What to See in Barry - Top Sights and Attractions

Ancient stone tomb with a capstone. Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber, also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.

The structure is called a dolmen, which was the most common megalithic structure in Europe. The dolmen is of the Severn-Cotswold tomb type, and consists of a large capstone on top, with smaller upright stones supporting it. The limestone capstone at Tinkinswood weighs approximately 40 long tons and measures 24 feet (7.3 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m); it is thought to be the largest in Britain, and also in Europe. It would have taken some 200 people to lift the stone into the correct position. It was originally all covered by a mound of soil, which has been removed over time. The remaining mound behind the structure measures approximately 130 ft (40 m) x 59 ft (18 m) in size.^[1]

Cemetery. The Atlantic Trading Estate is an industrial estate in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales, UK. It is situated near the mouth of the Cadoxton River which flows into the Bristol Channel at the Bendricks to the south-east of Barry Docks. It is accessed via the Associated British Port-owned Wimbourne Road from Ffordd-y-Mileniwm near Weston Square, Cadoxton or from the public Hayes Road from the Main B4267 Sully Moors Road, south-west of the village of Sully. It is sometimes considered to be in Sully. It covers an area of 9.22 acres. It covers an area of 9.22 acres.

Archaeological excavation at the estate determined it had been used as a "prehistoric settlement and early Christian burial site". There was evidence of a Bronze Age settlement, as well as small, unenclosed inhumation cemeteries dating from the late-Roman through post-Roman periods.^[5]

Theatre in Barry, Wales. The Memo Arts Centre, formerly known as Barry Memorial Hall or Memorial Hall & Theatre, popularly known as The Memo, is a prominent venue in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, currently the "largest multi-arts venue in the Vale of Glamorgan, and only cinema exhibitor in Barry". It is situated in the Gladstone neighbourhood on Gladstone Road, off Holton Road. It was inaugurated in November 1932, and obtained its name in remembrance of those locals who lost their lives in World War I.

It regularly hosts arts events and concerts, including live music, dance, and pantomime, workshops, and community events. It also hosts a nightclub for teenagers on Friday evenings which is very popular with the youth of the town. The main auditorium of the hall has a capacity of 886 people, 1,300 including standing. Over the years, artists as diverse as PJ & Duncan and Len Rawle have performed at the hall.^[7]

Island in Barry, Wales. Barry Island is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Channel, has the world's second highest tidal range of 15 metres, second only to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada.

The peninsula was an island until the 1880s when it was linked to the mainland as the town of Barry expanded. This was partly due to the opening of Barry Docks by the Barry Railway Company. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to isolate Barry Island.

Although Barry Island used to be home to a Butlins Holiday Camp, it is now known more for its beach and Barry Island Pleasure Park. It was used as a setting of the BBC TV shows Gavin & Stacey and Being Human.^[8]

Barry Docks is a port facility in the town of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, a few miles southwest of Cardiff on the north shore of the Bristol Channel. They were opened in 1889 by David Davies and John Cory as an alternative to the congested and expensive Cardiff Docks to ship coal carried by rail from the South Wales Coalfield. The principal engineer was John Wolfe Barry, assisted by Thomas Forster Brown and Henry Marc Brunel, son of the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The docks occupy the former sound between Barry Island and the mainland. The contractors built dams to connect each end of the island to the mainland, drained or pumped the water from the site and excavated it. They used the material to level the area around the docks and for the core of breakwaters to protect the entrance. The works included a basin with gates at each end which served as a lock between the sea entrance and the docks, the dock walls and quays, coal loading equipment and railways to deliver coal from the mines to the docks. A second dock and second entrance lock were added in 1898. The Barry Dock Offices were built in 1897–1900 by the architect Arthur E. Bell.

In 1909 about 8,000 women and 10,000 men were employed in the docks, and by 1913, the docks were the busiest coal port in the world, exporting 11.05 million long tons (11,230,000 t; 12,380,000 short tons) at peak. Coal exports declined after World War I (1914–18). Strikes and the Great Depression of the 1930s caused further problems. The docks proved useful during World War II (1939–45); they were nationalised soon after the war ended. The Geest company used the docks to import West Indian bananas from 1959 until the 1980s. From 1957, many obsolete railway wagons were scrapped and cut up at the former West Pond site between Barry and Barry Island. From 1959, many steam locomotives were withdrawn from service and stored on sidings beside West Pond sidings area and more than 200 of them were recovered by enthusiasts for conservation or restoration. Parts of the docks have become industrial estates such as the Atlantic Trading Estate, and the area around the first dock, now called The Waterfront, has been redeveloped for residential and commercial use. The second dock is still active and generally handles chemicals and timber.^[9]