Last year I decided to try some of this windsurfing lark at The Channel view leisure centre,…read morededicated water to all things water sports related. I went on the absolute beginners course which to begin with is expensive. £124 for two days. But once you get your level one it goes down to £34 for 5 sesh so gets better as you do. What consists of the beginners course is to begin with an on land simulator to make you feel an utter charlie. YOu are embarrassingly guided by qualified wind surfing tutors. You are then allowed out in the wet stuff after a few hours and this is where the real fun begins. Expect to get wet, col and spend more time off your board than on it...Well me anyway. It was so much fun my face was hearting from smiling so much over the two days. It's a great way to meet people and you become quite close to your group over the time and I still speak to a couple of the people I met there. There is so much more at CBWAC with Kayaking, sailing, rowing and power boating. If summer pops up this year you must visit here!

This Centre is housed in a purpose-built facility in South Cardiff, on the edge of the River Taff…read moreby Cardiff Bay. Despite the name, they actually offer activities both in the water and on land - including climbing (using Channel View's indoor climbing wall and automatic belaying equipment, as well as the outside bouldering facility); archery; bell boating in a vessel up the Taff; bush survival skills; trail biking; sailing; windsurfing; course and sea fishing; rowing; etc. For parties and corporate days they do day packages, and this is what I've experienced - all great fun, with excellent tuition and guidance, and a choice of 16 different activities (though obviously you have to choose in advance and book which you want to do, as there's not enough time to fit all of them in!). Great for a team day out away from the office.

This is an indoor entertainment complex packing in all the elements you'd expect from a place like…read morethis, such as a cinema, a bowling alley and lots of restaurants - plus it's also home to one of South Wales's best-established radio stations, Red Dragon FM. It's located just a short walk from the main Mermaid Quay area of Cardiff Bay, and offers a warm refuge from the harsh weather that often hits that part of the city in the winter. It's open seven days a week and is home to Wales' only IMAX cinema screen (within the Odeon cinema), plus the 26-lane Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, Grosvenor Casino, the Doctor Who 'Up Close' exhibition, and lots of restaurants - including big chains such as Bella Italia and Chiquito. There's also a Cadwaladers ice cream parlour, an Indian and a Chinese restaurant, and a family sports bar with loads of screens and pool tables called R Bar. Overall it aims to offer a variety of things to do, all in a dry, indoor environment. It's not a particularly exciting venue, but on a wet and windy day it's an easy place to park up for free and take your family for some entertainment or food. Sometimes - particularly during school holidays - they have special events such as craft workshops, live jazz, or even anti-bullying workshops.

This centre is sometimes over looked due to Mermaid quay's reputation shining a little brighter in…read morethe world of attractions for visitors to Cardiff Bay and yet its only 5 minutes walk away. You can watch a film do some bowling and eat and drink to your hearts content, whether it be Chinese, Italian or plain old pub food. It also undercover, which in our Welsh climate can sometimes make the all the difference between a happy day and a cold miserable day. Parking also costs nothing as long as you patronise one of the establishments within the centre. Why wouldn't you want to go there?

Victoria Park is, apparently, one of the most popular parks in the UK. I can understand why. This…read morepark is full of flowers (beware, hay-fever sufferers), trees, winding paths and grassy areas. This is a fantastic place to bring children on a sunny summer day. Victoria Park is probably most famous for its spectacular playground and massive shallow paddling pool (in the summer). Imagine ice creams and picnics and children splashing water everywhere. Good times. There are also a number of summer events that go on in this park. Summer Fetes and Scout/Guide events, face painting and throwing wet sponges at teachers. There is also a bandstand and a cafe. The only thing wrong with this park is its popularity, as it does manage to get heavingly busy on hot days. You've been warned. I have lovely memories from Victoria Park, so could you!

A lovely traditional park, covering nearly 20 acres, situated just west of Canton, on Cowbridge…read moreRoad. It has been awarded a prestigious 'Green Flag' award and attracts over 600,000 visitors a year. It was founded in 1897 and contains a mixture of traditional flower beds, mature trees, a paddling pool, bandstand, children's playground, tennis courts, a 5-a-side football pitch, and open lawns. There's a cafe, toilets and a park-keeper's lodge - one of the few left in the UK where the keeper lives on site. The park used to have animals in a small zoo (my mother used to visit them in the early 1930s), most famously Billy the Seal; caught accidentally by a local fishing boat in 1912, he was donated to the park, living there until 1939. After he died, he was found to be female! She is commemorated by a life-size statue in the park. A great place for families and children, as well as for a quiet stroll.

Boasting a wide variety of weights, resistance and cardio equipment, Fitness Solutions offers…read moreeverything you need to get in shape and achieve your training goals, be it fat loss, bodybuilding or simply maintaining general health and wellbeing. The large cardio area includes numerous exercise bikes, cross trainers and running machines, as well as rowing machines and steppers for a maximum cardio workout, while the weights room has a full rack of dumbbells and numerous benches along with a smith machine and a squat rack for those looking to build and tone specific muscle groups. In addition to these, there are many machine weights such as the cables, a pec deck, a shoulder press and two chest press machines. Also, a varied selection of supplements are available at decent prices to help you make the most out of your session without having to shop elsewhere and fork out on expensive store prices. With a recent expansion to include a second floor, there is now even more facilities and services on hand for members, such as dietary advice, sports massage and a unisex hair salon. Add to this the already established sauna and Jacuzzi area and there really are no excuses for being too tired to train. Regardless of experience, Fitness Solutions caters for all levels of training. With friendly staff on hand to help out with assistance and advice, this is a superb gym for both the competent regular looking to continue their routine training and also the inexperienced newcomer hoping to drop a few unwanted pounds.

This gym is fantastic! The staff are great and very welcoming. Unlike most ive vistited before…read more Great prices! And yummy milkshakes! Highly recommend this gym.

Situated near Caerphilly Rugby Club and right next to Caerphilly Golf Club, the Leisure Centre…read morecompletes the trifecta of main sporting venues in Caerphilly town. With a large, 25 metre, four lane swimming pool and a smaller 5 metre pool for beginners, Caerphilly Leisure Centre is a great place to go if you fancy a dip or want to churn out a few lengths. The council run centre offers a good variety of activities for the fitness focussed Caerphilly resident. While the gym isn't as good as other specific gymnasiums in the area, it's as good a gym as any council run fitness facility I've been to. There is also a squash court and a large hall for circuits, football and basketball as well as a wide range of other sporting activities. In addition to these facilities there is also a sauna and steam room for those wishing to relax and let their muscles recuperate. A good facility with a great range of activities on offer.

If you're visiting the enchanting fairytale castle of Castell Coch, it's well worth exploring this…read moreancient woodland that surrounds it, and the sculpture trail of public art. It's Forestry Commission Beech woodland linked to the castle by public rights of Way, and is popular with walkers and horse riders. It's also along the Taff Trail route, so you can walk or cycle directly to or from Cardiff to Castell Coch and its woodlands In the Springtime, particularly May, it's especially beautiful - as is the case with many of Cardiff's woodlands. The rather 'aromatic' white garlic flowers carpet the woodland floor, along with bluebells and wood anemone - and this is one of the best times to visit.

This may be called a wetlands reserve but its more like a little walkway along the reed area of the…read moresea front. Its not very big and don't expect to see a huge array of animals. There are information boards around so if your a keen wildlife spotter or want to get the kids involved they are a nice touch. What it is, is a very peaceful spot where even on a very busy summers day you can find a spot to sit and enjoy the sun, or feed the ducks (although I don't think your meant too!)

This is a fairly exposed nature reserve with a boardwalk for visitors to stroll along, bordered by…read moremarshy reeds and offering views out over the Bay. These wetlands were created in 2002 when the barrage was completed to compensate partly for the disappearance of the old saline mudflats, which of course were being turned into a freshwater lake. The wetlands provide an important habitat for over-wintering and breeding birds, so the reserve is justifiably popular with birdwatchers. On a cold and windy day, this isn't the most pleasant open space you could choose to explore because it often gets really windy with a nasty chill factor - far better off finding some secluded woods to shelter in. In the summer, however, it's a different story - with some good views from the boardwalk back over the reserve and to the Bay's skyline and out to Cardiff Bay Barrage.

Previously known as the Welsh International Climbing Centre, the Summit Centre is where I learnt to…read moreclimb, and it is a really friendly and well-designed bouldering and climbing facility. It's located about half an hour's drive from Cardiff in The Parc Taff Bargoed area, and the climbing wall features 400+ routes over an impressive 20,000 square feet of surface. There are 8 metre overhangs, Grades between 4a and 9a, both top roped routes (better for beginners) and lead routes (for more advanced), a self-belay device (enabling people to climb without a partner), smaller children's walls, and a dedicated bouldering room. The instructors I've learnt with have been really encouraging, friendly and good fun. All the staff there seem to love their jobs, too. The centre also offers 3-star bunkhouse accommodation for groups (although living in Cardiff I've never stayed overnight) and offers other adventure pursuits both on site and in the surrounding countryside - including gorge walking, kayaking, high ropes, canyoning, abseiling and caving.