The Majestas
Epstein's five-metre aluminium Christ on a concrete arch between nave and choir, the boldest thing in the building.
At the head of the nave, where it meets the choir, a bare concrete arch carries a five-metre aluminium Christ, hung over the congregation as if it had dropped out of a modern office block and landed in a medieval church by mistake. That is Jacob Epstein's Majestas of 1957, and it is the one reason to make the three-kilometre trip north-west from the centre of Cardiff. You will either love it or squint at it; you will not forget it. The story behind the arch is harsher than its shape. On 2 January 1941 a German parachute mine came down on the south side of the cathedral and blew up, bringing down the roof of the nave and south aisle and wrecking the pews, the organ and the gravestones outside. Only Coventry among Britain's cathedrals came off worse. When George Pace rebuilt it after the war he chose not to hide the wound, and drove raw concrete into a building whose walls go back to about 1120. The result is a cathedral that is medieval outside, with its 13th-century west front, and a deliberate two-era collision inside. If Victorian art is your thing, there is a Rossetti triptych and Burne-Jones's Six Days of Creation panels that reward a quiet few minutes. Entry is free, donations welcome, and the doors are open Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 17:30, closing at 16:00 on Sundays. A full look takes thirty minutes to an hour. Avoid service times, above all Sunday morning, and dress modestly. It works for families and pushchairs: both the east and west ends have wheelchair access, and the surrounding neighbourhood feels like a small village, with a green and the free-to-wander ruins of the 13th-century Bishop's Palace next door. By car, parking around the cathedral is free and unrestricted, which is rare in Cardiff. By public transport, buses 25, 63 and 66 from Westgate Street by the national stadium take 25 to 30 minutes, or the train reaches Fairwater in ten minutes followed by a 10 to 15 minute walk. Verdict: not one of the great English-scale cathedrals, but the most honest building in Cardiff for anyone wanting to understand how the city recovered from the war. Not worth a special trip from outside the city.
Epstein's five-metre aluminium Christ on a concrete arch between nave and choir, the boldest thing in the building.
A German parachute mine brought down the nave roof; only Coventry among Britain's cathedrals fared worse.
A green and the ruined 13th-century Bishop's Palace sit beside the cathedral, ticket-free and uncrowded.
Cathedral Close, Llandaff, Cardiff CF5 2LA
With a single day, the castle comes first. If you are in Cardiff for two days or more, or have a car, the cathedral plus Llandaff village fills a pleasant hour and a half at no cost, and the drive and free parking make it easy.
Yes, for a short visit: both entrances take pushchairs, entry is free so nothing is lost if they tire after twenty minutes, and the green and the palace ruins next door give them room to run.