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" Wales 2023 - Swansea (1 of 3) "

Date & start time:      12th May 2023.  

Stayed at :                   Patrick's Boatyard, Mumbles, Swansea, S. Wales. ( SS 626 875 )

Places visited :          Mumbles Head, Taliesin Theatre, Clyne and Cwmdonkin, Gower.

Walk details :              Local walks on this holiday.

Highest point :           The visit to the theatre and showing Loes around my old part of the world.

Walked with :              Loes, Gareth, Rhian, Luke, Owen, Paula and friends, plus the dogs.

Weather :                     Fine and dry.

                     

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number PU 100034184.

 

A visit to Wales starts with two nights in Swansea and a trip to the theatre. 

Combine that with seeing family, catching up with friends, local walks and sightseeing

and our short holiday starts at a pace that continues on for the best part of a week.

A road trip south from Cumbria finds us at my old home town of Swansea.

Loes and I are down here for a theatre production where my daughter in law, Rhian, plays a staring roll.

We will also catch up with family and friends whilst in town, but we'll start with a walk out to Mumbles pier.

It was getting dark by the time we had parked the car, found our accommodation and eaten. A short walk along the 'prom' this evening would do nicely.

The illuminated building on the hillside in the distance is Oystermouth Castle, sitting above the village of the same name.

We notice that they have started to re-develop the foreshore, with the secondary purpose of raising the sea wall to prevent flooding.

Perhaps that is why the parking is so difficult in the village tonight.

The Coronation was last weekend and the royal decorations are still up at the Pier buildings.

In the distance you can see Mumbles Lighthouse, which sits on the outer island, about quarter of a mile offshore.

Local knitted handicrafts adorn the railings as we look over to the pier

and to the old and new lifeboat houses which have been constructed over time at its outer end.

- - - o o o - - -

 

We have tickets for

an afternoon matinee performance

of the theatre production, along with all the family.

 

In the morning however

we have plenty of time to enjoy a walk

around Mumbles Head

and the coast path to one of the first of the 'town beaches'

 

We park for our walk at Limeslade Bay

Being further south and close to the coast

the garden flowers here are a little more exotic than mine.

 

- - - o o o - - -

A popular path starts at Mumbles Head with a tarmac covered, user-friendly walkway.

In the old days it used to be a gravel track with steps and steep climbs.

The Path leads around to Rotherslade and Langland Bay, with views of the Gower Coast down to Pennard and Oxwich headlands.

[ For those wanting a challenge, there's a 38 mile long distance path all around the Gower Coast to complete, in a weekend if you wish.]

Langland Bay has the classic beach huts and a regular bus service to town.

The amount of sand on the beach varies each time I come here, but today there doesn't seem to be as much as usual.

- - - o o o - - -

 

The main reason that we're here in Wales

is to see my daughter in law Rhian

taking the lead,

the Whoopi Goldberg part,

in the stage production of  "Sister Act".

 

The play is being performed

by the Swansea Amateur Operatic Society,

"The Swansea Amateurs"

 

We join Gareth, my older grandson Luke and Paula

plus Rhian's extended family, for the Saturday matinee.

 

- - - o o o - - -

The audience arrive, well this part of it has.

The third person in the selfie is my daughter Paula, who we met beforehand for lunch.

[The dogs are being dog-sat by my aunt and uncle in Mumbles, as it is too hot for dogs to sit in the car]

The Owens Family have arrived and sit with Gareth, Luke and ourselves.

- - - o o o - - -

 

The months of rehearsals are complete . . .
. . . the make up has been applied

. . . and Rhian and the cast hit the stage singing !

Without giving too many secrets away . . . Deloris was a singer working for Shanks, a shady Philadelphia gang boss

Disco-diva Deloris’s life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses Shanks murder a fellow gangster.

Placed under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she shouldn't be found – in a local Convent!

- - - o o o - - -

 

She naturally has difficulty fitting into the lifestyle

but goes along with it as her old school friend, now a policeman

had organised her secret hiding place.

 

Her situation gradually improves

as she gets to know her fellow Nuns.

However the Convent has no money and is threatened with closure.

 

She could be forced to move out of town and away from protection

unless something dramatic happens !

- - - o o o - - -

Encouraged to help the struggling choir, she helps her fellow sisters find their true voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.

The Convent choir moves from chanting old Hymns to singing modern Gospel songs, which boost the congregation and the funds !

The Convent is saved by the money but the publicity becomes a problem.
Shanks finds her and threatens to shoot her so she can't testify in his trial.

Eddie, the policeman, steps up to the task, captures Shanks and saves Deloris.

The Convent is saved, the bad guy is in prison for the gang murder, Deloris falls in love with Eddie and the world can sing again.

If you get chance to see the musical do go along.   If Rhian is playing the lead then you're in for a great performance.

[ All photos courtesy of the Swansea Amateur Operatic Society Facebook page . . . with thanks ]

- - - o o o - - -

In the evening we enjoyed a meal out in Mumbles with Gareth and both my grandsons, Owen and Luke.

Rhian is missing, as she's on stage for the second performance of the day and what will be the 'final night' of the week-long run of the play.

- - - o o o - - -

Sunday morning dawned bright and dry and we met up with friends for a walk in Clyne, one of Swansea's more ornamental parks.

This is Sandra with her two dogs and Gill, Ann's  long-time school colleague, who are both from Swansea.

The park is set in an ornamental valley full of Victorian colour.
A picture of myself, Loes and Sandra, courtesy of Gill.
   

- - - o o o - - -

 

 

The park has a rather muddy stream

flowing down through the woodland.

 

Dougal, who enjoys water at the best of times,

is in the water and soaking wet in no time.

 

No matter, he's got all day to dry off

before we have to go anywhere posh !

 

 

- - - o o o - - -

As a kid I used to climb this huge castle, made even more exciting as it was hidden deep in the woods.

In my later years it seems to be easier to find and smaller . . . I wonder why ?

Still, this is the first time Loes has been here, so she enjoys the climb, closely followed by her eager companions.

At the top of the park is an ornamental Japanese garden
. . . with a lovely bridge and the waterfall flowing out of a lake.
   
On the other side, a lady stops to read about the Handkerchief Tree
. . . so called because of the large white flowers that waft in the breeze.

- - - o o o - - -

Morning walk complete I take Loes on a tour of Swansea, aiming for Townhill where, you've guessed it, you get a fine view of town.

First we stop off at another town park, this time Cwndonkin, close to where I used to live.

Cwmdonkin Park is also famous as being Dylan Thomas's park.

The poet was born and lived his first 23 years of his life in a house overlooking the park which provided inspiration for some of his poetry.

A memorial stone in the grounds commemorated the fact, as does a Blue Plaque on the house itself.

The park has changed in the last twenty years, the trees have grown, the pavilion and tennis courts have been refreshed

and the bowling green seems to have been abandoned and is now a grassy area for playing other games.

- - - o o o - - -

 

 

If you walk to the top path in those trees you find a gate

that we often used to get into the park to walk the dogs.

 

Our house was on the side of the hill,

thirty steps to the front door, another thirty

on the inside to get  to the loft bedroom.

 

 

The house now has low railings around the patio

but in all our time there, the kids never fell over the edge !

 

 

- - - o o o - - -

Time for a spot of lunch . . . I know a place down Gower that would be great . . .

On the way I might as well take the road past another of my old haunts. 

Number 3 was the first house I ever bought.  I took out something like a £13,000 mortgage . . . those were the days.

- - - o o o - - -

Well lunch didn't go to plan as we were late and the pub I chose was packed out . . . so we adjourned to the sea side.

Lunch ended up as Fish and Chips at the cafe in Port Eynon . . .
. . . where there's another huge sandy beach, one of many on Gower.

[ photos courtesy of the Tourist Board site]

The weather wasn't quite as sunny and with my phone low on power I didn't take many pictures

but I did capture this old thatched cottage in the village.

What I had actually stopped for was for  picture of the Lifeboat Memorial

to 3 members of the crew who were lost at sea during a bad storm when the the SS Dunvegan went aground on the cliffs in 1916.

The local lifeboat station subsequently closed in 1919 and the boathouse became the Port Eynon Youth Hostel.

A new 'D' Class inshore boat was re-established at Horton, the small village a short distance around the bay, in 1968.

- - - o o o - - -

Visit over, it was time to be heading west to Pembrokeshire,

for the next stage of our adventure.

- - - o o o - - -

Technical note: Pictures taken with my iPhone 11pro phone Camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . tickets to a fine performance.

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Previous walk - 5/6th and 23rd May - Rannerdale Bluebell visits

A previous time here - 10th - 16th May 2013 - Swansea and West Wales

Next Event - 14th May 2023 - Wales - 2 - Pembrokeshire