Cardiff is blessed with having a large number of parks and quite a lot fall within our ‘area of interest’, the old Parish of Roath.
Here’s a list:
Brewery Park
Cyncoed Gardens
Hammond Way Park
Harlequins
Howardian Local Nature Reserve
Llwyn-y-Grant Green
Moorland Park
Pengam Green
Pengam Recreation Ground (no longer exists – now Clydesmuir Insustrial Estate)
Shelley Gardens
Sovereign Chase
Roath Brook Gardens
Roath Mill Gardens
Roath Park Botanic Gardens
Roath Pleasure Gardens
Roath Recreation Ground
Robinson Square (no longer exists)
The Sandies
Tremorfa Park
Waterloo Gardens
Wild Gardens
Falling just outside our area are:
Cathays Cemetery
Cemetery Park
Howard Gardens
Parc Tredelerch
Rumney Hill Gardens
Roath Park
The area covered by the old parish of Roath contains a healthy amount of green space as does Cardiff as a whole. Discuss Cardiff to anyone who has lived or visited here and one of the first tings mentioned is Roath Park. Only part of Roath Park however falls within the old parish of Roath. The Botanical Gardens and Roath Park Lake fall outside but perhaps we can be allowed a little leeway on our ‘area of interest’ and include them in this section, especially as they the name Roath is used in the naming of Roath Park Lake.
Roth Park has a rich history and must be one of the most photographed parts of the city. When we come across old pictures we will put them here and over time add some highlights of the history of the park.
The history of Roath park and other Cardiff parks is covered well on the Cardiff Parks website which is run by past and present members of the Cardiff Parks Department but the website operates independently from Cardiff City Council.
Roath Park Recreation Ground
Roath Park was officially opened on June 20th 1894 with a ceremony in what we now know as the Recreation Ground. The people at the bottom are standing outside the railings on Ninian Road
The main summer pastime on the Rec used to be baseball rather than bar-b-queing. Lovely pic of Penylan vs Grange Albion in 1953 in front of an estimated 6000 spectators (pic credit: Cardiff Yesterday / Teddy Peterson)
Roath Park Botanic Gardens
Roath brook exiting Roath Park Lake
The figure head from Captain Scott’s Antarctic Expedition ship the Terra Nova. The figurehead was presented to Cardiff Corporation in 1913 and stood in Roath Park before it was then presented to the National Museum of Wales in 1932.
Play area at Roath Park Lake 1966
Roath Local History Society 