Sophia Gardens

If you're in the centre of town Sophia Gardens is just a stones throw away (as long a you have bionic arm) but be careful as throwing stones could be dangerous.

It's a lovely park as are lots of parks in Cardiff but why pick this one? I can think of 3 reasons:

First of all - look at the picture i've attached (the tree lined avenue) nice isn't it?

Secondly if you have a bike and fancy a ride then its very handy to park here and take the taff trail (see other review).

And thirdly it is home to Swalec Sports Stadium - where you can watch some cricket at the home of Welsh cricket.

And I know I said I had 3 reasons but here is a fourth - once a year Zippo's Circus is located here.

Sophia gardens are now little more than a green area nestled on the other side of the River Taff from Bute Park, before you hit the main Cathedral Road. Many people will probably only know it as a pleasant cut through to Y Mochyn Du and the Welsh Sports Institute.

But in the past the stretch of grass here has been used for the circus when it comes to town, and many a wedding reception. With the iconic Taff Trail cycle route taking you straight through these gardens, and a near-centre car park on site, this patch of greenery is usually quite a busy little place, full of tourists and locals making their way through.

Yet with Bute Park just a bridge away, few people ever choose to sit and stop in Sophia Gardens which is sad, because I thank that sometimes, when the sun is out and the larger park is full of semi-naked bodies, Sophia Gardens can be a nice place to get away and smell the daisies.

This is large complex situated within the area of Pontcanna in Cardiff. It has a swimming pool, and a gym. It was previously known as The Swalec Stadium. That name was inherited from the Marquis of Bute's wife.

Sophia Gardens cricket grounds has Glamorgan cricket team as the company's home team of cricket. It was in May in the year of 1967 when Glamorgan and the Indian touring team played against each other. However, the Glamorgan team did not become the county's official home cricket team three decades later.

This cricket pitch has a much more interesting history as it has hosted 'Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.'

It was in 1995 when Glamorgan took over these grounds and they've made lots of changes ever since and The National Cricket Centre was then finished in the year of 1999. Since then it has become a one day international venue where is has held a match between England and Wales in the year of 2002 and it has hosted a fair few more games since.

I recommend this place to all cricket and sport fans and for those who just want to swim and use its gym.

I have had the fortune of playing at Sophia Gardens in a badminton tournament and the Swalec Stadium playing cricket for my school team. Sophia Gardens is an excellent venue for sports. I have played badminton many times there and have always enjoyed going back.

Unfortunately you can't book to play badminton but there are plenty of clubs that you can join if you look at the website. As well as the stadium and the centre you have the park behind it that you can have a quiet and lovely walk on whilst enjoying the crisp sun. The cricket pitch was wonderful to play on and I still can't believe that I actually played in there since the Swalec Stadium played host to the ashes cricket last year.

This is a great place for sports fans to attend when the cricket is on and great if you end up playing in tournaments or joining a club for indoor sports. It is definitely worth going too.

This is one of the less sculpted and grand of the Cardiff city-centre parks, and that's part of its charm, I think.

Sophia Gardens sits opposite the behemoth that is the Millennium Stadium and is home to mainly a number of sports-ground areas, which makes it pretty useless to me, but it is a lovely park nonetheless. I'm always grateful for any greenery in a city, even if it's an area I hardly take advantage of.

I normally run through here, and (like in my review of the Taff Trail) find it's business as usual as I wince at the sounds of oncoming cyclists' bells and barking dogs.

Granted, there's more to room to roam here, so it's not as bad as I'm making it sound. It's generally the park that's the setting for a wide range of events, like The Ashes (which annoying can be heard from further away than you think).

A central Cardiff public park, Sophia Gardens is just along from the Castle and opposite the Millennium Stadium. A cultivated gardens with neat and tidy flower beds, strolling mums and prams, Chavs making out and office workers eating lunch on the benches. It isn't the prettiest park in Cardiff, but it is the gateway to more of the 'green lung' that spreads into Bute Park and Pontcanna Fields.

The gardens were named after Sophia Rawdon-Hastings, the second woman to marry the second Marquess of Bute, got that? Apart from the flower beds, they also host the Glamorgan County Cricket Club and is the location of the SWALEC Stadium (they've had the Ashes there). and the Welsh Institute of Sport.

A number of events also take place here over the summer including music festivals and the circus.