Aerial pictures made available to public's gaze; Stunning pictures of capital and region.

Byline: Tim Lewis

THESE stunning aerial photographs of South Wales can now be seen by the publicfor the first time after being bought by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

The photographs are part of the Aerofilms Collection of historical air photographs fromBlom ASA and capture images of Cardiff including the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Bay and the Senedd, as well as Victoria Park.

Dating from 1919 to 2006 the 80,000-photograph collection provides a spectacular picture of the changing face of Britain throughout the 20th Century.

It has been bought in partnership with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and HistoricalMonuments of Scottish and English Heritage, through financial backing from English Heritage's donors and supporters, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of National Libraries.

Dr Peter Wakelin, secretary of the RCAHMW, said: "We are extremely pleased to have secured a huge resource for the people of Wales.

"In the short term people will be able to come and view the photographs for free at our offices in Aberystwyth.

"Over timewewill be looking toput the whole catalogue online so people can access the photographs digitally for private study."

Dr Wakelin said the rare pictures will allow people to see how Wales has developed.

He added: "These are some of the only aerial photographs that were being taken of the Welsh landscape pre-World Wars I and II. It will allow people to go back in time and see what Wales used to be like. It's an incredibly useful tool."

Dr Toby Driver, author of one book of photographs that captures the landscape over West Wales, said: "The acquisition of the Aerofilms collection is a unique opportunity to house one of the finest 20th Century aerial collection of Wales here in Aberystwyth."

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ORK IN PROGRESS: The Millennium Stadium as it was being built in 1998