We’ve handpicked six unique things you can only do here in Swansea Bay!

Check out the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, visit one of the top ten beaches in Britain (according to Trip Advisor users!), the oldest and newest museums in Wales and the birthplace of Dylan Thomas….you can only do these things here in Swansea Bay…amongst a whole host of other things of course!

You can squeeze it all into a few days – or stay a bit longer, do them at your own pace and tick them off as you go. And if you still have some left, come back again and finish them off!

1. Discover Rhossili Bay

Featured in the top ten Britain’s Best Beaches (according to Trip Advisor users)

Build a sandcastle, go surfing, kayaking, coasteering or just sit and read a book. We don’t like to brag – we invite you to come and judge for yourself.

Rhossili Bay

2. Visit the birthplace of famous poet and writer Dylan Thomas

Come and see where Swansea’s most famous writer and poet was born (in the front bedroom to be exact!), and the place that played a huge part in shaping the style and output of Dylan Thomas. Enjoy a guided tour, an evening meal or stay the night at 5, Cwmdonkin Drive or head to the Dylan Thomas Centre for the ‘Love the Words’ exhibition.

Dylan Thomas statue at night

3. Explore the oldest and newest museums in Wales

They’re next door to each other. Explore Swansea Museum, described by Dylan Thomas as ‘a museum that should be in a museum’, get a glimpse of Swansea life, past present and future…and meet an Egyptian mummy! Or head next door to the National Waterfront Museum for high tech interactive displays bringing Wales’ history of industry and innovation to life.

Mummy at Swansea Museum

4. Explore the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – Gower

Surf it, walk it, paint it, explore it. Enjoy it. Beautiful scenery and unspoilt countryside. We invite you to share our love for Gower. Walk the Gower Coast Path – 39 miles of footpath around the Gower Coast or try the 35 mile long Gower Way. It’s split into three sections so you don’t have to do it all at once!

Drone shot of the rugged coastline of Gower with the coast path winding along.

5. Discover the only wave washed cast iron lighthouse still standing in the UK

Located on Whiteford Sands, Whiteford Lighthouse is a prominent landmark on North Gower. The walk out to the lighthouse takes quite a while and it appears never to get any closer! Please don’t forget to check the tides before you set off.

Whiteford Lighthouse

6. Walk (or cycle) the route of the world’s first passenger railway

Walk (or cycle) the five mile sweep of Swansea Bay (along Swansea Promenade) the route that the first passenger railway in the world, the Swansea to Mumbles Train once took on its first trip in 1807. It later moved from horse power to steam locomotion, and finally converted to electric trams before closing in January 1960, in favour of motor buses. At the time of the railway’s closure, it had been the world’s longest serving railway and it still holds the record for the highest number of forms of traction of any railway in the world.

The front end of car no. 7 was saved for preservation at Swansea Museum. It was initially restored in the early 1970s and is now on display in the Tram Shed alongside the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter.

People cycling down swansea bay

Click here for more things to do in Swansea Bay.