Cardiff - Go and No Go areas!

Cardiff is a pretty safe city and the main student areas (Cathays, Roath, Penylan) aren't plagued by the chav menace that some other cities are. The areas which have a deservedly bad reputation for crime and disorder are:

Ely - way out in the west of the city, no student ever need go there

Gabalfa/Mynachdy - near to Talybont, students still don't go there

Butetown - crime-ridden urban area between town and The Bay - the buses and trains will drop you safely at either end

Llanederyn - rhymes with Kick Yer Head In - miles from any students

St Mellons - yet another white trash council estate, students rarely spotted

Splott, Canton, Adamsdown, Riverside, Grangetown and Llandaff North have both good and bad areas - the discerning eye will be able to tell between.

You should feel completely safe going to Llandaff, Fairwater, St Fagans, Whitchurch, Pantmawr, Heath, Rhiwbina, Pontprennau, Llanishen, Lisvane, Birchgrove, Tongwynlais, Cyncoed and Rumney (although not Llanrumney).

The city centre pubs and bars are nice and unthreatening, although some (like Jumpin' Jaks on Naked Tuesdays) may get a fluctuating reputation for scumminess. Don't go to the Maindy or Master Gunner near Talybont, the Blackweir is cheaper and safer.

Reply 2

Ne0n

My flat is a go zone lol

but seriously jsut keep an eye out and you should be fine. Penarth is another nice place just outside of cardiff

Reply 3

jack252

wales in general is no go. right?

Reply 4

PaleAle

Adam-Cardiff

Ely - way out in the west of the city, plagued by white trash, no student ever need go there

:P I live in Ely! Close to Ely Bridge. Though I'm off to London in September. I live in a cul de sac with lots of elderly people, so I'm quite lucky. No yobs. However you wouldn't catch me wandering around Grand Avenue late at night. I think Ely is alright if you know the really bad areas to avoid!

Though a seriously big no go area in Cardiff for me is...Chippy Lane aka, Caroline Street. If it's daylight I may brave it, possibly. But as soon as it gets dark no way. I've had a cousin assaulted there, a friend pushed into the road and then run over! It's mad.

Though Cardiff is a nice place to live :smile:

I'm going to miss it.

Reply 5

RightSaidJames

16

Generally all of the City Centre is fine as long as you don't try to cause trouble. The Student Campus is obviously fine, and the main parts (i.e. the main streets where the restaurants and shops are) of places like Canton are fine. As Adam-Cardiff says, there are many parts which are very safe indeed, and others such as Ely can be a bit dodgy. If you're street smart and don't wander about on your own in the middle of the night, you'll be fine. Compared to many larger English cities, Cardiff is a safe haven, really.

Reply 6

city_chic

13

Splott and Canton are rough areas. And Grangetown too.

Oh, and of course Ely...

Reply 7

jrhartley

13

Canton, rough? I think not.

Reply 8

Adam-Cardiff

Canton's perfectly fine to walk around at night and has some nice places to eat and drink. The back streets are possibly a bit iffy, but who wants to go down a backstreet?

Reply 9

Like every city there are good and bad parts of everywere. :]

Just because someone tells you that a certain area is 'rough' it do not mean that all the people are *white trash* scumbags etc. :frown:

Just avoid trouble and you will be fine. :smile:

Reply 10

River85

17

PaleAle

Though a seriously big no go area in Cardiff for me is...Chippy Lane aka, Caroline Street.

I was just there on Tuesday (I'm not from Cardiff, I've just caem back from a few days visit there after seeing R.E.M on Monday). Though I was walking through it during the day and not a night. Still, if that's what passes as a rough/no go area in Cardiff....sheesh...

Butetown doesn't seem to bad, was walking around there on one night. No worse that other similar areas and a lot better than most.

But then I tend not to experience any trouble anyway. A bit of common sense, and being six foot tall (and fourteen stone) helps :wink:

But walking around Cardiff, including some of these supposedly rough areas, I don't feel unsafe at all. In fact, I feel safer in Cardiff than any other city but Newcastle (my closest city, so I know it well, plus it does have a low crime rate - like Cardiff).

I must admit that I saw a few more "chavvy" type people than in other cities, but I think this was just because it's a compact city centre, and wasn't particularly busy, so you notice them more. It would also be quite prejudiced of me to assume these were violent people, just because of hpow they were dressed (and their language).

Reply 11

River85

I was just there on Tuesday (I'm not from Cardiff, I've just caem back from a few days visit there after seeing R.E.M on Monday). Though I was walking through it during the day and not a night. Still, if that's what passes as a rough/no go area in Cardiff....sheesh...

Butetown doesn't seem to bad, was walking around there on one night. No worse that other similar areas and a lot better than most.

But then I tend not to experience any trouble anyway. A bit of common sense, and being six foot tall (and fourteen stone) helps :wink:

But walking around Cardiff, including some of these supposedly rough areas, I don't feel unsafe at all. In fact, I feel safer in Cardiff than any other city but Newcastle (my closest city, so I know it well, plus it does have a low crime rate - like Cardiff).

I must admit that I saw a few more "chavvy" type people than in other cities, but I think this was just because it's a compact city centre, and wasn't particularly busy, so you notice them more. It would also be quite prejudiced of me to assume these were violent people, just because of hpow they were dressed (and their language).

As a person from Cardiff, I could'nt agree more. :smile:

I was supposed to be working in the Millenium Stadium for the R E M concert but it got moved to the CIA which is a total bummer. :frown:

Reply 12

River85

17

History Rocks

I was supposed to be working in the Millenium Stadium for the R E M concert but it got moved to the CIA which is a total bummer. :frown:

Awww, that sucks :frown:

I almost missed out on my ticket! Ticketmaster messed things up and instead of exchaning for a CIA ticket they cancelled my order on Friday - so at very short notice. You can't actually speak to anyone at customer service so I thought I was snookered (after paying for train, hotel etc.) I was able to buy a new ticket online though, and pick it up on Monday (as it still wasn't sold out).

The CIA is smaller, so more intimate (if you can call any arena intimiate) but the Millennium Stadium is great, so I was a little disappointed.

I've seen R.E.M. four times now (twice in Manchester, twice in Cardiff) and think that night was possibly their best set list and one of their most energetic. The sound seemed a bit off to me though.

Reply 13

River85

Awww, that sucks :frown:

I almost missed out on my ticket! Ticketmaster messed things up and instead of exchaning for a CIA ticket they cancelled my order on Friday - so at very short notice. You can't actually speak to anyone at customer service so I thought I was snookered (after paying for train, hotel etc.) I was able to buy a new ticket online though, and pick it up on Monday (as it still wasn't sold out).

The CIA is smaller, so more intimate (if you can call any arena intimiate) but the Millennium Stadium is great, so I was a little disappointed.

I've seen R.E.M. four times now (twice in Manchester, twice in Cardiff) and think that night was possibly their best set list and one of their most energetic. The sound seemed a bit off to me though.

I now I was a bit gutted because they were performing on a bank holiday Monday so I missed out on the time and half. :frown:

Hmmm the sound was a bit off with Madonna last week as well! :no:

Eek! It seems like they had major problems with selling tickets, considering that CIA is pretty small and they did'nt sell out there either.

Reply 14

River85

17

History Rocks

Eek! It seems like they had major problems with selling tickets, considering that CIA is pretty small and they did'nt sell out there either.

Yes, people were blaming it on Madonna and the credit crunch. As Madonna was playing and people can't afford to go to two events in a week). I thought that was quite strange reasoning. As if Madonna and R.E.M. share that many fans. I think the fact that it was on the same weekend as the Carling Weekend (with most people travelling back on Monday, therefore not wanting to go to a gig on the same night) and possibly a slight apapthy towards the band (and the tour having a slightly lower profile than previous) didn't help.

I didn't think the CIA was a sell out (as there were still tickets availabe on the day, but it was quite full) yet R.E.M's webiste were (incorrectly it seems) claiming it as a sell out after the show.

I was suprised by how small the CIA is (but that's a good thing, I had a bad feeling it would be about the same size as Newcastle's arena, maybe only a little smaller, and therefore be too impersonal).

Reply 15

River85

Yes, people were blaming it on Madonna and the credit crunch. As Madonna was playing and people can't afford to go to two events in a week). I thought that was quite strange reasoning. As if Madonna and R.E.M. share that many fans. I think the fact that it was on the same weekend as the Carling Weekend (with most people travelling back on Monday, therefore not wanting to go to a gig on the same night) and possibly a slight apapthy towards the band (and the tour having a slightly lower profile than previous) didn't help.

I didn't think the CIA was a sell out (as there were still tickets availabe on the day, but it was quite full) yet R.E.M's webiste were (incorrectly it seems) claiming it as a sell out after the show.

I was suprised by how small the CIA is (but that's a good thing, I had a bad feeling it would be about the same size as Newcastle's arena, maybe only a little smaller, and therefore be too impersonal).

I agree :] After all some people paid up to 200 pounds to see Madonna on E Bay :eek:

An then there were people on the door selling there ticket for 10 pounds. OMG I would be so annoyed if that happened to me.

The CIA is rather small. I have been there a few times and it was rather crammed. It also don't look no were near as good as the Millenium Stadium.

I find it crazy how they can change the venue at the last minute, after a lot of people paid for there tickets and was expecting to go to the Millenium Stadium to see them.

Reply 16

RightSaidJames

16

River85

I was just there on Tuesday (I'm not from Cardiff, I've just caem back from a few days visit there after seeing R.E.M on Monday). Though I was walking through it during the day and not a night. Still, if that's what passes as a rough/no go area in Cardiff....sheesh...

It's only rough at night (and only Thursday, Friday and Saturday, really) because it has two chip shops, a kebab shop and some other things, so it's basically where everyone goes at the end of the night, after they've had too much to drink, so the combination of aggressive drunks, small space and lots of people is not a good one. In the daytime and early evening it's fine.

Reply 17

ecokid

CDP

Locals, spill.

Is there any areas in Cardiff that one should avoid?!

Cathays is safe enough I'm guessing? What's town like on a night out? Good pubs and bad one's etc?

There is so much naivity in this thread: - No where is truely safe in Cardiff. In the space of 7 months i've been involved in two incidents . In September i was assaulted by a chav right outside the union at 10 PM as i was walking home with my friends, completely sober. A few months later i was back from the library, near Maindy pool a very safe area, and was robbed by a gang of youths - had my ankle broken in the process and my phone nicked. I don't mean to scare you, but i'm a very cautious person and i still was a victim of crime. Some chavs pass through Cathays to get to town and often seem looking for trouble. Thiefs also target Cathays, Roath, Gabalfa as Students offer rich pickings for little hassle. I know of friends whose been robbed during the daylight on Butestreet, and others who have had strangers enter into their properties in Cathays.

Just some obvious tips to try and keep safe:

Always try and get a cab home from town. usually costs about a £5 from town to cathays, which isn't too bad if you're with a friend of two.
Failing that, try and walk in a large group.
Don't listen to Ipods or MP3's when walking around at night.
Don't use mobile phones either.
Don't take allyways or lanes, regardless of how safe you think they are, or how much you use them in the day - i made that mistake in Maindy!
Keep windows and doors locked.

Cardiff suffers from the same dangers any other major city does, so always be vigilant and avoid settling into a false sense of security that the student area often creates. I've been very unlucky admittedly, but the risks and dangers are there regardless of what area you are in.

Reply 18

*pitseleh*

20

PaleAle

:P I live in Ely! Close to Ely Bridge. Though I'm off to London in September. I live in a cul de sac with lots of elderly people, so I'm quite lucky. No yobs. However you wouldn't catch me wandering around Grand Avenue late at night. I think Ely is alright if you know the really bad areas to avoid!

Though a seriously big no go area in Cardiff for me is...Chippy Lane aka, Caroline Street. If it's daylight I may brave it, possibly. But as soon as it gets dark no way. I've had a cousin assaulted there, a friend pushed into the road and then run over! It's mad.

Though Cardiff is a nice place to live :smile:

I'm going to miss it.

Heh, I live by Ely Bridge, too. :p:

Amusingly enough, Grand Avenue is probably one of the safer parts of Ely main - I'd say the big estate up the top of Wilson Road is the place to really avoid.. you go up there, and loads of the houses have boards and bars on the windows to deter intruders thanks to the high frequency of break-ins. :s-smilie:

Fortunately, that's miles out of the way for any students, anyway.

Chippy Lane really isn't that bad.. it's just rather greasy. Sounds like you've had unfortunate experiences of it, but on the whole it's just what you'd expect from a lane in the centre of town that's lined with fast food places - people go there when drunk, and end up fighting. It's best to avoid it or - if you must go - to be cautious at night, but during the day it's absolutely fine.

I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Chippy Lane, since I witnessed someone I really, truly loathe walking down there and getting caught in the nads by one of the bollards. That is rather mean, I know.. but I do have pretty compelling reasons for despising this person. :p:

city_chic

Splott and Canton are rough areas. And Grangetown too.

Oh, and of course Ely...

Canton really isn't that rough! :eek:

You have the Pontcanna/Llandaff side, (i.e. one side of Canton backs onto two of the nicest parts of the city) and you have the Riverside/Grangetown side, which isn't so nice, but it's not terrible - certainly nowhere near as bad as Grangetown itself.

River85

I was just there on Tuesday (I'm not from Cardiff, I've just caem back from a few days visit there after seeing R.E.M on Monday). Though I was walking through it during the day and not a night. Still, if that's what passes as a rough/no go area in Cardiff....sheesh...

Butetown doesn't seem to bad, was walking around there on one night. No worse that other similar areas and a lot better than most.

Chippy Lane is a poor representation of how rough Cardiff can be - though, as mentioned above, the main areas where trouble is "the norm" are quite far from the studenty areas. Butetown isn't so bad in terms of violent crime; it is one of the red-light areas, though, so it doesn't have the best reputation.

Other than that - as mentioned in the post above, all parts of Cardiff can be rough/. Whilst areas such as Cathays and Roath don't have a particular reputation for violent crime, assaults and murders can and do happen there from time to time, so don't assume that you're automatically safe in those areas. And even if the violent crime rate isn't very high - the petty crime rates certainly are.

One other place I should probably mention is the Sophia Gardens/Bute Park/Cooper's Field area (the big green space behind Cardiff Castle). Way too many people walk through there of a night, thinking it's safe because it's close to town and it's a well-kept, pretty place. The reality of it is that it's a poorly-lit area where there are very few - if any - people around to help you if you get into trouble. It's okay in daylight (though I'd still avoid the Trail unless you're in company, because it's secluded and well-known for muggings) but I would say you should avoid it like the plague after dark.

Reply 19

Adam-Cardiff