Cardiff Bay Barrage Gates

Midday I returned to the dentist to have my bridge fitted that I told you about on 10th August.  It feels odd having something in the gap after 40 years and will take a few weeks to get used to.

The weather was awful up until mid morning and then the sun appeared. I thought I'd had back to Cardiff Bay back and take flight to get the barrage and sluice gates from the channel; in other words, reversing the picture I took on 10th. It seems fitting as my gap is now reversed!

The extra pic is of The Old Summer house on Northcliff, Penarth Head, that was a Victorian billiard room with commanding views. It's now derelict as it is danger of collapse, and is fenced off for safety reasons. It would have a commanding view of The Bristol Channel and is the point at which the barrage touches Penarth. I couldn't resist a photo of it as I landed.

Construction of the barrage began in 1994 and opened in 2001, costing £120million. It has created a 490 acre freshwater lake, the only salt-water ingress being that from the three locks providing access to and from the sea for the proliferating number of boats using Cardiff Bay.