Penarth Marina, on the other side of Cardiff Bay from Cardiff, is a prime example of how the waterways have changed from commercial to leisure use. The site was originally Penarth Dock a port which was very busy in the late nineteenth century though slowly declined throughout the twentieth to finally close in 1960.
While some of Penarth Dock's old basins were filled in and lost for continued marine use for housing, some were redeveloped to create a marina for leisure craft that now opens out onto Cardiff Bay. The marina opened in the late 1980s and now has berths for over three hundred small boats.