Swansea, Wales Coast Path

After travelling most of the way through small villages, coastal towns, and seaside resorts, I had a sensory overload upon my arrival in Swansea. As the second-largest Welsh city, Swansea is an important economic hub for various industries, particularly finance, technology, education, and healthcare. The city is also home to the second-highest-ranked educational institution in Wales, Swansea University, where academic studies in engineering and technology, health and medicine, and arts and humanities are offered. 

Swansea has a strong literary heritage and is closely tied to the renowned poet Dylan Thomas. Born in a house in the city's western suburbs, Thomas spent 23 years here, writing a significant portion of his published works before moving on.

The River Tawe weaved its way through the city toward the bay, flowing beneath the sleek pedestrian Sail Bridge and, a little further, the truss Trafalgar Bridge, named after the Battle of Trafalgar (c.1801). 

The Trafalgar Bridge sits above a barrage constructed in 1992 to accommodate another marina. It features boat locks, spillways, fish passage and generators. The generator currently produces electricity for the National Grid and pumps water back into the river. A main concern at the time of construction was the impact on fish unable to swim upstream and the reduced oxygen in the water. To overcome this, divers installed machines that infused oxygen into the water, effectively improving the water quality. This success story extended to Cardiff, the capital city, which adopted the same measures to clean its water. 

The waterfront has three marinas, where leisure crafts await their next maritime adventure. Stylish apartment complexes rise between the waterways, completing the marina development.  

Strolling around the marina, I found myself at the National Waterfront Museum. It is an architectural marvel, a fusion of slate and glass that integrated a historic warehouse from the former Swansea Industrial and Maritime Museum. The museum showcases the country’s industrial journey through various exhibits, displaying items such as mining tools, textile machines, transportation relics that include a steam locomotive, and early innovations of communication devices like the telegraph machine. The museum is also a starting point for the European Route of Industrial Heritage, a tourist route focusing on Europe's most important industrial heritage sites. 

My final destination was 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, the very birthplace of the renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. As intrigued as I was about Thomas and his works, I was just as keen to delight in an offering of Edwardian-themed afternoon tea, where small bites of baked scones with cream and jam, Welsh cakes, and finger sandwiches graced the table along with hearty brew of Welsh tea served in antique china. Here, I could sit back, relax and envision Thomas crafting his latest pieces of literature, such as the iconic “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”.