Cardiff's skyline, and the best places to view it

Now, I obviously realise that Cardiff's skyline has none of the scale or grandeur of the likes of Chicago and Hong Kong, but for a medium-sized British city we indeed have a decent (and growing) skyline, ahead of larger cities such as Bristol, Leicester, Glasgow (and, I'd argue, Birmingham). As the city threatens to grow further, where would be some of the better places to view the changing cityscape? Are there any unexpected places where sections or even just individual buildings become visible, like the way some of the Newport Road mid-rises can be seen from the top of MacKintosh Place? Grangmoor Park and Penarth have great views from the southwest, while Rumney Hill offers a good vista from the east. What about from the north (without having to go up Caerphilly mountain) and from the west? A photo was posted in the General Developments thread a few days ago of the view from the Fitzroy Street footbridge over the railway line; that's the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Skyline-related anecdote: a friend from Pittsburgh in the US visited last year. We walked around quite a bit and he remarked at one point that Capital Tower reminded him of Pittsburgh's Steel Tower because it was imposing and you could see it from all over town. I didn't have the heart to point out the sheer difference in scale, but I suppose an untrained eye could mistake Capital Tower as taller than its 80m (compared to the Steel Tower's 256).

Now, I obviously realise that Cardiff's skyline has none of the scale or grandeur of the likes of Chicago and Hong Kong, but for a medium-sized British city we indeed have a decent (and growing) skyline, ahead of larger cities such as Bristol, Leicester, Glasgow (and, I'd argue, Birmingham). As the city threatens to grow further, where would be some of the better places to view the changing cityscape? Are there any unexpected places where section become visible, like the way some of the Newport Road mid-rises can be seen from the top of MacKintosh Place? Grangmoor Park and Penarth have great views from the southwest, while Rumney Hill offers a good vista from the east. What about from the north (without having to go up Caerphilly mountain) and from the west? A photo was posted in the General Developments thread a few days ago of the view from the Fitzroy Street footbridge over the railway line; that's the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Skyline related anecdote: a friend from Pittsburgh in the US visited last year. We walked around quite a bit and he remarked at one point that Capital Tower reminded him of Pittsburgh's Steel Tower because it was imposing and you could see it from all over town. I didn't have the heart to point out the sheer difference in scale, but I suppose an untrained eye could mistake Capital Tower as taller than its 80m (compared to the Steel Tower's 256).

Great Post!!

Some of my favourites are st augustines church Penarth....


the top of grangemoor park (where th giant chain links are)....



Cardiff Bay link road....



Top floor of the multi-storey card park cardiff bay....

Personally I love the view of the City from the north, with the bay and channel behind. I’ve not been up there but I’ve been told there is a good view from Radyr golf course.

Thanks Paul!

That view from the car park is a good 'un, I'll have to get up there myself at some point as it'll be a good vantage point for seeing the proposed projects rising (IF they rise), namely the John Street tower and Custom House Street tower. That said, I'm happy to see continued mid-rise construction for the time being as it adds bulk and a base to build from; while Manchester has some great individual buildings of height currently completed and under construction, the skyline is incredibly spread out and struggles to form a cohesive whole.

Personally I love the view of the City from the north, with the bay and channel behind. I’ve not been up there but I’ve been told there is a good view from Radyr golf course.

Talking of Radyr, there's a really good view from the B4262 between Morganstown and Radyr proper... well, there would be if it wasn't for the trees; it's only really visible in winter. It is clearly visible from Radyr, though, from a location I'm not sure of, as shown here with the rendered Custom House Street tower, and frankly it's a superb view of the city and out over the Estuary:

https://imgur.com/a/MWG4b56

I recall horse riding on the Garth and looking out over Cardiff and the Somerset coast.

I remember cycling up over the A48 by Penylan/Cyncoed and looking behind me after stopping for a rest (I wasn't / am not) as fit as I should be. The view there was pretty good, although its only a fairly narrow section of the city centre (around Capitol tower) that you get.

The top of the Wenallt is great for a broad panorama, there's also a nice view as you drive into Fairwater from Saint Fagans.

Great photos Paul, as always - and you had a great day for it, weather-wise.

neukreuz - I'd agree with you on Manchester's skyline. I've been there many times, and it always feels like the taller buildings are spread out in a haphazard fashion. That's not surprising I suppose as they've been built across the decades. There are quite a few more on the drawing board though, which would fill in the gaps, assuming the funding stays in place for them.
I prefer Cardiff's skyline - the buildings are clustered closer together, and I think they look good from various angles, as Paul's photos demonstrate.

The cafe at Thornhill farm shop has a nice panoramic view of the city. The beer garden at the Ty Mawr is also pretty good.

The view from the A4232 bridge over the bay is one of my favourites, but the Ty Mawr one is also good as Lyndon has said (not been there for years though).