BARRY ISLAND. Gavin & Stacey Were Here.

BARRY ISLAND. Chippy on the beach. Lush.

Well I would have liked a drier day but we are talking about the UK in summer. We do specialise in grin and bear it weather after all.
I had a spare weekend coming up and as the days are beginning to shorten as the year tap dances itself towards autumn I though I would take a trip down to Cardiff. I’ve made a few visits to the area now so this time I thought I would leave the city centre mostly on the back burner and go out to Barry and Barry Island.

I had two reasons for that decision. As any of the readers of this blog ( if you are I thank you!) will know I do like my food and I had seen mentions of a new food hub in Barry, The GoodSheds which I thought I would give a try. The second reason was of course Gavin & Stacey, the romance that stretched from Barry Island to Billericay and back again.

The entrance to the Goodsheds, just a few minutes walk from Barry station. ( There’s also Barry Docks and Barry Island, Barry is very popular in these parts.)

The goodsheds. interior, does what it says on the tin, events through the week as well as the food and drink.

My salt beef cheese mac toastie and parmesan fries, sublime wet weather food.

The trip down to Cardiff from Chester was problem free, its a couple of hours, ample time for window gazing and flagging down the trolley as it passes. Onward to Barry ( there’s a certain Barry event horizon in this post) the train journey time is about half an hour riding in some very swish new trains. The area you pass through is in part along the River Ely which feeds into Cardiff Bay and is redeveloping at a pace. I left the train at Barry station and took the short walk around to the GoodSheds, which is located in a renovated former goods station. As well as shopping there’s also a food court within a collection of shipping containers, the industrial chic style of architecture. There’s a central seating area and ordering is by QR code on the table. I chose a salt beef mac and cheese with a side of parmesan fries. The portions were generous and just the thing as the weather had decided to become “unfriendly” First impressions are always a bit out of kilter as you try to take as much in as possible but the food I had was good and the vibe was friendly.

BARRY ISLAND. The railway station, the fairgound awaits you.

BARRY ISLAND. Fairground plaque and guessing from the date it will have seen quite q few changes over the years.

BARRY ISLAND. Marco’s Cafe and the ones who caused all the fuss. Quite the selfie magnet it is too.

BARRY ISLAND.
The amusemen arcade, now who wouldn’t want a peek in Nessa’s Box?

From the Goodsheds I made my way out, rain shower dodging, and down to the Island of Barry. It sits on the Bristol Channel facing across to Weston Super Mare in North Somerset. As you step out of the station you know that you are in Gavin & Stacy land and why not? It was a very popular series and no doubt gave the town a big boost. Memorabilia and reminders are all around you from Dave’s coach doing guided tours through Nessa’s slots to the large cast photo on the wall of Marco’s cafe. Despite the weather the place was buzzing, as it should be. Sometimes an element of snobbery can creep into how people choose to spend their own time but few things beat fish and chips by the sea.