Will be working in Llandarcy and want to be able to commute on the bike a couple of times a week. Where would be good to look for to live. Anyone got any info on bike routes in the city?

The best view of Swansea is normally in your rear view mirror.

Pretty Shitty City

Swansea itself is horrid, but the immediate environs are very pretty (Port Talbot excepted), and there is some decent riding on the Gower etc.

Dull and shit, its an amazing city it can both suck and blow at the same time.

The graveyard of ambition as they say! I loved my few years in uni there, wouldn’t want to live there though. Too many chavs and yobs.

Afan isn’t far away to cycle to though, we went there a lot.

I went to uni there – it’s OK. I used to cycle round a bit and as others have said, there’s nice places outside the city. That said, the run along the bay towards the Mumbles on a sunny day is pleasant. There are some right hills, too (Constitution Hill I think, about 35% or something stoopid).

I work not far from Llandarcy and live out by J48 of the M4,my commute is usually by motorbike but there’s a nice cycle route through the villages,along Clyne valley and then the beachfront.Flatish and mostly traffic free.About 16 miles when I choose to pedal.

I wouldn’t live in town but used to live on the western edge in Dunvant.Some parts are ok but I’d try and find a place in a village north of the motorway somewhere.

Lots of good road riding on the hills and lanes,plenty of MTB both natural and trail centre in surrounding areas.

Town is best avoided though!

I have lived in Swansea for the last 5 years and I think it’s got a lot better in that time. I find some of the above comments a bit offensive tbh.

For nice places to live look West. Start in Uplands/Sketty and keep going towards Mumbles/Newton/Bishopston. Mumbles and Gower are nice but more expensive. Alternatively there are lots of new flats in the SA1 Waterfront and marina areas if that suits you. Most of the student areas are nasty but fortunately the students don’t leave them much.

For bike routes there is a cycle path that runs along the side of the Fabian way most of the way to Llandarcy, it’s a shitty cycle path but does the job. I regularly used to do Swansea to Port Talbot but we’ve now moved to a posh new office in the SA1 waterfront. Cycle commute along the bay is incredible on a sunny day. There is also a cycle path going through Clyne woods which a lot of people use.

Happy to show you some local trails beyond the obvious ones at Afan when you get here. Lots of good technical riding up Kilvey Hill for example.
cheers
Jonny

Llandarcy?

I should live there. 🙂

Also Bryncoch area of Neath is meant to be nice.

Isnit Boyo..

To be fair I’ve ran some companies down that way and the people (most of them) were bloomin lovely. Get out of the city and it’s blinkin gorgeous, sea on your toecaps, wind in yer hair, mountains near by, farmland yadda yadda.. pretty neat out of the city but then the city has been given a flaky coat of paint over the years so can’t be a bad thing can it.

Ignore the “mumbles” from others (see what I did there!!) and get tot he Mumbles..

I’m very late picking up this thread, but thought I’d throw some info in, Pigface.

WonnyJ is pretty much spot on – head towards the west of the city to live. I’d personally avoid Mumbles like the plague – full of tourists and daytrippers whenever the sun comes out, with only one main road in and out!

There are loads, and I mean LOADS of bike routes around the edge of the city. My work has has just moved to the north of the city and I’ve found miles of bike paths that I had no idea about. I barely have to touch a road in my 4 mile commute.

There is also plenty of very technical riding within a few miles of the city centre. WonnyJ mentioned Kilvey – my most local trails. It’s like a mini trail centre with added GNARRR (if you’ll excuse me 😳 ) and minus the numpty crowds. Normally! Add in riding in Clyne, Gower, up in the mountains, easy access to quite a few trails centres, and you have to ask why Swansea isn’t marketed as the base for MTBing in S Wales?

The city centre isn’t great but it has just enough to be able to call itself a ‘city’.

Contact the MTBPigs http://www.mtbpigs.co.uk/forum/index.php
We’ll show you the trails and have a weekly thursday night ride and pint. There is normally someone riding somewhere during the week.

I live on Gower, bout 20 mins out of the city centre. Its lovely. There is riding from my doorstep, surfing from my doorstep. Afan and Brechfa not far, Clyne valley as well. Yeah the city is a bit of a dump, but its a really lovely place out of the city.
the first pic is outside my front door, the second is 20mins down the road.