. St Mary Street for nights out and rugby days. Queen Street for shopping. The Hayes for the newer city centre feel. High Street and the arcades for the older Cardiff character. Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion in the city centre, while the city centre’s main streets include Queen Street, St Mary Street and the Hayes. (en.wikipedia.org)
The roads and arcades are a huge part of it
A local description of Castle has to mention the streets because that is how people move through it. St Mary Street and High Street have one feel. Queen Street has another. The Hayes has another again. Then you have the arcades cutting through the middle of it, which is one of the things that makes central Cardiff feel like central Cardiff.
The Castle Quarter is built around streets including St Mary Street, High Street, Castle Street and Duke Street, and it includes some of Cardiff’s best known Victorian and Edwardian arcades like Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade. (en.wikipedia.org)
It shifts depending on where you are standing
That is one of the interesting things about Castle. If you are by the castle walls and Bute Park side, it feels historic. If you are around St Mary Street, it feels busier and louder. If you head across to the Hayes, it feels more commercial. Then once you move up into Cathays Park, it starts to feel grander and more civic.
Cathays Park is part of the Castle community and includes City Hall, the National Museum and Welsh Government buildings, while Bute Park and the grounds of Cardiff Castle were originally part of the same estate. (en.wikipedia.org)
Why locals know it so well
Castle is one of those parts of Cardiff that does not need much explaining to locals because people have used it their whole lives. It is where people shop, go out, meet up, go to events, pass through and orient themselves. It is central in every sense of the word.
That is why it feels different from writing about somewhere purely residential. Castle is not quiet and it is not tucked away. It is the most public face of Cardiff and the bit of the city that holds a lot of its best known streets and landmarks.
How to get from Castle to TK-Fitness
TK-Fitness is based on Galleon Way, Cardiff CF10 4JF, so getting there from Castle usually means heading down from the city centre towards the bay side of Cardiff. If you are starting around St Mary Street, Queen Street or the Hayes, the trip is fairly straightforward by car, taxi or public transport as you make your way south east towards the waterfront area. That makes TK-Fitness an easy option for people coming from the central Cardiff side of the city.