It may be called Cardiff Bus and looks like a Cardiff Bus but this one never goes into Cardiff. It instead does a circular route around Barry, hence the B prefix I guess.
I started the day with a walk from the Highlight Park area heading north-west up towards Duffryn. It was a lovely narrow tree-lined path. I stopped and had a look at the remains of Uchelolau Church, a tiny medieval church from the 12th- to 13th-century where little more than the outline remains.
I continued up the path, clambering over and unusual footbridge up to where there is a mill marked on the map. I explored the area around and saw some expensive barn conversions and ancient farmhouses but no mill. I probably just missed it.
Back in Highlight Park I waited for my bus and when nothing arrived nor appeared on the tracker I sent a message to the helpline and again got a speedy reply apologizing it had broken down and a replacement was on its way. They weren’t lying. A bus pulled up with ‘Not in Service’ on the headboard. It was just like having my own personal bus replacement service.
The ride on this bus was a real experience. The driver seemed to know everyone in Barry, waving left and right and chatting to all the passengers as they got on and off. It was like going for a ride with Postman Pat. Great fun.
I was lucky to find a real gem of a coffee shop for my beverage – Maggie Jo’s, where I had a delicious tea cake. My book for the day was ‘The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book’. The OS do a cracking job of mapping this country and appear to have made a good job at transitioning to the electronic era, though it has left people like me with a cupboard full of paper maps.
