• Begin at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, which is currently displaying a number of items from the major TV series His Dark Materials, including costumes and props.
• Walk across to High Street, turn right at the train station and proceed down towards the city centre, passing the giant mural of Elizabeth Taylor by street artist Pure Evil on the exterior of the Volcano Theatre building.
• Continue straight on through Castle Street, you may wish to visit the Elysium Gallery on College Street, but should check out the leaf-like sculpture inspired by Dylan Thomas in Castle Square, whose words are inscribed in the stone around the fountain.
• Walk down Wind Street and on to Somerset Place to visit the Love the Words exhibition in the Dylan Thomas Centre, which tells the story of Dylan’s life, work and legacy and also features a children’s area where youngsters can get involved in art and craft activities.
• Leaving the Dylan Thomas Exhibition, walk down East Burrows Road, turning right onto Cambrian Place. Its Georgian terrace has been on screen, most recently in S4C’s dramatisation of the life of composer and soprano Morfydd Owen. Can you believe that the street was also the setting for New York in the Dylan Thomas biopic, Set Fire to the Stars, when Dylan stumbles with friend and poet John Malcolm Brinnin?
• At the junction of Gloucester Place you’ll find the Queens Hotel, an authentic pub full of character and pictures of old vessels moored in Swansea Docks. It’s worth taking a quick detour down Gloucester Place to enjoy the Georgian terrace and visit the Mission Gallery, a unique, architecturally beautiful space presenting diverse work from contemporary artists based in Wales and beyond. Whilst down this end of Gloucester Place, check out the colourful mural, depicting scenes from Under Milk Wood, on the façade of the Dylan Thomas Theatre, home to Swansea Little Theatre. If it’s open, you can pop in to find out more about Dylan’s time with the amateur theatre group, before heading back up the street.
• Walk past the Exchange Buildings, which has twice appeared in BBC’s Doctor Who series, and the Queens Hotel. Straight ahead is Swansea Museum, the oldest museum in Wales, which Dylan described as ‘the museum that should have been in a museum’. Its vast collection of objects tell the story of the people and places in Swansea, and their place in the wider world. Little trailblazers might enjoy looking for historic mice in the museum’s Mouse Trail.
• Leaving Swansea Museum, walk around to the rear of the building and finish off your trail at the National Waterfront Museum. Explore the story of Wales through the museum’s array of exhibits that focus on the nation’s rich industrial and maritime heritage. You’ll find a warm welcome at the café and there’s a children’s play area.
Taking a library trail is a great way to meet new people, take part in free events and find your next great read. Swansea has 17 libraries on offer – from Llansamlet to Townhill – and don’t forget, once you become a library member you can borrow books from any library in the city.
So, next time you are visiting family and friends or out and about shopping why not pay a visit to a different library? You could create your own trail and along the way, compare the books on offer, take in the different architecture of the buildings and find out more about the many free events our libraries organise all year round for the community to enjoy.
