Wyndham Arcade

There is something a little saddening about walking up Wyndham Arcade. You will notice quite a few empty shops along this arcade and I always wonder why. This arcade is sandwiched between Mill Lane and Caroline Street. Mill lane is one of the busiest streets in Cardiff so I fail to see why more businesses are not making use of Wyndham arcade. The businesses that are here have been here quite a while so are obviously making enough money to support their existence which leaves me wondering if there are other reasons for this.
My favourite shop on this stretch is Rebel Rebel but there are other good shops along here so it is worth a look if you are in the area. There is something about walking down this particular arcade which makes me think of times passed, something a little Christmas-​like, I’m not sure I could explain what it is or why I feel that way but personally, that is just the way I feel.

Just parallel to Cardiff’s outdoor «Café Quarter» on Mill Lane, the indoor, Edwardian Wyndham arcade has entrances on both Mill Lane and St Mary Street.
It is a Grade II Listed building which opened in 1887 and today is home to various specialist shops, cafés and restaurants such as ASK.
Along the arcade you can eat at the very reasonable Servini’s Snack Bar, whether you fancy a healthy salad, a hearty jacket potato, or a good old bacon buttie. You can pop into the old-​fashioned Bear Shop to buy traditional goods for gentlemen such as loose tobacco, hip flasks, pocket watches and shaving brushes. Christians can browse the well-​stocked Christian Bookshop, and drinkers can head to the spit ‘n’ sawdust den that is Kiwis.
Wyndham Arcade is not the best-​kept of Cardiff’s arcades — those can be found near the castle — but it’s still full of history and home to some interesting independent shops.

Ah, another one of Cardiff’s lovely ol’ fashioned nooks and crannies. I’m a big fan of the arcades in this fair city — as an immigrant, I’d never seen anything like it!
Although Wyndham Arcade is perhaps not as flashy as some of the other arcades nestled in the streets of Cardiff, it still possesses many charms and individual character all its own.
The highlight for me is The Bear Shop, a tobacconist offering a range of gifts, smoking paraphernalia, as well as boasting a massive taxidermy grizzly bear. Go here. Even if you’re not a smoker.
Each shop here is independently owned and operated, and worth a long browse, even if you’re not intent on buying anything. If you’re not in the mood to shop, there’s always Kiwis, a traditional pub where you can spend a lazy afternoon enjoying a pint and escaping the dreary Welsh weather.

Wyndham Arcade is another one of those little side arcades in Cardiff centre where you might find yourself stumbling into. If Brighton has the Lanes, then Cardiff has its arcades. You feel as tough you are travelling down alleys of a time long past in some, and even though the shops might well be modern, you’re sure to find others which take you back too. Back to an era of joke shops, button shops and beautiful second hand bookshops you might expect to find a copy of The Never-​Ending Story in.
This arcade is sadly the least well maintained and aesthetically pleasing of all the arcades. But it still offers up an array including a Christian bookshop, a pub/​bar, craft stores and an alternative store. These shops are run by real people with real local lives, and it’s here you’ll find the cute European-​style shops that take you away, once and for all, from the dull and monotonous high street.
Go and take a look down one of these warrens, I’m sure you’ll find something to your taste.