Swansea, Open daily, admission free
Details
Accessibility:
All areas of Swansea are easily accessible by car and on foot. There are designated disability parking in the City centre and main tourist attractions along with several multi-storey car parks in the City centre.
Swansea Mobility Hire, open Monday - Saturday, 9.00am - 5.00pm, provides powered scooters, wheelchairs and manual wheelchairs to help people who have limited mobility (through permanent or temporary disablement, illness, accident or age) to shop or visit other facilities within Swansea City Centre. See https://www.swansea.gov.uk/mobilityhire, Situated in Swansea Bus Station, Plymouth St, Swansea SA1 3AR, with limited car parking available for customers on Garden Street to the rear of the mobility hire office (nominal charge applies). Permits are issued by staff and must be displayed on vehicles at all times. The car park is operated on a first come first served basis, however, the Quadrant Multi-Storey Car Park is next door if the car park becomes full.
Swansea now has 8 Changing Places toilets (different to standard disabled toilets with a hoist and extra features and more space to meet these needs): https://www.swansea.gov.uk/changingplaces- LC Leisure Centre
- Swansea Civic Centre
- Brangwyn Hall
- Glynn Vivian Gallery
- Swansea City Bus Station
- Swansea Railway Station
- Waterfront Museum
- The Guildhall
- 360 Watersports Centre
Brief description:
Swansea is a thriving, multi-cultural University City. Situated on Swansea bay, it is the gateway to Mumbles and the Gower peninsula.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea
"Swansea (/ˈswɒnzi/; Welsh: Abertawe [abɛrˈtawɛ]) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea (Welsh: Dinas a Sir Abertawe).[2]
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in the United Kingdom. Located along Swansea Bay in southwest Wales, with the principal area covering the Gower Peninsula, it is part of the Swansea Bay region and part of the historic county of Glamorgan; also the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr.[3]
The principal area is the second most populous local authority area in Wales with an estimated population of 246,563 in 2020.[4] Swansea, along with Neath and Port Talbot, forms the Swansea Urban Area with a population of 300,352 in 2011. It is also part of the Swansea Bay City Region.
During the 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was the key centre of the copper-smelting industry, earning the nickname Copperopolis.[5][6] The Welsh name, Abertawe, translates as "mouth/estuary of the Tawe" and it is likely this name was used for the area before a settlement was established. The first written record of the Welsh name for the town itself dates from 1150 and appears in the form Aper Tyui.[7]
The name, Swansea, pronounced /ˈswɒnzi/ (Swans-ee, not Swan-sea), is derived from the Old Norse name of the original Viking trading post that was founded by King Sweyn Forkbeard (c.960–1014).[8][9][10]
It was the name of the king, 'Svein' or 'Sweyn' with the suffix of '-ey', "island" referring to either a bank of the river at its mouth, or an area of raised ground in marshland.[11] However, the Norse termination -ey, can mean "inlet" and the name may simply refer to the mouth of the river.[12]
Swansea is part of the Anglican Diocese of Swansea and Brecon and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia. The Catholic see is based in Swansea at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Greenhill area. There are many Welsh language chapels in the area. Welsh-medium education is a popular and growing choice for both English- and Welsh-speaking families. Just over 1,600 secondary pupils were educated through the medium of Welsh in 2017. Nearly double this figure, 3,063 pupils are currently educated through the medium of Welsh in the primary sector. The 2014 Swansea Pre-School survey showed that 35% of parents across the City and County of Swansea would select a Welsh education for their children if there was a local Welsh school available to them. 45% of the rural council ward Mawr are able to speak Welsh, as can 38% of the ward of Pontarddulais. Clydach, Kingsbridge and Upper Loughor all have levels of more than 20%. By contrast, the urban St. Thomas has one of the lowest figures in Wales, at 6.4%, a figure only barely lower than Penderry and Townhill wards.[69]
The city is home to 10% of the total Welsh Muslim population;[54] Swansea's Muslim community is raising money to open a new central mosque and community centre in the former St. Andrew's United Reformed Church. This would replace the existing central Mosque on St Helens Road and be in addition to the other three existing mosques (Swansea University Mosque, Hafod Mosque, Imam Khoei Mosque).[55]
Swansea is represented in Buddhism with the Dharmavajra Kadampa Buddhist Centre, Pulpung Changchub Dargyeling (Kagyu Tradition) and a branch of the international Dzogchen Community (Nyingma Tradition). Swansea Synagogue and Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall are both located in the Uplands area. Around 160 people in Swansea indicated they were Jewish in the 2011 census.[56]
The city has three Grade One listed buildings: Swansea Castle, the Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston and the Swansea Guildhall.[71]
In addition to these there are a number of Grade II* listed buildings; Ebenezer Baptist Chapel and its Hall in Ebenezer Street; the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery; the Midland Bank building; the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Kingsway, along with its Hall and School blocks; the Offices of Associated British Ports in Pier Street; the Royal Institution of South Wales building, now Swansea Museum in Victoria Road; and the Old Guildhall in Somerset Place.[75]
Local produce includes cockles and laverbread sourced from the Loughor estuary. Salt marsh lamb, raised in the salt marshes of the estuary, is also a local speciality.[70] "
Address:
Swansea Bus Station, Plymouth St, Swansea SA1 3AR
Email:
mailto:info@tourismswanseabay.co.uk
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/contactus
https://www.abertawe.gov.uk/cysylltwchani
Phone:
Swansea Tourism 01792 371441
Website:
https://tourismswanseabay.co.uk
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/council
https://www.abertawe.gov.uk/cyngor
https://www.visitswanseabay.com/
https://www.visitwales.com/destinations/west-wales/swansea-bay/things-see-and-do-swansea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swansea
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2k8nv98x2o
Directions:
Take junction 42 off the M4 then follow the signs to Swansea, Grid reference OS SS656930
Opening Times:
Varying at different attractions
Transport:
Swansea can be accessed by car, bus and train. For local bus information go to https://www.traveline.info or ring 0871 2002233
Amenities:
Most shops, restaurants and tourist attractions offer disability access, toilets and baby-changing facilities. The City centre is mostly flat and pedestrianised.
Shop Mobility
Beach
Castle / Coastal Defence
Art Gallery / Craft Centre
Gardens
Marina
Market
Promenade
Sports and Leisure Centre
Theatre
Tourist Information Centre
Changing Places
Defibrillators
Travel Information
For further travel information in Wales please see: www.traveline.cymru/travel-info
Or call Traveline Cymru on 0800 464 0000
Location
Nearest Venues
Odeon Cinema, Parc Tawe, Swansea
42 metres*
Kutchenhaus, Parc Tawe Retail Park, Swansea
43 metres*
Denny's, Parc Tawe Retail Park, Swansea
46 metres*
India India, Parc Tawe Retail Park, Swansea
51 metres*
*Distances are calculated in a straight line from the current venue, please allow extra time/distance based on available paths or roads.