Cardiff a short hop for visitors from Cornwall

12th November 2010

Cardiff is now only half an hour from Cornwall thanks to new flights from regional airline Air Southwest. Air Southwest is launching a daily service from Cardiff to Newquay on January 4 next year. Seats are already on sale at www.airsouthwest.com.

Within the one square mile of Cardiff’s bustling city centre are the big three attractions: the Millennium Stadium, the National Museum and Cardiff Castle, all sitting alongside luxury hotels, shopping malls and arcades, and a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafes.  

In the late 19th Century, the 3rd Marquess of Bute spent a portion of his vast fortune on an extravagant refurbishment of Cardiff Castle. Now a £4 million interpretation centre added in 2008 gives visitors a full picture of the castle’s 2000-year history.

A couple of minutes walk from the castle is another surprising find – the National Museum. As well as extensive museum displays the gallery boasts one of the finest collections of Impressionist paintings outside Paris.

A new £700 million-plus St David’s Dewi Sant shopping development pushed Cardiff into the top five of UK shopping cities. Meanwhile, undercover malls and Victorian and Edwardian arcades offer designer boutiques and quirky gift shops – many of them with a Welsh flavour.

Cardiff Bay, the capital’s newest development is a 200 hectare freshwater lake for sailing and watersports. The waterfront is home to the national Assembly’s Senedd building, cuisine from around the world in the restaurants of Mermaid Quay, and the new base for Welsh National Opera – the Wales Millennium Centre.

The Bay is also home to the ‘Doctor Who Up Close’ exhibition, with monsters, costumes and props from the BBC Wales series – much of which was filmed in and around Cardiff.

Mike Coombes, commercial director at Air Southwest, said:
 
“Our flights are ideal for a short break, shaving more than three hours off the equivalent journey by road."

Patrick Duffy, managing director at Cardiff Airport, added: “We’re pleased to have Air Southwest at Cardiff and with them a new service from Newquay. The service offers a real alternative to the long journeys by rail and road which is good news for both leisure and business passengers visiting South Wales.”

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