Cardiff

OUR Spotlight On column gives you the lowdown on what to see and do in some of the most popular holiday destinations – as well as some unsung areas.

This week we explore Newport in Pembrokeshire, bustling coastal city in the UK’s only Coastal National Park.

Often considered ‘Cornwall without the crowds,’ it gained city status back in 2002.

So we’ve revealed the best hidden gems and amazing spot to visit.

MUST SEE/DO:

Known locally as Traeth Mawr, or Big Beach, dune-backed Newport Sands is the largest of the town’s beaches, offering almost a mile of golden sand.

Summer sees a safe swimming zone manned by lifeguards, and a variety of water sports, plus delicious ice cream from independent Caffi Mawr.

RACE YOU

Real-life Mario Kart attraction that lets you race your friends to open in UK city

SEAS AND GREETINGS

UK seaside town will celebrate Christmas TOMORROW

Former historic coastal port Parrog beach, on the south side of the estuary, is now a popular spot for recreational boating.

The small sandy beach is close to the town’s galleries and independent craft shops that the area is renowned for.

History buffs should explore the remains of Iron Age forts and cairns, plus Pentre Ifan, one of the most significant Neolithic monuments in Wales.

HIDDEN GEM

Steeped in history, The Sailors’ Safety at Pwllgwaelod Beach on the Pembrokeshire coast is an old smugglers’ pub dating back to 1593.

The menu highlights the best of local Pembrokeshire seafood with a focus on foraged ingredients from the local shores and hedgerows.

Dine in the cosy restaurant or relax with a drink in the bar while soaking up centuries of maritime history.

BEST VIEW

Ancient volcano Carningli, also known as the Hill of the Angels, rewards walkers for the half-hour climb to the 1,138ft summit with stunning 360-degree views.

On a clear day it’s possible to see over the Pembrokeshire coastline and even towards the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland.

RATED RESTAURANT

At the heart of Newport, the Golden Lion has been serving drinks to travellers since the 1600s.

It is now a cosy pub with an extensive menu making the most of the local fare including Welsh beef and freshly caught local seafood.

The historic atmosphere and quality ingredients make it a favourite with both locals and visitors.

BEST BAR

Whether a keen golfer or not, The Cat Rock Cafe is the place for sundowners and stunning coastal views.

Located at the 18-hole Newport Links Golf Club, designed by pro golfer and course architect James Braid, it’s a three-minute walk from Newport Sands.

COTTAGE PICK

Set on Main Street, in the heart of the bustling town, Welford House sleeps six and features a stunning Mediterranean-style paved courtyard.

A seven-night stay starts at £680.

For something more rural, Ty Top is a delightful two-bedroom end-of-terrace stone cottage set on an ancient track beneath Carningli mountain.

A seven-night stay starts at £535. See coastalcottages.co.uk.

Phil Parkinson bemoaned his team’s lack of ruthlessness – and the amount of stoppage time at the end of the game – after a 98th-minute equaliser denied Wrexham a Welsh derby victory at Cardiff City.

Parkinson’s side were on course to begin the new Championship campaign with a hard-fought win after Kieffer Moore’s third-minute goal at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wrexham missed chances to extend their lead – and twice hit the woodwork – on a night when they carried greater threat than their hosts only to be denied a win when Rubin Colwill smashed in a free-kick in the last act of the game.

“We’ve had chances to kill the game off. We haven’t taken them, the keeper’s made saves, but we haven’t really made him make a top-class save,” Parkinson said.

“We knew we could give Cardiff problems and time and time again. We did and really in the cold light of day, the game should have been out of sight, but it wasn’t.”

While Parkinson suggested his side could have managed the closing minutes of the game better, there was frustration over the timing of Cardiff’s goal.

The fourth official’s board showed six minutes of added time, with George Dobson fouling Joel Colwill in the last of those minutes before Rubin Colwill seized the chance to equalise.

“I’m not quite sure where they got six minutes from – I’m looking forward to asking [the officials about] that,” Parkinson said.

“However, giving cheap free-kicks away at this level, you can get punished and that’s what cost us tonight.

“All we had to do was stay calm in that moment and we’d be talking about three points.”

The worldwide buzz is far from the norm, and certainly a far cry from the most recent league meeting between the duo on 22 March, 2002 – when goals from Scott Young, Peter Thorne and Danny Gabbidon earned the Bluebirds a 3-2 victory over the Red Dragons.

Just shy of 16,000 supporters were at Ninian Park on that occasion, and nearly double that amount will be in attendance at Cardiff City Stadium this time around, such is the anticipation for the fixture.

The game will also be beamed to fans around the world, particularly in North America where Wrexham have become a household name, thanks largely to the success of their Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

But current Cardiff head coach Barry-Murphy has zero interest in the fanfare brought to the party by the likes of Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

Barry-Murphy’s focus lies solely on satisfying the demands of those wearing blue in the Welsh capital, along with those of the club’s Malaysian owner Vincent Tan.

“The people in North America aren’t relevant to me,” said the Irishman.

“With all due respect, the people of Cardiff are the only ones that matter to us.

“And obviously the people in Malaysia are your boss, so we’re trying to impress him always and play for the supporters.”

Wrexham’s growth, however, has been nigh-on impossible to ignore.

Denis Smith – Wrexham boss for that 3-2 loss in the Welsh capital more than two decades ago – says having a team of the Red Dragons’ stature in the north of the country is vital.

“I understand the feeling for football in and around that area,” the 78-year-old said on BBC Radio Wales Sport.

“I had a great time there. I was there for five years. While I was there, we won things and got promotion, but we also had the problems.

“I was daft enough to go on the board so it cost me a lot of money, but it’s a great football club.

“The area wants football, Wales needs a club of Wrexham’s size in north Wales.”

After two seasons together at the bottom level, Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham were reunited – this time in the third tier – for a couple of seasons in the mid-1990s.

And now, after more than three decades, they are together again.

“Three Welsh teams in the Championship… it’s enormous for the country,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.

“There’s a mini-league going on [in Wales].”

Wrexham came out on top last season, finishing four places above Swansea in 11th.

Bookmakers make Parkinson’s men favourites to finish as Wales’ top club once more, with the Red Dragons tipped to push for a play-off place, Swansea in the middle of the pack and Cardiff among those with the longest promotion odds in the division.

Brian Barry-Murphy reckons his team are capable of surprising the doubters – though the Cardiff head coach brushed off questions about the fight to be Welsh football’s leading club before Monday’s mouthwatering curtain-raiser against Wrexham.

“We just want to do really well this season and try to get off to a good start on Monday,” he said.

Barry-Murphy was then reminded that when he took charge last summer, he described Cardiff as the biggest club in Wales.

“Cardiff feels like the biggest club in the world to me,” he said in response.

“When I’m here the energy from the supporters is incredible.

“Hopefully on Monday you’ll see an atmosphere that befits the stadium and the club and we’ll try to do our part by producing a performance that gives us a chance to win.”

Asked what would constitute a successful season for his side, Barry-Murphy said: “We don’t know. I think one of the beauties of this season is that, for a lot of us, we’re going into the unknown.

“Our feeling is that we can surprise a lot of people. We have a real hunger and appetite to improve on what we did last season.”

Barry-Murphy is preparing for a blockbuster start to the campaign, with Welsh rivals Wrexham at the Cardiff City Stadium for a south-north derby on 17 August.

The former Manchester City academy coach says he is unsure whether any more new signings will be completed ahead of Wrexham’s visit, with Lincoln City midfielder Jack Moylan still the only outfield player recruited by Cardiff this summer.

“I don’t think so,” said Barry-Murphy when asked if Cardiff were close to a new signing.

“If you start anticipating timings or what may or may not happen, you just waste a lot of your time and your energy.

“Our focus is purely on the game on Monday and making sure that anything that could or maybe would distract us, doesn’t.”

Barry-Murphy said injured Wales forward Rubin Colwill could return for Wrexham’s visit, but fellow international Dylan Lawlor is unlikely to be fit to face the Red Dragons.

Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl believes Halfpenny’s achievements, including scoring 801 points while winning101 Wales caps and being a highly respected three-time Lions tourist, are invaluable attributes.

Van Zyl said: “It is clear and evident from last year’s work that all of our kickers improved. He is so professional and diligent in everything he does, so now moving into a full-time role I am excited to see the impact he will have.

“He will work with all of our kickers from goal-kicking and touch-kicking etcetera to our scrum-halves and their technique, but he will also work within the academy, which will be really beneficial for his growth and development as a coach.

“He has a great future as a coach and we are looking forward to welcoming him back to the Arms Park following another great experience with the national squad.”

Wales faced Slovakia in their first match at Euro 2016 on 11 June a decade ago and – 10 years on – then Wales boss Chris Coleman relives that day in Bordeaux.

In an interview with Nathan Blake for the new documentary series Iconic: The Summer that Changed Welsh Football, Coleman recalls the scenes that greeted the squad as they left their hotel .

Episode one is available now on BBC Sounds – episode two will be on BBC Radio Wales at 18.30 BST on Monday, 15 June.

Cardiff lost head coach Matt Sherratt to Steve Tandy’s backroom staff just a few days before the season started, with forwards boss Corniel van Zyl making the step up to replace him.

“We’re proud of the boys from where we started the season into how we finished,” said van Zyl.

“To end up sixth, with 16 quality teams, I say would make us proud. Unfortunately we couldn’t push on to the next step and that’s the disappointing part.”

Van Zyl guided Cardiff to 11 league victories, with eight of those coming at their Arms Park home.

With only one URC win achieved outside of Wales this season, securing an unlikely play-off victory in South Africa against a former tournament winner was always going to be a tough ask.

The squad landing just a few days before the fixture after a 6,000-mile flight to Cape Town added to their task.

Cardiff flanker Dan Thomas has been one of the shining lights this season and again impressed against Stormers.

The open-side did not want to accept defeat but acknowledged the steps made in the 2025-26 campaign.

“Everyone was happy with how the season went, we made the play-offs which was important for the club, but no-one remembers who loses in quarter-finals,” Thomas told S4C.

“Making the play-offs is important for the club.

“It’s an odd one, we’re happy with how the season has gone, but you want silverware. It is back to the drawing board now and we need to start again.”

Cardiff have signed Australian veteran prop Scott Sio next season, which they will hope shores up a scrum taken apart by Stormers.

“It is obvious, our set-piece needs to improve,” said Thomas.

“The Stormers were dominant and we didn’t cope. We knew it was coming and still couldn’t stop it.

“We know the hard work will start in pre-season.”