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.

On your previous visit to Cardiff, did you visit Cardiff Bay ? You can take very interesting guided tours of the new Assembly building and the fantastic Wales Millennium Centre, taka a little 'train' ride across the bay or take a boat trip, and there are lots of nice places to eat and drink.

I've also heard the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagan's is vg but haven't been yet.

Or to see a totally different side of Wales, you could get a train to Newport then get the bus up to Blaenavon (world heritage site for its industrial archaeology) & visit The Big Pit, a former coal mine with tours taken by ex-miners, which won the Gulbenkian Museum of the Year a couple of years back.

I'm not dissing Swansea - it is where my husband's from - but if I didn't have connections there, I wouldn't really think it worth visiting. Although the new National Waterfront Museum is supposed to be vg.

This is too late for Miss Ziegfield, but may form a reference for others contemplating a similar journey. Personally, I think Swansea has a lot to offer for a short visit. If it is raining, Cardiff is the better option as it is bigger and has better shopping facilities. However, physically, Cardiff is rather boring. It is flat and the bay is far from spectacular. If you are a walker, here's my suggestion: From Swansea Station head for the castle, then into historic Wind Street. Have lunch here. Many restaurants on the right have gardens at the back. Continue down Wind Street and cross the main artery into Swansea. The Morgan's Hotel is in front of you. In this area, you can visit the Dylan Thomas Centre (great if you are a fan of literature), Swansea Museum and the spanking new National Waterfront Museum. Have coffee in Cesso's and walk to the sea front at the Marina. Then, take a walk along Swansea Bay to the suburb of Mumbles. Here there is a castle (Oystermouth), some wonderful specialist shops, an ice-cream parlor selling the most delicious ice-cream (Joe's). Then, continue your walk along the promenade towards Mumbles Pier. Soon, you come to Verdi's Cafe. This is great place to have a coffee or meal as it offers unrivaled views over Swansea Bay. Depending on your time and energy, you can continue to walk around the coast to Limeslade and Langland or return to Swansea by bus/taxi. Langland is a lovely suburb built around Langland Bay, Public transport runs to/from Langland Corner to the city center. That's it. Enjoy! (Ps. I do not live in Swansea, but spent a few months there in 2006. I found it to be a lovely city)

Here is the official tourist web site for Swansea: http://www.visitswanseabay.com/

Just found these questions from MissZiegfeld further down the thread. Will answer as they are relevant to answers I gave in a earlier post:

"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?"

Wind Street is good for all kinds of cuisine. Laverbread (a puree made from seaweed) is local specialty. It may not be available at restaurants as it is usually eaten as a breakfast dish. However, you can pick some up in Swansea Market before you leave the city. The easiest way prepare is is to heat and serve on toast.
Mumbles is 8km. However, it is a lovely walk along the sea front with many benches conveniently located to stop and take a rest. There are buses from the Quadrant bus Station. A bus to any of these destinations will get you there: Oystermouth, Newton, Langland, Caswell or Limeslade.
The train station is on the outskirts of the city center - not an interesting area and so no reason to hang around there. The bus station is in the center of the city, at the back of the Quadrant Shopping Center. It is a 15 minute walk between the two. Hope this info is helpful.

Earthtrekker,
"Cardiff is rather boring"
strange thing to say about the Welsh Capital. I am not criticising your opinion,you are entiltled to it but just interested from what perspective you make your judgement.

Is it just the 'beach' perspective???

Thanks
Muck

Wow, Mucky that was a quick response. Sorry, didn't mean to offend. You are obviously very proud of your hometown. What I meant was Cardiff is physically rather boring because it is flat and the bay is not visually impressive. I wasn't implying that it was culturally boring. It is not. It is just that Swansea is very hilly and built around the fine sweep of Swansea Bay and the western suburbs, such as Langland and Caswell, are on cliff tops. It is very attractive. When I was there last year, I met a young Portuguese couple in Swansea Marina who were staying in Cardiff. They said the same. They liked Cardiff, but found the landscape and physical appearance of Swansea more attractive. Actually, I think the two cities compliment each other well. Cardiff has great shopping and some top class cultural amenities, while Swansea excels with its natural environment and cafes etc - though that is not to say that Cardiff is physically ugly or Swansea bereft of museums and galleries. It is just the balance. I am more familiar with Swansea, but rate them both as wonderful places, and hope to spend more time in the two cities on future visits to the UK. I also found Bristol to be physically attractive. Like Swansea it is built on hills, but unfortunately it doesn't have the bay... There are some lovely images of Swansea on this web site: http://www.welshwales.co.uk/

Ps. Mucky sorry to have offended you!

Hi Earthtrekker,
No offence taken, I was a little surprised as I have never heard Cardiff being called boring before. lol

I kind of agree about the difference between Cardiff bay and Swansea bay.
Swansea bay is great and is complimented by the Gower penninsula, which is truly magnificent, (although Port Talbot on the East side needs bombing)
Cardiff bay is evolving into something really special, especially since the New Millenium centre was opened, that is a truly fabulous theatre.

But next time your in Cardiff, head slightly North and you will see some similarities. Caerphilly Mountain, Caer Wennallt, Rudry,Draethen. All very lovely places.

I guess we all have our opinions about places. We can't all be the same, now that would be boring.. :-)

Muck

Yeah, Port Talbot is not much of a place. Still, it is quite separate to Swansea, and so doesn't effect your stay there. In fact, I was only ever aware of it when the train would pass through after Bridgend and Neath. I agree. If we all liked the same places, life would be boring, and as a trekker (as my name implies), Swansea was like a dream come true. There were so many lovely walks there, with many starting right from the city center. After spending time in Birmingham (great shops, but nothing natural - no hills, no river and certainly no ocean), I was ready to enjoy a latte watching waves and clouds and the walk to the city center (I was staying in Mumbles) was absolutely gorgeous. Ah! I miss Swansea and Wales.