Looking forward to beach days and long Gower rides late summer 2022!
I was wondering whether to mention this earlier, maybe before you sold your house, but forgot and now it's too late.
It rains a lot in Swansea. We have very mild, grey and wet winters, often very nice springs, and damp summers. We don't often get those crisp, frosty winter days that the south-east gets. You might be blessed with a good summer and you'll think it's a glorious place, but occasionally we don't see any sun from one solstice to the next, just rain, rain and more rain.
As Rhod Gilbert (from Carmarthen) says, he was 16 before he realised his packamac was removable, and we don't have a proper cafe culture when you have to pin the tables down to stop them from being blown away. 😀
move as close as you can to the nearest Joe's Ice Cream parlour!
My parents are from the Swansea area, so many visits over the years.
I love the area, and if there was my line of work, would defo consider a move.
good luck with it all!
move as close as you can to the nearest Joe’s Ice Cream parlour!
Agreed. And don't make the mistake of so many foreigners by going for the flavoured stuff. Proper Joe's, as loved by the locals, is the vanilla ice-cream with stuff (sprinkles, sauces, etc) on the top. It's gorgeous.
Depends where about's. It's quite a big area when you take in Mumbles, Gower, Neath, Swansea Valley, Port Talbot, further west towards Llanelli, all these areas would be considered Swansea, really.
For mountain biking and general outdoor stuff, you'd struggle to find a better area IMO. Winters are very grim tho it rains a lot, I mean every day for weeks on end.
Housing market is very, very competitive, hardly any stock and lots of people buying/looking, so properties are going for well over asking price in some areas.
I moved to Swansea for University 13 years ago and I'm still here, I did spend a year in Whistler and then came straight back. The only reason I'd move is to get more support with the impending baby but I'd probably regret it! We've got a dog, so the beaches are great. The Gower gets busy in summer but there's plenty of beaches that are a bit of a walk that are still pretty quiet. Annoyingly a lovely cafe has opened in Llanmadoc next to whitford beach which as made it busier and busier, I think it also appeared in a guardian article or something.
For cycling, road biking and mountain biking is great around the valleys. There's some nice trails in Clyne woods for an after work hour.
The restaurants/takeaways are getting better slowly.
Annoyingly a lovely cafe has opened in Llanmadoc next to whitford beach which as made it busier and busier, I think it also appeared in a guardian article or something.
This. Still my favourite place on Gower tho.....and it's never exactly crowded 😁
Well...it's happened. We moved to our new place in Gowerton last week. Still can't quite believe that everything came together. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and it feels like a good place to be.
Just need to buy a MTB now : )
Hey, welcome to the area. (I'm currently sitting just up the road.) You've missed the good weather by a few days and it will now pee down until April. 😀
When you're ready, find Clyne Riders on FB and ask for routes/rides (be aware, there are a lot of kids and dirt jumpers on the FB group), or come and join us on a Thursday evening ride in Clyne. I'll be out tonight but don't get out every week, but there is always someone out even in abysmal weather. There is endless good riding around here and you're in a good place to access it.
well done, I'm a little bit jealous, I loved my time in Swansea, I was a student there. Had a holiday in Murton on the Gower last year and a great time. We only climbed and surfed though didn't take the bikes!
Hope you enjoy!
Has the OP left the forum already? Or is my STW playing up?
Welcome...I'm just along the north Gower coast from you. Add Idlejohn says...it's Autumn now 😂
Oh and The Nomad is pretty good eating and drinking
Thanks all. Still here Daffy. We moved during the heatwave last week so this cooler weather is appreciated. If only the roof wasn't leaking.
I'm relatively close by, near Ammanford. Happy to show you around some of the local trails.
Thanks Ambrose. My sister in law et al live up in Ammanford. Is anything doable on a CX bike?
My sister in law et al live up in Ammanford. Is anything doable on a CX bike?
Oh yes indeed! Plenty of good stuff around here which is suitable for gravel and cx bikes, and the hills between Morriston and Ammanford are criss-crossed by miles of tracks and quiet roads which are worth exploring. Gower is good on a cross bike, and you can get up to Afan off-road on one easily. I rode to Narberth (Pembrokeshire) entirely on an NCN route a couple of months ago.
As IdleJon said, lots of gravel riding. There was always plenty to do but the wind farm access tracks have really enhanced things.
The ridge from Pontardulais to Gwaun Cau Gurwen is really rather nice.
