We went for a cycle ride around Bute Park this afternoon.· I'd wondered around the Park back in my Uni day, as the halls of residence I lived in for a few years is just off the top of the Park.

Bute park is an easily accessible·56 hectare green haven in the heart of the city. It is flanked by the River Taff, Sophia gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Cardiff Castle. Cardiff's biggest city centre public park, was originally created as the private garden to Cardiff Castle by Head Gardener Andrew Pettigrew for the third Marquess of Bute between 1873 and 1901.· In 1947, a significant proportion of the grounds were given to the people of Cardiff by the fifth Marquess of Bute, along with Cardiff Castle and Sophia Gardens (further portions of land were purchased and leased by the council to create an extensive park).· The Victorian garden layout still exists, but since 1947 the park has been extensively planted with trees to form the Bute Park Arboretum.

All around the Park are wide paths, accesible for Sunday afternoon strollers, dog walkers, pram pushers, joggers and cyclists alike.· There was a real community atmosphere there today with people from all walks of life, cultures and languages taking their time to enjoy the good weather and a few moment of relaxation. The weather was glorious and it was really warm in the sunshine; some people were sitting down against big old trees reading books, some were sitting on the grass having a picnic, others were pushing children on bicycles newly released from the constraints of stabilisers!· Some people were rowing down the Taff amidts yells of 'Go on!' and 'Well done!', so there may have been a race on. There were signs around the Park guiding the runners of the half marathon held in the morning where to go and how many miles they had done.

All in all it was a realy lovely, relaxed afternoon with lots of fresh air, sunshine and a Burger King in the middle, finished off with an orange and chocolate cookie...purely for the purposes of maintaining energy, of course!