Cardiff Castle

In the hot weather during early June our staff laid turf on the moat area around the front gates of Cardiff Castle, a magnificent centrepiece, which nestles right in the centre of this great city.  This re-instatement work was carried out after a new visitors centre had been built at the side of the castle’s gate and draw bridge.

Members of the installation crew who worked on this project, were given strict guidelines from CADW, the Welsh Assembly Government’s historic environmental division, which aims to promote the conservation and appreciation of Wales’ historical environment.  Because of the guidelines, the team were not allowed to rotavate any of the existing soil/turf, because the area was part of this ancient monument.

Top soil was therefore spread over the main area to a depth of approx 50mm, then towards the castle gates the soil was banked up to meet the newly constructed paving area and pathway around the visitors centre.  Once the top soil was in place and graded to the levels required, pre-turfing fertilizer was spread and then 900 metres of cultivated turf was laid in big roll format.  Once the landscaping work was finished, the team then had to turn their hands to re-instating five stone bollards to their original places. These bollards have connecting chains and make up part of the perimeter of the castle grounds.  Once the work had been completed, the team had to organise watering of this vast area to ensure that the newly installed turf did not wilt in the hot June sun.

The scorching June weather combined with the fact the site was in the centre of Cardiff made working conditions for the team very difficult.  The moat area where our staff were working was screened from passing vehicles and pedestrians, but the continual sound of road traffic which included many emergency vehicles with sirens blasting was a far cry from the peace and quiet of working on the tees and greens at the many golf clubs where the crew often install turf.  In fact, Jonathan and John could not have been working in a busier part of the Welsh capital - right next to Castle Street, one of the busiest routes in the city.  The open air sightseeing buses parked right next to the site and the passengers who sat up on the top deck not only enjoyed glorious sunshine, but a birds eye view of our team in action, Jonathan commented “I’m sure the foreign visitors must have been very interested in watching the big roll turf being installed, not a sight that you would see every day!”