Locations - Everything Changes - Episode One

Locations Guide (Season 1, Episode 1 ‘Everything Changes’)

by John Bond-Winstone a.k.a The Doctor

Hi you all….

Well here is my regular feature for Project: Torchwood.  As I am originally from Cardiff and I have a lot of knowledge of the places in Cardiff, I volunteered under the threat of extermination from the CREATOR (jokes) to write this on-going guide.  Every issue I will be writing the locations feature and will pick 3 or 4 locations for each episode and tell you how to get there.  Cardiff and the city centre has been going through major changes over the last decade or so, so some of the locations which will feature in this guide may or may not be still around.  As Cardiff is ever changing, I will try and update these locations to let you know what has changed.

So as this issue will be about Season 1 Episode 1 ‘Everything Changes’ we will focus on the main locations of that episode.  The 4 locations are The Cornwall Pub, Altolusso Apartments, Roald Dahl Plass and Cineworld Car Park and the Wales Millennium Centre.

  

The Cornwall Pub, Cornwall Street, Cardiff.

The Cornwall Pub is used as the location where Gwen and Andy are called out to a pub brawl.  The Cornwall Pub is situated in the Grangetown Area of Cardiff, which is a 10 – 15 minute walk from Cardiff City Centre.  If you pause the screen just as Andy and Gwen are walking across the road to the pub, you can see the Millennium Stadium in the background.  This shows that Grangetown is not to far away from the City Centre. 

The Cornwall Pub is a lively community pub, which is open 7 days a week and is a regular haunt for Cardiff City Football Fans.  The Cornwall Pub has a traditional feel to it and was built in the 19^th Century.  The pub also features a sunny bar at the front end.

How to get to the Cornwall Pub:

On Foot:

·         Stand outside Cardiff Central Bus Station and turn left

·         Walk along Wood Street past the Millennium Stadium

·         Cross over the bridge into Tudor Street

·         Keep walking along Tudor Street until you hit a junction

·         Turn Left onto Clare Road

·         Walk down Clare Road and you will see The Cornwall Pub on your right hand side

Bus (www.cardiffbus.com):

Bus Number 8, 9 and 9A

·         Catch these buses from outside Burger King on Westgate Street

·         Ask the driver for Clare Road

·         The bus will follow the route as described in the Walk section

·         Get off bus outside the Cornwall Pub

Bus Number 92, 93 and 94

·         Catch these buses from Cardiff Central Bus Station

·         Ask the driver for Clare Road

·         The bus will follow the route as described in the Walk section

·         Get off bus outside the Cornwall Pub

  

Altolusso Apartments, City Centre, Cardiff

Altolusso apartment complex is used for the scene where Capt. Jack Harkness is stood on top of a white building, which is tall enough for him to look over all of Cardiff.  Altolusso apartments are based within the heart of Cardiff and easily accessible by foot.  Unfortunately for this location you will not be able to access the apartment complex to go and stand on the roof as it is private land and there will be a major health and safety risk if you did end up on the roof and you fell off.

Altolusso is fairly new in terms of the development of Cardiff and was built on the site of the old private school called Kings College.  When you are outside the apartment complex you can see that they have kept the original front of the old school and when you look upwards you can see the white front of the complex. 

A little fact about this location: When they were filming the shot of Capt. Jack stood on the roof, many people who were near the location thought that someone was stood on there to jump and commit suicide.

How to get to Altolusso Apartment Complex:

On foot:

·         Stand outside Central Train Station and face the bus station

·         Turn right and walk up to a junction by the Great Western Pub

·         By now you should see the Apartment Complex

·         Cross the road and walk down the street until you see the Golden Cross Pub on the left hand-side

·         Keep walking forward and Altolusso is on your right hand side right next to the Blu Radisson Hotel.

Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff

Roald Dahl Plass is the main hub area of Cardiff Bay and is the home of Torchwood.  On the Plass you have the tall metal water fountain, which in the Torchwood world is the home of the Rift manipulator.  The home of Torchwood as we know is called the Hub and is situated underneath this location.  You will find that many fans who have come to Cardiff will stand on the well-known mysterious lift at the base of the fountain to try and gain access to the hub, but unfortunately none of us have clearance to get in.  Also if you walk down the plass and under the bridge, turn right and past the boats on the dock, you will see the entrance to the Tourist Information Office where Ianto is based and in which Gwen delivers the pizza’s to Torchwood. 

Just for the record this is not an actual Tourist Information Office.  This was used as an exterior shot.  In it’s place since Ianto died in Series 3, a memorial to Ianto Jones has been set up by hard-core fans who wanted Ianto to be brought back to life.  The managers of Cardiff Bay have looked after this memorial.  So if you want to leave something in memory of Ianto, then please do so.

This location has been used in the Torchwood TV series, Torchwood Novels and Doctor Who.  If you look around the plasa you will see the Welsh Millennium Centre, which has also been used as a location in the Torchwood world.

How to get to the Plass:

Bus – Catch the Bay Car (Number 6) Bendy bus from Lower St Mary Street and then get of at the Wales Millennium Centre

Cineworld Car Park, Millicent Street and NCP Car Park, David Street, Cardiff

This location was used when Torchwood come and take over the crime scene for this episode.  I am only mentioning both of these locations briefly as due to the major development of the St David’s 2 shopping centre, none of these location are there anymore.  But if you go to the side of Cineworld Cinema, you can still see side of the road but it is a private access now.

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff.

The Wales Millennium Centre is one of the main features down Cardiff Bay.  Jack and Gwen are stood on this iconic roof at the end of Episode 1.  I will keep this one short and sweet as by now everyone knows of the Wales Millennium Centre, but you can see this iconic building anywhere you are standing or walking around the bay.  Who can miss the famous inscription on the side of what I like to call the Armadillo… "In These Stones Horizons Sing" I believe as a rather fitting inscription as this is the home of Welsh Music.

How to get to the Wales Millennium Centre:

Bus – Catch the Bay Car (Number 6) Bendy bus from Lower St Mary Street and then get of at the Wales Millennium Centre