I continued to sample the various breakfast options choosing different items from the hot cooked buffet selection. It was only after I had made my selection that I noticed crusty bread was on offer to accompany the continental breakfast options, unlike the previous days.
After breakfast we took a leisurely walk through town in the direction of the Railway station here the BBC studios are located, we had a tour booked. Our walk took us through shopping arcades where most of the outlet brands were unfamiliar to me. The most familiar brand we noticed was John Lewis where we both enjoyed a mooch around the gift section and Mr C had to check out the cookshop for something we might just need in the kitchen.
We arrived at the BBC studios earlier than our scheduled tour so we retraced our stops the arcade, and the Costa Coffee shop where we could put our feet up and wait for our timeslot.
We still had to wait outside the BBC studios until 15 minutes before our timeslot. We had to go through airport-style security before the tour took place. The tour was excellent and it shed the light on BBC documentary and news broadcasting. We were even able to see a live broadcast, a BBC Cymru news bulletin, whilst standing to one side hidden from the cameras.
The secrets of green screen recording were explained. What you see on screen for broadcasts is quite often not actually in the studio but added in digitally. We also went in a “dead room”, where radio drama is recorded and all sound is deadened to prevent echoes and ensure perfect sound quality in each recording.
We glimpsed the Tardis and a Dalek on our way to learn about how programmes queued up and how the voiceovers linking one programme finishing and the next one started are prepared and broadcast.
By the time the tour had finished it was time for a late lunch. We opted to dine in Pret a Manger, next to the BBC studio, after which we walked back into town through the shopping arcades. Back in town we returned to the Castle Arcade where we had another mooch around the board game shop. This time we came away with a game called Viticulture, a game about cultivating and harvesting grape vines for winemaking.
I thought we were going to sit in the lovely café that we had enjoyed on our previous visit to the arcade, but instead Mr C took us to the nearby Blue Bell pub instead. Rather than the apple juice I had in mind from the café I opted for a glass of wine which turned out to be quite bland compared to other wines that I had sampled during our stay in Wales.
We chilled out in our room before walking to the Parkgate Hotel, which was further away than Mr C had expected leading us to route march through town to arrive in time. The receptionist who showed us to our table was a bit stuffy and slightly unwelcoming rushing us to sit down.
Next, we were welcomed by a lady who brought us menus and later our wine selection. We were subsequently served by a delightful waiter, Mo who was courteous and attentive to our needs. The food was beautifully presented and delicious making this dining experience to be a perfect last meal to our holiday.
Before returning to the hotel for the evening we paid a return visit to The Cottage for a nightcap where once again we watched a silent film highlighting locations in Wales. After watching it for the second time we still weren’t able to identify all of them.
Tags: BBC Cymru, BBC Studios, Cardiff, Darlek, Dr Who, Tardis, The Parkgate Hotel, Vacation, Wales
