Cardiff's history stretches back to Roman times, when a fort was built in the area. It remained occupied until the Roman withdrawal, in the 5th century. The site was then abandoned for more than 500 years until a new settlement was built inside the old Roman fort in 1091. Since this time, Cardiff has been continually occupied and has evolved into the fourteenth largest settlement in the UK, with a population of more than 315,000.

Cardiff has a long nautical history and for a great many years was used to export coal from the many collieries in South Wales and to serve the needs of the area's steelworks. Today, the picture is quite different and the dock area has been completely redeveloped for business, leisure and residential use.

The city has a wide mixture of industries with a heavy bias towards financial services and IT - in 2003, more than 30,000 people were employed in the financial and business services sector in Cardiff.

Attractions for visitors in Cardiff include the Welsh National Opera, Cardiff Castle and Wales Millennium Centre, which is located in the Cardiff Bay area, once docklands. The city also has several notable parks, including Bute Park and Roath Park, both close to the centre of Cardiff.

In such a large city there is always a strong demand for van hire, and Cardiff is no exception. The city has several major van hire companies offering a full range of rental vans to private and business customers:

• Medium / short wheelbase vans - e.g. Ford Transit, Vauxhall Vivaro, Renault Trafic, Volkswagen Transporter
• Small vans - e.g. Vauxhall Combo, Ford Transit Connect, VW Caddy
• Large / long wheelbase vans - e.g. Mercedes Sprinter XLWB, Ford Transit LWB, Renault Master, LDV Maxus
• Luton vans & box vans (3.5 tonne / 3.5t).