0:00:29 > 0:00:33When you think about it, every capital city in the British Isles
0:00:33 > 0:00:35flirts with the sea, and it's no coincidence,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39because in every case it's the sea that's been the great provider.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41In fact, it's been the lifeblood.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50Cardiff's no different. Its coalport transformed a little town into Wales' premier city.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Now, that community's reinventing itself at breakneck speed.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05It's no surprise to find it's all happening around the old docks.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12These days, the city's welders don't repair ships. They sculpt metal.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Nia Jones is part of the capital's renaissance,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19a new community springing up around the marina.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23How much of this cityscape is new?
0:01:23 > 0:01:26I think over the past few years it's really developed.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29The latest addition is this fantastic Senedd building,
0:01:29 > 0:01:35- where the Welsh Assembly now is housed.- Do you approve of what's happening here?- I love it.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It seems that every few months there's something new,
0:01:38 > 0:01:44a new restaurant, a new bar, a new art gallery opening. So it's a very exciting place to be at the moment.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50What is the draw? Why is everyone coming from within the city down to former docks?
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Because of this!
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Look at the view!
0:01:56 > 0:02:03What's on view is the new marina. Controversial, because it's remodelled the environment.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09The trick's been to trap water in the bay.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15It used to be tidal, so twice a day it was just mudflats. Good for birds, but bad for boats.
0:02:15 > 0:02:21The big idea was to build this £220 million S-shaped barrage.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25It holds water in the bay 24 hours a day.
0:02:32 > 0:02:39Beyond the barrier, it's easy to see why so many of the Welsh love to be beside this sea.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Over half the population of Wales live along its southern shoreline.
0:02:47 > 0:02:53A host of communities cling to this coast. Some are thriving.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Others are hanging on.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Barry's beaches are often empty these days, but once,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07miners and their families poured down the valleys en masse, until they hit the sea.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Mining wasn't just a job, it was a way of life.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17They would work, rest and play together.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22The annual trips organised by the pits and by the Sunday schools of chapel and church
0:03:22 > 0:03:24were the highlight of the year.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30Over 50 years ago, Jane Ward didn't come to the beach alone. Her whole village came, too.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- Hello, Jane.- Hi, Neil. How are you? - I'm well.- Good.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- What's with the giant numbers on the wall?- When we used to come on trips,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40we arranged to meet on the beach.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Then we would say, if we were arriving at different times, "We will meet you at a certain number."
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Most tried to get together,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49plus there'd be others on the beach before,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53so we couldn't get all together. But all those that could, would.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Family, friends, and then, over the course of the afternoon, we'd start singing then
0:03:58 > 0:04:01our choruses from Sunday school. One would start,
0:04:01 > 0:04:06and then another group would join in. Before long, you'd have the whole beach singing!
0:04:11 > 0:04:17After a day of sea, sand and community singing, they were ready for all the fun of the fair.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Without the crowds, it's a more, er, solitary pleasure.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27It's no job for a grown man!
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Barry's glory days of group holidays may be gone, but there's still
0:04:48 > 0:04:51some fun to be had.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:04:53 > 0:04:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk