Parc Tredelerch

Park

Explorer Tom

Parc Tredelerch turns a Cardiff lake into a small expedition: one minute you are following the shore, the next a wooden walkway sends you over the water with ducks conducting loud committee business nearby. The city has left room here for reeds, meadow and trees to do the decorating, and they have shown considerably more restraint than most committees. The park in Rumney circles a lake of about 40,000 square metres. Cardiff Council describes roughly two kilometres of paths, a lakeside stone-dust path and a boardwalk across the water. The ground has been transformed over the past two decades into a mix of native woodland, scrub, reedbed, meadow and pools. Look out for tufted ducks, cormorants, great crested grebes and, if you are patient, a kingfisher; the birds have no obligation to appear on cue. Cardiff Council says the park is open all day, every day. Its small car park is reached from Lamby Way and has space for about twenty vehicles, with a 1.95-metre height barrier. Walking the paths is the point of the visit, but stay on them around wetter habitats rather than trying to improve your birdwatching angle with soggy shoes. The lake and adjoining floodplain can look calm while the ground close by remains soft. Families from the nearby area helped plant some of the woodland on the south side of the lake, a pleasing bit of local handiwork with a much longer life than a ribbon-cutting speech. Take the boardwalk slowly, scan the water and leave the wildlife space to get on with its day. The best surprise here may be how quickly the city drops out of earshot.