| If
you like to be beside the sea, go to Swansea, Wales’
pretty city in the sunshine. It is just a 20 minute drive
down the valley from your self catering holiday cottage. Wales’
second city is home to Dylan Thomas, the world’s first
passenger railway, and randomly, the 2nd largest tidal range
in the world (it’s 9 metres in springtime!)
Follow Swansea Bay round from the city centre
all the way round past Singleton Park, where the National
Pool of Wales now lives, currently the only Olympic sized
pool in the country. Turn right for the beautiful golden sand
beaches of the Gower, the first designated Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty in Britain, or straight ahead for a crawl along
the famous pub-lined Mumbles Mile. Around the corner you can
walk along the gap-toothed old pier, or clamber around the
rocky edge of Swansea Bay’s beach.
If you are a sports fan, the road joining
Mumbles Head to the city of Swansea passes the old Vetch ground,
historic home of Swansea City Football Club, alongside the
jail, where lucky prisoners could watch the match if they
had a pitch-side cell. Further down the road is St Helen’s
Cricket Ground, sometime home of Glamorganshire county cricket.
On entry to the city centre you will see the
sprawling greenhouse of Plantasia, a mini tropical paradise,
complete with giant African snails and poisonous frogs. Discover
over 800 different plant species live here, with monkeys and
reptiles.
As Wales’ oldest museum, Swansea Museum
has its own Mummy and Egyptian artefacts, and within strolling
distance to Wales’ newest museum, the National Waterfront
Museum.
Fans of the alcoholic poet Dylan Thomas can
follow his trail, which includes a visit to his birthplace.
The Dylan Thomas Centre, which has a permanent exhibition,
‘In My Own Intricate Image’ as well as a souvenir
shop and obviously, a bar.
In the centre of town is a monument to Thomas’
poetry - a leaf sculpture in a fountain. Walk around the fountain
and read the poem, then look back at the setting – the
14th Century ruins of the castle in ruins alongside the more
glamorous blue high-rise BT building.
Swansea, once copper capital of world, was
bombed extensively in the war, with little surviving intact.
To find out more, visit a new Swansea attraction - the 1940s
war museum, located on the way into the city from the east.
Wind Street, is one of the few streets left intact after the
bombing and is now permanently celebrating – the street
is lined with pubs and restaurants. Suitably pronounced ‘Wine’
rather than Wind Street, the street hides a little alleyway
worth a visit – Salubrious Passage with its second hand
bookshop.
Visit Swansea indoor market for local produce,
taste some faggots and peas or even some cockles and lava
bread if you are feeling daring – that’s soggy
seaweed to the uninitiated, a local speciality.
In Brangwyn Hall hang some lesser-known paintings
of the great Empire, by Frank Brangwyn. The enormous canvases
illuminate the walls of otherwise drab main hall with colour
from four corners of the globe packed into 18 panels of light
and life. More art can be found at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
which has traditional and modern Welsh art, with pieces by
Augustus John and Ceri Richards. There is also a sculpture
court and an international collection of porcelain and Swansea
china.
Essential
Tips for Holidays in Wales | Holidays
in Cardiff | Welsh
Food and Drink | Neath
|
The
City by The Sea - Swansea |
