Sunday, December 13, 2009

Swansea - not exactly what you might expect

Two weeks ago, Scotland. This weekend, Wales, and in particular, Swansea. After a lengthy train journey - engineering works causing a detour via Gloucester, we were met by Peter May, the PPC for Swansea West, a key target seat for 2010, and John, the campaign organiser.

Whilst we were ostensibly there to do a fundraising dinner for Peter and his campaign team, we had time to look at some of the successes of the Liberal Democrat-led administration. Our first visit was to the new library at the Civic Centre, with its views over Swansea Bay, a nice little cafe, and easy access to council services. The building itself is a bit on the brutalist side - brushed concrete is hard to beautify - but the location is excellent. It also sits on the new metro bus route that uses priority lanes to cut through the city, all very impressive.

Next, we visited the leisure centre, including a pretty spectacular water park, with slides that go up as well as down. The building is apparently unique, in that it is the only building to have been opened by the Queen twice, once in 1977, then again after the refurbishment in 2008.

The Waterfront Museum, built using the old Swansea Victoria railway station as its core, was our next stop. Whilst it isn't officially operated by Swansea City Council, it forms part of the development of the marina area. It's a free exhibit, very interactive and high-tech, and well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Our last stop was Swansea's Winter Wonderland, with fairground rides and a skating rink, which lasts from mid-November to early-January. Thronged with people out to enjoy themselves, it looked like fun.

Throw in the natural scenery of the Gower and beyond, you could certainly see how a week could be spent here, maybe more.

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