An Evening's Stroll Along the Prom

We really are being spoiled by the weather in Swansea lately. Parking up at the seaside car park at the 360 (and noting the parking charge here has trebled since the turn of the month), I decided to head towards the marina for this evening's stroll.

Swansea Bay

I think the Pirate Ship Adventure Playground is a great addition to Swansea Bay. Unfortunately, I do have to advise caution here though as the place has been known to be visited by local drug-users in the evenings and they can leave all sorts of used paraphanalia behind. On one occasion, my young son nearly got stabbed by a needle sticking out of the sand here. Admittedly, this was a few years back, but I would still be careful and keep a vigilant eye out that the place is clean before using the playground.

The Swansea Bay Pirate Ship Playground

Looking back on the golden sunset over Swansea Bay, before heading down further to the marina:

Swansea Bay is the best place in Swansea to watch the evening sunsets

Sunsets also offer the best views of the City Council's County Hall:

The Pine trees outside Swansea County Hall

Swansea County Hall

Swansea's modernist County Hall Building

Graffiti on Swansea's Sea Steps, near County Hall

I love walking along these steps when the tide is in:

The Meridian Tower 'peeking' behind the Marriott Hotel and its 'Siren' Sculpture

The sun was still out (but only just) when I hit Swansea Marina and the Deli Dining restaurant was literally aglow when I passed it:

And then it was time to head back to the car along the now dusky sands of Swansea Bay.

Swansea Marina's Navigation Buoy sculpture

A Cuppa Coffee at the 360

The 360 Beach and Watersports Bar is rapidly becoming my favourite coffee haunt. The prices there are more than reasonable and the views over Swansea Bay always puts a smile on my face. Highly recommended.

A Cuppa Coffee at Swansea's 360

The 360 Beach and Watersports Bar

Given the timing of this blog post re the upcoming UK EU Referendum, I thought I would also add the following pic taking of the building. Look around Swansea and you will see these signs all over the place on specially built facilities in areas of deprivation. A firm and good reminder that We NEED to STAY IN EUROPE. Vote wisely, please:

The Boatshed Doors

The incredible artwork on this boat shed in Swansea Marina was made as part of Swansea's continued drive to use art to enhance the city. This piece was made by Robery Conybear and Robin Campbell in the mid/late 1980s and details the symbolism of doorways as a passage from one state to another. The door handle is shapped like a sea vessel which carries those using it into the different world inside the building. The lower half of the door illustrates various forms of sea life while the upper half of the door portrays a cloud containing a guardian eye - a lucky emblem that had been portrayed on ships and boats throughout history.

The door is a real gem of Swansea Marina, which is a real feat considering the multitude of public art installations which populate this part of the city. Watch this space for more Marina art works in the near future...

A Moody Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay looked well moody this evening as I took a walk along the edge of Swansea Marina:

The Zeta Mnemonical sculpture, Swansea Marina

Navigation sculpture, Swansea Marina

The Copper Flame sculpture, Swansea Marina

Lighthouse Tower sculpture, Swansea Marina

I will revisit these sculpture soon and provide some info on them as they all hold artistic and historical interest.

Meridian Tower

A controversial building at the time of its construction, I have always been a fan of the Meridian Tower. The building is currently Wales' tallest building and stands 107 metres high. Its top floor hosts a restaurant, the Grape and Olive, so I will try and head up there sometime soon and show some of the amazing views than can be gained from there...

Inside St. David's Priory

I took a wander inside St. David's Priory this evening. The place was empty and I was free to wander its serene interior and take in its magnificent stained glass windows. Amongst their number was this piece, which is believed to be of C15th origin and Wales' only medieval stained glass window:

St. David's Priory is a calm and reflective oasis amongst the hustle and bustle of city centre shopping and I recommend a visit at your soonest conveience.

Door, Townhill

Mumbles

Did a nice long walk from the seafront car park infront of Singleton Hospital to Mumbles this evening, rewarding myself with a nice 4 scoop Joe's ice-cream along the way. Was a tad sad seeing the state of the Amusements building outside the ice-cream parlour. The Amusements have been a feature of Oystermouth for as long as I can remember and I will miss them, though I do have to admit I have only actually been in there once in the last 20 years. You can see what the building used to look like here.

Mumbles itself was bathed in a dreamy blue light and, even though the sun had now set, looked stunning.

Mumbles' old lifeboat house

Mumbles Pier entrance

Shop window display

I loved how the water changed the wheels of the bike in this pic

On the way back to the car, I called in to the West Cross Inn for a coffee...

The stained glass window set in the inner entracce door of The West Cross Inn

,,,which was served with the tiniest of welshcakes, which was well tasty:

The weather forecast is a bit grim for the next few days so I don't know when I will next update this blog sorry.

Wormcasts, Swansea Bay

360

An absolutely beautiful evening's sunshine drew me down to Swansea Bay again after work today and I parked up at the seaside carpark outside the 360 Bar. As you can see from the first picture here, the car park was a little flooded after the recent rain but there was still plenty of dry spaces to park up for an hour or so.

The partially flooded seafront car park at 260

Swansea Council's car parking tariff is curious to say the least. Why on earth do they charge 50p for one hours stay but more than double that price for two hours stay?

Luckily, their bizarre (and rather unfair) second hour's car park charges didn't apply to me today as it had only just turned 6pm and it is free parking after 7.

Before going down onto the beach for my evening's walk, I popped into the 360 for a quick Latte and was impressed by the quick service there and also their fresh and rather jaunty decor.

Having lived in Swansea for most of my life, I remember Swansea Bay during it infamous years, when it was regarded as little more than an open sewer by much of the city residents. Thankfully, those dark days are slipping from memory and today the beach is both clean and popular. It really is a great seeing the sands here enjoyed by so many people and I, too, as can be clearly seen by anyone flicking through the pages of my Swansea blog, am finding myself drawn here more and more regularly.

This evening, especially, Swansea Bay seemed to be celebrating the sunshine with a particularly sporting theme:

An evening's game of Volleyball

A run along Swansea Bay

I can see myself spending quite a lot of time down Swansea Bay this year.