London, Swansea and The Mumbles - Part 2 - Wales and a Wedding!

This is the second instalment of a two-part series on my trip to both London and Swansea back in August and September. You can find Part 1 here.

I wake up even before my alarm clock goes off. Breakfast at the hotel is quintessentially English, which suits me just fine, given the day ahead, so I have a generous helping. Once I’ve got my camera bag packed, it’s off to explore the city, which turns out to be underwhelming to say the least. I know you’re not supposed to speak ill about places you visit, but Swansea honestly looks like it’s had its heart ripped out. The amount of urban deprivation and outright poverty on display is eye-opening, I haven’t seen something this bad since my teenage days back in Eastern Europe in the mid-1990s. Okay, there’s a major street rebuilding program underway which certainly doesn’t help, but from a quick glance, I’d say that 50-60% of business premises in the city centre are empty, with many of the houses derelict. The businesses that remain open are often low-quality vape shops, chain restaurants, or second hand mobile phone shops. It is also obvious that the city centre must have been completely rebuilt in the 1950s or 1960s judging from the architecture? Was this a result of damage during World War 2, 1960s urban planning, or a combination of both? One thing’s for sure, the typical Irish weather certainly doesn’t help things. I wish that had stayed on the other side of the Irish Sea! The only bit of the city centre that appears to have any decent occupancy is the massive Quadrant shopping centre, adjacent to Swansea’s bus station, which I use to dodge some rather intense rain showers. If this is representative of other British cities of similar size, then the UK is in much deeper shit than I thought.

The floating harbour of Swansea is a different story and appears to have undergone massive regeneration some time in the 1990s to early 2000s, judging by the looks of the buildings. Much of the former harbour is now a marina, and there are a number of museum ships in the harbour as well, probably attached to the National Waterfront Museum which on any other day would be a sure thing for me to check out. Today though, I only have the morning to scout out the area before I have to head out to my friend’s wedding.

Swansea Castle, or rather what‘s left of it.

The city centre has definitely seen better days, the construction work doesn‘t help.

The streetscape right outside my hotel.

Beyond the redeveloped harbour lies the actual waterfront of the city if you can call it that, a wide, gently curving expanse of beach and tidal flats that stretches all around Swansea Bay. This is separated from the redeveloped parts by a large fence & wall structure. I understand that developers want to prevent the new buildings from being buried in sand, but to not even leave a single opening seems to be a bit excessive if you ask me. Still, the wall has some nice architectural quirks, and as someone born on the „waterkant“, as the coast is known in northern German dialect, this is my natural habitat. There are few things that can‘t be solved, or at least put in their proper perspective by a walk on the beach.

Around lunchtime, I head back to the hotel to change and drop off the camera bag. It‘s off to The Mumbles for the original purpose of this trip, the wedding of a good friend of mine. Now just to set expectations, I did not take any photos during either the ceremony or the reception, as this is a rather private event, and don‘t expect any juicy gossip either. There‘s other blogs better suited for that, I‘d like to keep at least a modicum of dignity and self-respect. Anyway, back to topic. As much as I‘ve griped about Swansea so far, I do have to give credit where credit is due. The public transport system is vastly superior to Bus Éireann‘s shambles in Cork. The bus station is a vast, modern complex that can handle a LOT of traffic by the looks of it, and mobile tickets, as well as cashless payments and even device payment with Apple Pay are standard. Now that's how you run a bus service!

See Cork? THIS is how a bus station should be set up!

Mumbles Methodist Church. It is unassuming enough from the outside, but definitely a warm and welcoming place.

As for The Mumbles & Oystermouth, I now understand why my friend has been gushing about that place so much. It‘s a small seaside town at the mouth of Swansea bay, and is gorgeous. Okay, so the village is choking on traffic, but it‘s still a great place to be. The wedding itself takes place in the Mumbles Methodist Church, a church that‘s unassuming enough on the outside, but gorgeous on the inside. Those that know me will be aware that I have a huge issue with organised religion of any kind, not least due to some experiences in my childhood and teenage years. But if those church services I was „encouraged“ to visit as a child had been as warm and welcoming as what I witnessed in that church, I‘m not sure I‘d be the staunch agnostic I am today. Seriously, the entire wedding just exuded not just warmth, but also an air of relaxed calm and even perspective that I find sorely lacking in the dogmatic & rigorous nature of so many churches, particularly in Germany. The reverend who led the ceremony, I have unfortunately forgotten his name, is certainly an excellent representative of his faith, and I hope his congregation knows how lucky they are to have him.

Panoramic view of the Mumbles waterfront at low tide.

Mumbles lighthouse looking gorgeous in the evening sun.

No, this photo wasn‘t edited in any way. This really was the view from the pier at sunset.

Moments later, I was chased away by a wedding party ;) All in good fun though.

After the ceremony, I have time to enjoy the area. The reception doesn‘t kick off until the evening. I decide against going back into Swansea and slipping into something more comfortable and instead enjoy the seaside atmosphere. A sweeping promenade runs along Swansea Bay to the Mumbles Pier, where the reception will take place, and over the next few hours, I make my way along that at a leisurely pace. By the time I finally make it, the sun has started setting, and what a sunset it is! The lighting is amazing, and standing out on the pier, it‘s basically just you, the wind, and the waves. I love it. On a slightly more amusing note, I suddenly find myself being chased around the pier by the newlyweds, who are getting their wedding photos taken on the pier, and apparently want a clear background. No argument from me on that one. As for the reception itself, I‘ll let discretion be the better part of valour. It was fun, relaxed, warm, welcoming, with just the right amount of crazy thrown in. I‘m back in the hotel at 1AM, and the lights are out before my head even hits the pillow.

Day 4

I could easily have titled this one „The Day After“, because honestly, that‘s what my head felt like. The kitchen staff at the hotel seem to be hungover as well, as the breakfast quality has dropped significantly. Don‘t get me wrong, it‘s still perfectly good, but it‘s just not at the standard of Saturday. I take my time getting ready, before heading back out to The Mumbles. I‘d left my camera behind in the hotel the previous day, as I didn‘t want to lug all of that stuff around and potentially lose it during the night. That means that today is photo day, and the first really big test for my new camera.

Before that, I need another coffee though, I‘m definitely slow to get going today. The day itself is shaping up nicely though, with the sun shining down from a bright blue sky. With ample amounts of caffeine finally in my system, and some more or less failed attempts at video time-lapses in Swansea city proper, I jump onto the bus to Oystermouth, which turns out to be chock full of cars again. A side note here. The bus takes a rather circuitous route through the grounds of Swansea University and some of the suburbs of Swansea. Some of those suburbs are a dead ringer for the type of estates you‘d see in and around Prague, you know, the ones built in the 1960s, with the ones in Prague being significantly better kept. Just thought I‘d throw that in there.

Trying to get the best angles of Swansea ;)

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, The Mumbles. The place is heaving on this beautiful Sunday morning, and both my camera and my smartphone gimbal get one hell of a workout. By the time this trip is over, I‘ll have taken over 196 photos and videos between my two devices. Invariably, I find myself drawn back out to the Mumbles pier, which is by far the most spectacular sight out here, especially on a day like today, when the entire bay is laid out before you like something out of a tourist brochure. From the Mumbles lighthouse to the pillars of steam rising majestically above the Port Talbot steel works before the backdrop of the hills and mountains of Wales, there‘s more than enough for the eye to feast on.

Mumbles Pier in the distance. It‘s easily walkable, don‘t let this image fool you.

A rare lull in the action on the Mumbles waterfront.

The town would definitely look a lot better if it wasn‘t for all those cars.

The numerous small shops really add to the place.

There was an almost incessant stream of cars in town when I was there.

The Pier Head Cafe was the scene of yesterday‘s reception.

The Mumbles RNLI station was built in 2014, the rest of the pier is currently undergoing much needed restoration work.

It‘s hard to get a good impression of the sweeping views of Swansea bay from the pier.

Swansea on the other side of the bay, with the mountains of Wales in the background.

An then there‘s the boat house. The RNLI has based their lifeboat for Swansea Bay at Mumbles pier for over a century, although both the current boat house and life boat are much more current. Now, as someone who was born on the coast, lifeboats and high seas rescues are nothing new to me, they‘re a fact of life up in northern Germany. The RNLI operates along some rather different lines to the rescue services I grew up around though. All but the most massive of their lifeboats are actually stored outside the water, and only launched when required. This is true for the Mumbles Pier station and boathouse as well. Another major difference is that many stations are generally open to the public, and this one is no exception. For someone as nautically inclined as I am, this is of course an offer you cannot refuse.

The lifeboat definitely dominates the inside of the boat house.

As much as I respect the RNLI and similar organisations, this is as close as I ever want to get to a lifeboat.

Displays like this are dotted throughout the station. This was designed with visitors in mind, no doubt about that.

That‘s the slipway used to launch the lifeboat. The Tamar class is the largest type of RNLI lifeboat to be launched in that manner.

And the station does not disappoint. Built in 2014, the boat house is bright and airy inside. Pride of place is, by necessity, given to the lifeboat, the 16.3 meter Roy Barker IV, a Tamar class all-weather lifeboat. She sits atop a long slipway, surrounded by galleries that provide both maintenance access and an ideal vantage point for gawkers like me. It becomes immediately obvious that this boat house was designed from the start to cater for visitors, as it is lined with exhibits, boards outlining the station‘s long and sometimes tragic history, as well as facts about the RNLI itself. There are also quite a few RNLI volunteers around to answer questions, each and everyone being not only very knowledgable, but also extremely friendly and approachable. I don‘t know whether that comes with the type of personality generally drawn towards this type of volunteer work, but the staff at the Mumbles station are definitely excellent brand ambassadors for the RNLI.

By the time I‘m finished with my tour, it‘s 5 PM, winds are picking up noticeably, and the temperature has started dropping, so I make my way back into Swansea. The original plan is to find a café in the city and type up my notes for the day before heading into the hotel. However, by the time the bus arrives in the city centre, pretty much everything is in the process of closing. So, I head back to the hotel, have a coffee there, and pack for my way back home the next day before turning in early.

Day 5

The day starts with a riddle. How can I get the contents of my company laptop bag, camera bag, and suitcase into just two bags? It takes some creative packing, but I manage to pack everything into the company bag and my trolley. It‘s still a mystery to me as to why the bag doesn‘t immediately collapse in on itself to form a singularity, but who am I to argue with physics ;)

After a final breakfast, which has thankfully rebounded in quality, I head out to make my way to the train station. The city feels slightly more awake now than it did over the weekend, but urban deprivation is still visible everywhere. Despite that, the city is surprisingly clean, much more so than Cork, which makes me wonder how that city would look if subjected to the same type of economic collapse as Swansea‘s city centre appears to have suffered. To be fair though, there are quite a number of large scale construction projects going on, which seems to indicate that Swansea is rebounding somewhat. Here‘s hoping that Brexit won‘t torpedo that rebound, because the city has tons of potential.

Swansea Station by day is a whole lot more welcoming than by night.

Every station should have a cafe!

View of the platforms.

My ride to Cardiff today.

Transport for Wales is the other operator serving Swansea.

Swansea train station is a rather compact terminus with four platforms. It is primarily served by Great Western and Transport for Wales trains. It is only now that I realise that the lines into Swansea aren‘t electrified. I hadn‘t even noticed the switch from electric to diesel propulsion on the way in, which says something about how quiet these Class 800 trains are. But back to the here and now. Given the rather small size of the station, and the limited number of services, the facilities are actually quite decent, with a Costa Coffee being a most welcome sight indeed. Every train station should have a café in my eyes.

The first leg of the journey is taken by another GWR Class 800 train, and I‘ve got basically the same seat on the way out that I had on the way in. Unfortunately, that means I‘ll be looking out back for the trip to Cardiff, but what can you do? Speaking of Cardiff, I have to change trains here to get to Bristol, and this is where my nice trip breaks down. The onward connection to Bristol Temple Meads is on a Class 165 diesel train, which is in a 2nd class only configuration, not to mention packed as hell. Did I mention that it is also more cramped and louder in general? The ride isn‘t really that bad, though, and we make it to Temple Meads bang on time. 

As for Temple Meads itself, I‘m not going to make any fans with this statement, but I‘m not impressed. Granted, the architecture is impressive, but it‘s shocking how little the station operators are doing with that. The underpasses to the platforms look like something out of the 1970s, and there are very few amenities outside the ticket barriers. Okay, I may be spoiled given the condition of Frankfurt or Mannheim Central, both stations that I used to frequent a lot, but for a station that has the architectural and historical importance of Bristol Temple Meads, not to mention serving a pretty large city, it‘s generally a poor showing.

Accordingly, I don‘t hang around. I quickly grab the Bristol Flyer out to the airport. On the way there, there are certainly plenty of sights that still seem familiar from my trip back in May 2014, over five years ago. The route the bus takes is pretty new however. It follows the new metrobus network, and its guided busways. Now there‘s a system that I could go for here in Cork, but with electric buses.

Departure Hall at Bristol Airport.

View from the entrance to the security checkpoint.

The airside lounge has recently been expanded and remodelled. It still feels like a mall with departure gates.

The smoker‘s terrace is the only place where you can get any airside views at all.

That‘s the old terminal in the background.

The airport itself, while broadly unchanged from five years ago, is definitely operating at capacity. As it was five years ago, landside food options are limited, and there is scarcely any quiet spot to be found in the terminal. The food options are particularly regrettable since it‘s lunchtime when I arrive at the airport. I do find something, but as I said, I‘m not too impressed. Aer Lingus check-in staff are pretty much useless, and security, even in the fast lane, operates at a glacial pace. They‘re friendly enough though. Once through security, and the massive shopping arcade that you‘re forced through at any major UK airport, the terminal is still very busy, operating at peak capacity despite recent extensions and remodelling of the terminal. 

Expecting this, I‘d booked myself into the Aspire Plus lounge at the airport. Yeah, file that under „not worth the money“. The place is tiny, little larger than my first apartment in Cork, finished mostly in grey without any major colour accents to lift the drab mood. The „views“ advertised on the lounge website amount to small slit-windows that you can‘t see through unless standing up. Think firing positions in a late 19th century fort, and you get the idea. The next time I fly through Bristol, I‘ll get the regular lounge again.

And then, there‘s the return flight. Granted, it arrives early, and boarding starts pretty promptly. In fact, I even run into the parents of the bride at the gate, which surprises all involved parties equally. The aircraft itself, a six-year-old Aer Lingus Regional ATR 72-600 is a bit of a different story. First of all, it carries the registry EI-FAT. Are you trying to tell me something, universe? Mind you, it‘s a comfortable enough aircraft, more comfortable than Aer Lingus‘ mainline Airbus A320s, but the windows are just atrocious, some of the dirtiest windows I‘ve ever seen in an aircraft. And as if to add insult to injury, the windows on that aircraft are some of the dirtiest I’ve seen in a long time.

Are you trying to tell me something, Aer Lingus? ;)

The windows are the filthiest I‘ve seen in a long time.

Pretty full load on the way back to Cork. I had a row for myself though.

We taxi out for a take-off from Runway 27 at Bristol bang on schedule. Ironically, our flight takes us right over The Mumbles, although this is all but invisible due to increasing cloud cover. The flight itself is a calm affair, with a few bumps over the Irish Sea, but all in all, nothing out of the ordinary. The landing in Cork is a special treat though. Due to the prevailing winds and the size of our aircraft, Cork Approach vectors us in for a visual approach onto Runway 23, the 1310-meter short crosswind runway at Cork Airport. This runway is far too short to take the Boeing and Airbus aircraft that provide the bulk of services, so this is the first time in the 34 times I’ve flown into or out of Cork that I’ve seen this runway in use. What’s so special about it, you ask? Well, if you’re seated on the right hand side of the aircraft, you effectively get a sightseeing tour over Cork, at a nice sedate pace too, given the low approach speeds of an ATR. The landing itself is rather “firm” though, with some serious braking action that brings us to a full stop in under 700 meters, and able to turn straight onto taxiway D. Now that’s what I call a short landing, and a nice way for the plane nerd in me to finish this rather interesting trip.

This view will soon be history, once the container terminal at Tivoli closes down.

Coming in over Mahon Point (Hi, Voxpro!)

Finals over Douglas.

Mere seconds from touchdown...

Well, it’s not quite finished. There’s still the slight matter of getting home, which once again shows just how disjointed Cork’s bus network really is. After getting the 226A down from the airport, I end up having to walk to the other end of the city centre to catch the 220 that takes me home to Ballincollig.

So what remains of that trip? On a professional level, it was great to see the London office of my company, meet the people I work with in person. It should really be in the best interest of any employer to enable even junior staff to see other offices. It prevents “insular” thinking and really drives home that they are part of a larger organisation. On that level, meeting people who’d come over from the US was also a bit of a revelation, though I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide exactly how I mean that statement.

On a personal level, it was great to see my friend again, and both the wedding and the reception were amazing. It was also a great opportunity to get a look at the UK beyond the great cities, seeing parts of the country I never would have visited otherwise. The Mumbles in particular is a beautiful place that I never even knew existed prior to the invitation for this trip. All in all, this trip was worth every penny.