The
historic coastal town of Barry is located approximately eight miles to the west
of Cardiff which is a twenty minute car ride away.
Barry has two main shopping
areas, one at High Street and the other at Holton Road. Both offer a wide variety
of shops, cafes and restaurants and every Tuesday shoppers can browse through
the weekly street market where many a bargain can by acquired.
There are also
many shops at the recently developed waterfront which has also become popular
for its annual Waterfront Tall Ships Festival.
A real fun way to discover more
about Barry is on foot. 'Barry Town Trail' links the town, to the waterfront and
the holiday centre of Barry Island and highlights places of interest along its
six mile route.
Cowbridge is an elegant market town set in a beautiful and secluded area of countryside
in the centre of the Vale of Glamorgan. It lies twelve miles west of Cardiff and
seven miles east of Bridgend.
It is claimed that Cowbridge was once well blessed
with 'great and glorious drinkers' and indeed some forty-two of the buildings
of Cowbridge have been used as inns or alehouses at some time in their history.
This could not be further from the image of today's town centre.
Cowbridge
is popular for shopping that includes arts, crafts and antiques. Its busy yet
quaint high street is lined with fashionable shops, and yes; some of those infamous
inns, wine bars and restaurants. Quite apart from the multitude of chic boutiques,
its the atmosphere that makes Cowbridge so appealing.
The town has a
wealth of historic buildings and has a prosperous, unhurried feel to it. Good
old-fashioned values and service are what makes Cowbridge tick, yet with all modern
facilities, it belies the towns long and fascinating history stretching back to
Roman times.
Cowbridge is twinned with the Medieval town of Clisson
which is situated at the confluence of the Sèvre Nantaise and the Moine
rivers in the Loire-Atlantique Department in France. The association was established
in 1991 as a Community Twinning Association with Municipal Support.