"Niche allure"

There's no denying that lockdowns over the past 14 months have had me yearning for the open hillsides of the Brecon Beacons or the wide expanses of Pembrokeshire beaches. And yet it's also true that we've made the most of our enforced confinement, exploring parts of Cardiff that we barely knew existed - most of which are accessible on foot from the front door.

In that respect, we're not alone - as this Guardian article attests. Many of us, it seems, have discovered and learned to take pleasure in neglected urban wildscapes: beneath flyovers, alongside rubbish-strewn waterways, next to sewage works.

Without doubt there's a kind of Stockholm syndrome at work, and people are only falling in love with these spaces through ritual visits, out of the deep human need to develop connections to place. And yet, as I myself wrote last year, there's something fascinating and otherworldly about Splott Beach - which, like Grangemoor Park and the stretch of land alongside Lamby Way, is a former dump gradually being reclaimed by nature with or without human intervention. It's also an archaeological site where you don't have to dig, part of the urban environment that - like unassuming brick walls - often rewards careful observation.