Entrance to Porthkerry Park, Cardiff - A postcard view from the Penarth Dock Collection of the entrance lodge and gate at the lower end of the hill from Barry Castle. At this point we used to let our dog Chum out of the car. He was a tri-coloured, Welsh mountain saddle-back, sheepdog, and always raced the car down the road to the beach most times beating us to the water, unless of course, there was something more interesting to sniff at along the way! [001]

The Pebble Beach - at Cold Knap, Barry - Porthkerry park is distant at the other side of the bay with the railway viaduct clear. To the left, these days, planes are often seen taking off and landing at Cardiff airport. Another Valentine's Series postcard from the Penarth Dock Collection plus a colourised version. [001]

The Viaduct, Porthkerry Park, Barry - Another Valentine's Series postcard this time a view of the railway viaduct taking the Vale of Glamorgan Railway from Barry to Bridgend. I used to travel across it with my father usually in the guards van and always stood at the window to admire the view across the park to the sea. [001]

Construction commenced in 1896 but two piers were found to be unstable and one had to rebuilt upon deeper foundations. It opened in 1899 but was closed to traffic within two weeks due to embankment slippage. Further problems of settlement of a number of piers and cracks in some of the arches persuaded the engineer, charged with writing a formal report upon the condition of the structure, to recommend pulling it down and starting again! However, painstaking repairs, strengthening and widening critical foundations paid off and the viaduct was open again in January 1900. Given the foregoing, I don't recommend standing underneath it to admire the arched masonry for too long but it is a lovely piece of 19th century work placed within an idyllic surrounding! [424]