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Summer in Swansea

miss direct

miss direct

misfungled
Assuming all the paper work goes through all right, I'm going to be working in Swansea this summer. I'm most excited - having spent the last few summers in Istanbul and Hong Kong, I now know for sure that British summers suit me much better than sticky, humid ones.

Is there anyone in Swansea? Is it easy to get around on days off to beaches and whatnot using public transport? Any good train journeys? (I'm into my trains but not a trainspotter).
 
I lived there decades ago , have been back since , the centre is a bit meh . Mumbles is still lovely (A couple of miles from the centre) but the jewel is the Gower , explore it , should be bus services out to great beaches such as Three Cliffs Bay , Caswell Bay and Oxwich :cool:

There are some urbans down there , I'm sure they will be along shortly .
 
Fantastic location - as well as the Gower, Pembrokeshire isn't far, and the Heart Of Wales Railway line goes from Swansea up to Shrewsbury.

Quite a few Urbs in that neck of the woods - and of course existentialist in his new bachelor pad in the cultural mecca of Laugharne...
 
*subscribes*

Why not come down on 23/24 March (there are also Possibilities for a fortnight earlier), and scope out the potential?

Swansea's good - you're still in civilisation, but only a hop and a skip away from the Wild West. There are trains, although they do travel via Narnia, and won't get you to all the loveliest bits. There are buses, which, contrary to expectation, are no longer pulled by oxen. And there are, I hear, quite friendly denizens who aren't above using their motorised chariots to get around the place, also feet, hem hem hem.
 
It's a half eaten ring donut: not much in the middle and the best bits are around it, though not all around it!

Mumbles of course, the marina and around is a good walk, I like the beach but lots don't, the university area and Singleton park are ok, but as mentioned it has easy access to lovely places while not being too bad itself.
 
Swansea will be glorious in the summer. As others have said the city centre isn't much to look at (I'm very fond of the indoor market though) but you have Singleton Park, the Gower and all of West Wales on your doorstep. Plus Cardiff just down the road where I am, I'd happily catch up with a fellow Urbanite!
 
Trains to the east whisk you for a small fortune to some lovely places and some right shitholes. Trains to the west trundle you hours or even days (slight exaggeration) later to much the same.
 
Train prices may hurt you if you haven’t been in U.K. for a while. That said, it’s hard to beat the Heart of Wales line which goes through stunning places like Llandeilo near where I live and will even get you to Manchester in about 5 hours from Swansea. It never fails to amaze me that you can catch a single carriage train to Manchester every hour from some of the tiniest stops on the U.K. network.

Swansea beach is great but I wouldn’t go in the sea a few miles down from Port Talbot. If you want miles of empty golden sands you can do worse than some of the towns to the east of Swansea, such as Burry Port. One of the worst seaside towns in the world but one hell of a beach.

Gower. Will be busy. Better with a car to discover some of the more out of the way places on the peninsula.
 
Thanks for all these great replies!

existentialist - what's happening in March? Did I miss something?
planetgeli - the price of almost anything hurts me in the UK - was just there for two weeks but did pretty well booking ahead with megabus and snap bus.

That train line looks fabulous! I'll definitely go on that at least once.

I know Wales relatively well, as I spent a year at Cardiff University and another summer working near Brecon. Really looking forward to being back. Will pop over to Brecon at some point as well, I was only 18 when I worked there so like another lifetime.

Let's all go for urban drinks in the summer :)
 
miss direct said:
Thanks for all these great replies!

existentialist - what's happening in March? Did I miss something?
planetgeli - the price of almost anything hurts me in the UK - was just there for two weeks but did pretty well booking ahead with megabus and snap bus.

That train line looks fabulous! I'll definitely go on that at least once.

I know Wales relatively well, as I spent a year at Cardiff University and another summer working near Brecon. Really looking forward to being back. Will pop over to Brecon at some point as well, I was only 18 when I worked there so like another lifetime.

Let's all go for urban drinks in the summer :)
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I'm doing a flatwarming/Urban meet in March, in Laugharne. We've got two weekends pencilled in - 8-10th March, which may be tricky because of railway line closures between Port Talbot and Carmarthen, and 23/24th, for which 2 Urbs have already booked accommodation.
 
Black Mountain (singular) , and Brecon Beacons in very easy reach. Waterfalls , caves , etc.

Swansea - Tenby is a very nice train ride , part of it along the coastal estuaries.

Much to enjoy - but avoid Swansea High St like the utter plague (station is "OK" - street certainly is not)
 
davesgcr said:
Black Mountain (singular) , and Brecon Beacons in very easy reach. Waterfalls , caves , etc.

Swansea - Tenby is a very nice train ride , part of it along the coastal estuaries.

Much to enjoy - but avoid Swansea High St like the utter plague (station is "OK" - street certainly is not)
Click to expand...
I worked on the High St for a few years. Its not that bad. There's not much of a reason to go down there unless you're going to the station (or looking to buy some spice)

Wind St at night can be a bit wild though
 
Due to me being absent minded, I somehow overlooked the fact that I have to find my own accommodation. I thought it was included, it turns out it isn't. So it seems I have a choice of a room in halls (starting from £120 a week! No thanks! I still have to pay my rent in Istanbul while I'm away), or finding a room in town. Not having rented in the UK for over a decade, I have no idea where to start. I imagined that being a student city, there should be plenty of available rooms during the summer but where would I start? Helpppp!
 
davesgcr said:
Black Mountain (singular) , and Brecon Beacons in very easy reach. Waterfalls , caves , etc.

Swansea - Tenby is a very nice train ride , part of it along the coastal estuaries.

Much to enjoy - but avoid Swansea High St like the utter plague (station is "OK" - street certainly is not)
Click to expand...

I got a job in the Brecon Beacons YHA the year of the foot and mouth outbreak (early 2000s) - half of the national park was closed and I went to work at an adventure camp instead - accompanied by the smell of burning cattle. I never did get to see much of the actual Brecon Beacons - would love to go back and explore.
 
Spareroom is where I normally advertise. Make sure you have a happy smiley profile and place an ad there saying what you are looking for.
 
Just bumping this because I'm now looking really hard for a place to stay! The university have offered me somewhere, but it's a long way from where I'll be working, meaning I'll have to spend time and money on buses every day.
 
Where are you going to be working? Sketty? I'd advise that if you're based at the Bay Campus you might want to spend the time and money on the buses to stay somewhere a bit more pleasant and interesting.
 
At the Singleton campus. I've found a room at Swansea marina for £120 a week - is that reasonable? I've been away from the UK for so long that I really have no idea.
 
Well, here I am, two weeks in to my summer in Swansea. Loving the city and all the opportunities it has. Love walking along the sea to work. The weather's been great so far.

Just feel very lonely. I don't know anyone here. I have colleagues, but most are either local (so already have their own families and lives) or leave the city every weekend. :(
 
miss direct said:
Well, here I am, two weeks in to my summer in Swansea. Loving the city and all the opportunities it has. Love walking along the sea to work. The weather's been great so far.

Just feel very lonely. I don't know anyone here. I have colleagues, but most are either local (so already have their own families and lives) or leave the city every weekend. :(
Click to expand...
Hmm. Calendar's a bit cluttered for a week or so, but I may be essaying a midweek nip across to Jackland sometime soon...
 
miss direct said:
Well, here I am, two weeks in to my summer in Swansea. Loving the city and all the opportunities it has. Love walking along the sea to work. The weather's been great so far.

Just feel very lonely. I don't know anyone here. I have colleagues, but most are either local (so already have their own families and lives) or leave the city every weekend. :(
Click to expand...
Liked for the first part of post, let us know if you head to cardiff I'm sure a few of us cardiff urbs will emerge out of the woodwork for a coffee or alcholic beverage.
 
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