Barry Island Railway Station served the traditional seaside resort of Barry Island. It's well…read morelocated for the amusement park and the beach at Whitmore Bay. The station was opened in 1896 at the end of a 3/4 mile branch from the Barry Railway, from Barry Town. In 1899 it was extended through a tunnel to serve Barry Pier station, for ship excursion traffic. Since the closure of Barry Pier, the station has been a terminus. In its heyday up to 150,000 passengers might arrive on Bank Holiday specials, and the station had 4 long platforms to cope with the traffic. Declining traffic has seen the station rationalised to half of just one platform. The building is now a museum, and platform 4 is used by the Barry heritage railway. The facilities are now fairly basic: the remaining platform has a small shelter (though the original awning also covers part of the platform) and a ticket machine. There is level access to the platform from the street. The station has 3 trains an hour from Cardiff during weekdays, usually travelling to/from Aberdare or Merthyr Tydfil. In evenings and Sundays the frequency drops to half hourly.

Like Barbi's outfits, which are "Barry there", this is a great station in South Wales, but I have…read moreissues with it. This is the largest of three stations in the Vale of Glamorgan that serves the large city of Barry, not to be confused with Barrie Ontario. Barry is actually a town even though a lot of people think of it as a city. There is a separate branch of rail that goes from Cardiff down to Barry Island, and it's one of the stations along that, so it's not really on any of the main lines. Not too many trains then. It's a typical windswept station with a decent-sized station house and a nice bridge over the track. The whole town set on the lovely hills is right next door, but the station is fairly unremarkable in general and the Barry Island station is nicer.

For a medium-sized town, Barry does well for railway stations, with no fewer than four: Cadoxton,…read moreBarry Docks, Barry and Barry Island. Barry is the town's main station, used mostly by commuters and shoppers, although it is a fair walk to the main shopping area. It handles just under half a million passengers a year. Opened as the terminus of the Barry Railway from Trehafod in 1884, (principally as a freight line transporting coal), additional lines were opened to Cardiff via Cogan in 1888, to Barry Island in 1896 and to Bridgend in 1897. Today, the main service is on the direct line from Cardiff to Barry Island. The line to Bridgend, closed to passengers in 1964, reopened in 2005. There are four trains an hour to Cardiff, most of which continue onwards to the Cardiff valleys, three an hour to Barry Island and one an hour via Rhoose (for Cardiff Airport) and Llantwit Major to Bridgend. Facilities have been much reduced over the years, although it still retains a small building with ticket office (open mornings only), cafeteria and toilets, a large car park, and a slightly dodgy looking platform canopy, supported by what must have been temporary scaffolding at one time, but now seems to be a permanent fixture. Most recently (in 2014) a new platform face was opened (actually re-opened) on the island platform, exclusively for Barry Island trains, now numbered platform 3. Bridgend trains still use platform 2. The platform also has a modern waiting shelter. There is step free access to the Cardiff-bound platform, but not to the Bridgend and Barry Island platforms (which means wheelchair users can go to Cardiff but not come back!). Buses run from the nearby Barry Hotel into the main shopping area and other parts of Barry.

For anyone planning to drive into Cardiff centre this is a valuable service to make use of as…read moreCardiff's streets can get so busy at certain times of the day and parking is a huge nightmare. Especially with Cardiff Council's new responsibility to parking fines. Parking in Cardiff can be very costly if you do not adhere to road markings etc and even if you do, the car parks can charge quite a pretty penny depending when and where you are parking. For this reason, why not simply park here and ride the bus. It's only £3.00 to park at this facility which has ample spaces free throughout the day and then you can ride the bus into town for free. It doesn't really take that much longer and there is a bus every 15 minutes so you never have to wait too long before the next bus. The busses are all very new looking and this service is in operation 5 days a week. Monday to Friday the services start at 7:30am and the last services from the city centre is at 7:00pm except for match days when this changes to 5:30pm.

The end of the bridge is here, hence the name…read more South Wales is big on trains, and has a large population most of whom use trains, and that is why this is the fifth busiest station in Wales. The others are all in the Cardiff area - including Newport - except for Swansea which is not that far to the West. Anyway it's definitely a busy station and it's pretty modern because of that, and looks like it was just built recently, although there are still some older elements to it. It's a nice station and it's fit for purpose.

This is the station serving the South Wales town of Bridgend, the first major stop westwards after…read moreCardiff, the junction for the branch line to Maesteg and the terminus of trains from the Vale of Glamorgan line which run via Cardiff Airport's station. The station dates to 1850, when it was opened along with the rest of the South Wales Railway from Chepstow to Swansea. The line was built by Brunel, and was operated from the start as part of the Great Western Railway. The original station building - an attractive stone building in a domestic Italianate Style - still survives, on the Down Line (to Swansea), although in the 1980s a new entrance and ticket hall in glass were erected at one end. The buildings on platform 2 (towards Cardiff and London) also date from the early 1980s. The original buildings of 1850 are Listed at Grade II. As well as the hourly 125 mph (200 kph) London-Swansea service, the station is served by the hourly Maesteg-Cardiff trains, and is the terminus for the hourly trains from Cardiff via the Vale of Glamorgan Line, which terminate in the newly built platform 1A. It is also served by the regular services to and from West Wales and the North West of England. The ticket and information offices are on platform 1 at the entrance, but the toilets and large (privately-run) buffet are on platform 2. The station has step-free access throughout, although passengers requiring assistance are advised to telephone in advance for wheelchair ramps, etc. The station has limited cycle-storage facilities, a taxi rank and a large 100-space car park (charges apply). The station serves a wide area and is the fifth busiest in Wales, with over 1.1 million passengers a year.

I thought that Aber Station (the next one up the line from Cardiff Central) was slow, but…read moreCaerphilly is almost as bad. Monday to Saturday, the train to/from Cardiff runs every 15 minutes or so. On Sundays, the train runs every two hours. Be prepared. There is a staffed ticket booth during some hours but the rest of the time there is just the automated ticket vending machine. There are no ticket barricades and there is step free access. There is a confectionery/soda vending machine. The bus station/depot is attached and there is a taxi stand just opposite.

Perfectly located station, just on the edge of the central part of town. Small station with exits…read moreon both sides (so you don't have to labour over an annoying footbridge).

I like to do comedy routines on the platform here, I'm known as Cathays Clown…read more This station is only one mile north of Cardiff Central and it's a cute little Suburban Station in the middle of the North part of the city. For a long time you had to kind of fend for yourself here, but now at rush hour they actually have people helping out and employees and what not. It's literally right in the middle of a development of housing, and surrounded by businesses and whatnot which is pretty cool. In fact when you pull up here you will notice that a little shopping center is right next to it - although you have to kind of cross a bridge and walk back down to it. But it's good for your cheap shopping if you need it. They've also made some colourful admissions to some of the buildings here. I meant additions, but maybe they've admitted stuff to the buildings too?

Cathays Railway Station basically has no facilities except a ticket office (manned part time) and a…read moreself-service ticket machine, but the good thing about it is that it's in a safe, residential area where you won't feel threatened hanging around waiting for a train. It only gets busy on the platforms during peak travel times when people are using this line to get to and from the Valleys in one direction, and to and from the city centre in the other direction. It's very convenient for anyone working or studying at the University, which surrounds the station, or for those living in Cathays, as it offers a good alternative to a taxi if you want to get into town quickly without the walk - particularly if you have heavy bags to carry.

What I don't understand is, why does it take the same amount of time for the bus to drive to the…read morestation as it does for me to walk? Also, why do empty buses rattle past my window all day (when in service) but they never drive past the bus stop when I'm waiting for one? No joke, I just looked out my window again and there was yet another, with not a sole on board!! A city like this needs a good public transport system, what with the hilliness making it harder to walk and cycle and the traffic diabolical due to tiny windy roads. We need a solution and fast!

Today, 9th of september, i've waited for the bus for over a whole hour. Never thought it was…read morepossible to skip exacly 10 busses in a row (6x for number 76 and 4x for number 2). I've been at the bus stop from 13:48 and finaly caught a number 2 bus at 15:04. When I told the driver I've been waiting for the bus for a whole hour he just shrugged and said "it is very busy in town". I get that its not his fault, and I'm used to 2 or even 3 busses not arriving, its beyond me as to what has to happen to skip 10 busses in a row. I was also suppossed to start my shift at 3pm. In seriously reconsidering my decision to get around by bus. (Might as well had walked to city center today). Sincerely, Vito.

My dog went for free and loved it . It was so hot on the train we decided to walk back it's a…read moregood walk but lovely food a the cafe under the station

This is a really good place to visit, especially if you are a train enthusiast! It has steam trains…read morethat operate at weekends throughout the year. There are also special events at Valentines and Christmas. The Christmas Special is really lovely with mince pies and mulled wine for the adults and juice and biscuits for the children. Each child gets to see Father Christmas and the gift that they receive is remarkably good quality. There is a small playground on site and a cafe. There is also a shop selling paintings and children's toys. A really enjoyable day out, especially the Thomas themed days when the trains are dressed up as the charaters from Thomas The Tank Engine.

For anyone planning to drive into Cardiff this is a valuable service to make use of. Cardiff's…read morestreets can get so busy at certain times of the day and parking is a huge nightmare. Especially with Cardiff Council's new responsibility to parking fines. Parking in Cardiff can be very costly if you do not adhere to road markings etc and even if you do, the car parks can charge quite a pretty penny depending when and where you are parking. For this reason, why not simply park here and ride the bus. It's only £3.00 to park at this facility which has ample spaces free throughout the day and then you can ride the bus into town for free. It doesn't really take that much longer and there is a bus every 15 minutes so you never have to wait too long before the next bus. The busses are all very new looking and this service is in operation 7 days a week. Monday to Friday the services start at 7am and on weekends the first bus is at 9am. The last services from the city centre are at 8:30am Monday to Friday, 7pm on Saturdays and 5:30pm on Sundays. If this ties in with your plans to visit Cardiff then it really makes more sense to use the park and ride as you would probably spend more than £3.00 in petrol whilst sitting in traffic and if you consider that, along with the parking fees, it makes it excellent value for money for the sake of a 20 minute bus ride.

Well - what a refreshing change! Went to watch the rugby in Cardiff and parked at the park and…read moreride. Coming home after the match, the sensible people laid on 2 buses to transport the huge crowd back to Pentwyn and then instead of there being a massive queue at the exit barriers they manually took the tickets off everyone, speeding up the exit. WELL DONE to the thoughtful management team.

Living in Cwmbran, I regularly have to use the Cwmbran Bus Station for trips all around South Wales…read morethat require a bit more specification beyond train stations and overall, I'm pretty happy about the services I get from Cwmbran. Ever since Cwmbran became such a shopping centre hotspot with loads of patronage, there's now loads of public transportation that go to and from the location. NOTES: ~ Since it's just right at Cwmbran shopping centre, it really makes it convenient. ~ The bus station itself isn't too big. Just a manageable size and easy to navigate with multiple "stands" that cater to different buses. ~ Multiple services stop here, ranging from Stagecoach, Newport Bus, and more. I'm pretty happy with Cwmbran Bus Station. Great location with a huge variety of services you can almost get to anywhere in South Wales via this major stop. Also great for a day's out!