Swansea
 

Posted a message about this but it was hidden under a less specific subject line, which is why I think it got lost in the shuffle..

Anyway, I'm taking a daytrip from London to Swansea next Friday (yes, I know it's a three hour train ride each way). I have about six hours to spend there.

What would you recommend as a good way to spend the day? I'm interested in just really getting a feel for the city..any recommendations on restaurants or cafes that serve welsh food? pub recommendations? Is the mumbles terribly far from the city center? Is it walkable, or would a bus make more sense? Is the train station centrally located in the city?

many thanks!

nobody has anything to say about Swansea? I am the first person to ever visit there? this should be fun LOL. Well, I will be sure and post about my trip. :-)

The centre of Swansea was heavily bombed in the war, and rebuilt in a post-war style, so is not very interesting. Parts of the docks have been redeveloped with new appartments and a marina. Mumbles is about five miles away, served by fairly frequent buses. You might consider getting a bus further into the Gower peninsula, though six hours in Swansea will only give time for a quick visit.
Is there any special reason for visiting Swansea? Cardiff is nearer to London and has more of interest.

Been to Swansea in 2003, but I was only passing by, had only 2-3 hours to spend and I went to the Dylan Thomas Cultural Centre, or something like this. I enjoyed the visit there, it is all about the great poet, but then I am interested in literature and wanted to visit that place specially. I didn't have time to visit the city.

Thanks, Geoff. I visited Cardiff on my last visit to the UK and really enjoyed my time there, just wanted to see a bit more of Wales that is easily accessible to London.

Where in the Gower would you recommend? I could always just get a later train. Could I get buses from outside the train station? thanks!

next trip I want to visit North Wales, but that's another post altogether.

I heard the Dylan Thomas centre is supposed to be very nice, I certainly plan on checking that out, thanks.

Hi MissZiegfeld,
With respect to Swansea, the city is not really very interesting.

I have a son in Swansea University and he makes sure he comes home to Cardiff at weekends..lol

I suggest you either go further west to Pembrokeshire, and Dylan Thomas stuff, but in the short time you have it's probably not worth it, or you can get out to the Gower.

Have a look at this site.

http://www.explore-gower.co.uk/

Muck

If you have only a day, it might be better to take the train to Cardiff then a bus to Brecon, which will give some mountain scenery on the way to an attractive town, or perhaps aim for Monmouth and the Wye Valley.

I like Geoff's suggestion. But you may find that train to Abergavenny and bus from their may be more convenient. An alternative would be train to Chepstow, visit Chepstow Castle, bus to Tintern for the abbey, walk back to Chepstow along the Wye Valley, if there is time.

Swansea is not a place I'd choose for a day trip.

It sounds like you just picked it because you want to see more of Wales. Well, the best place you can get to easily/fairly quickly from London (Cardiff) you have already visited.

And the suggestions for Gower or Brecon are good but not that easy as a day trip from London.

W/ just 1 day I'd either go back to Cardiff or choose someplace in England for a day out.

Hey Geoff, you mean the town of Brecon ot Brecon-Beacons park? About how far via bus is it from Cardiff? Do you know where I can catch the bus?

thanks!

Almost forgot, is Brecon walkable? I won't have a car.

Brecon is not walkable from Cardiff or Swansea.

What have you seen in Cardiff? I bet you just touched the surface. If you go to Cardiff you can see loads of the places you haven't been to yet.
Plus without a car you will struggle outside, public transport outside the cities is poor and you will spend all your time on a bus.
Muck

hi Mucky, no, I meant is the town itself walkable (or would one need a car to get around)

Actually, I think I may visit Cardiff again..my travel planning is always up in the air (which is why I like travelling alone! lol)

Right, Yes it is walkable but I can't think of much worth seeing, but I will investigate for you.

Muck

try
http://www.visitswanseabay.com/default/

you are so helpful, Mucky, thank you.

The timetable for the bus to Brecon is on www.sixtysixty.co.uk. The route goes from Cardiff via Merthyr Tydfil station (on a branch line from Cardiff) and Brecon to Abergavenny station. Between Merthyr and Brecon, the bus goes through the Brecon Beacons, and between Abergavenny and Brecon, it follows the valley of the river Usk.

I don't know if you visited The Museum of Welsh on your previous trip, but it would certainly give you an excellent view of Wesh life and history. One could easily spend a half day there.

There's an hourly bus (#32 or #320) from Cardiff Central station to the village of St.Fagan's where the museum is located.

I visited a Swansea friend last summer after my Ireland trip. Flew into Cardiff and she picked us up there. We stayed in a wonderful guesthouse in Mumbles, as she felt we would enjoy our stay better there than in Swansea. The town of Mumbles can be somewhat compared to La Jolla, upscale, on the water, nice shops and restaurants. There is a castle and nice walking paths. We did spend a few hours at the Dylan Thomas Centre which I enjoyed. We were there for 4 days. I would not take a 3 hour train for a day trip, however.