Swansea Bay

Mumbles – South end car park to Brynmill

Sunday June 7^th 2026

Steps on the trail 8064 –  Miles on the trail 3.48

A more leisurely start, following a church service at Murton Methodist Church – with a good exposition on the first chapter of Philippians. I liked the idea of Bible month, and enjoyed the strong Biblical focus and some super singing – with 2 great Wesley hymns.

I  parked at the South end car park on the Mumbles, it was overcast and it looked like it might rain! I failed to get the car park machine to work after several efforts (things improved a bit when I got it to prompt me in English rather than Welsh – but it failed to do the final step – so I resorted to an app). I set up a touching  point using the Southend sign on the Mumbles railway trail.  I did a leisurely stroll on the promenade in the direction of Swansea, seeing evidence of the Swansea half marathon that had been earlier. There had been significant improvements to this end of the promenade, which were opened in 2025 – it did look good, and rather better than my memories from a placement in Sketty in 2003. I stopped for a coffee after I had found a public toilet.

I walked on to Black Pill before stopping for lunch. By this stage I realised I wasn’t going to be able to get a bus back very easily because it was Sunday, and the land train wasn’t running because of the marathon, so I decided when it came to it I would get an Uber!

Lunch hit the spot – and I carried on through more of a country park. The evidence of the half marathon was littering the side of the track, and it was quite poignant as I passed the 11 mile mark. I remembered my own half marathon (run for Christian Aid and my 50^th birthday in 2011!) in and around the Royal Parks in London. I remembered hitting the wall a bit between the 11^th and 12^th mile markers on that occasion. I had trained for 6 months to get to this point and I was particularly grateful for the encouragement from the crowd as I alternated between walking and running at this stage!

I did another mile on the trail, but was getting a bit conscious of sharing the path with a cycle track and seeing several folk in county lines kit passing me at speed – I have watched too many episodes of Line of Duty!. At Bryn mill on the mumbles railway trail I established a touching point and a very chatty Uber driver took me back to where the car was parked. Just as I was getting out of the Uber it started to rain! Which continued well into the evening!

Brynmill to Jersey Marine

Monday June 8^th 2026

Steps on the trail 15329  –  Miles on the trail 6.56

I had spotted a car park near the Brynmill touching point and I headed back there. Ready to walk by 9:30am. It was bright and sunny, but cool and I decided gloves would be a good idea! There was a very patriotic bin! After connecting with the touching  point, the trail kept above the beach and was much more open than yesterday’s final section. I walked along with the developments getting more and more upmarket, (though some were not ageing well), and there was a mermaid!. Eventually where a building site blocked off the path, I turned a corner on the side of the river Tawe and a marina came into view. I found a toilet, crossed the Tawe on a foot bridge, and then settled down for morning coffee.

The trail headed inland round the Prince of Wales dock, past a Norwegian Church which is now a nursery and on to a track, with a  very impressive footbridge (suspension!) over the main road. I carried on along the track for about ½ a mile, before passing Fabian Way park and ride to a road.

I had a bit of a dither here, as I worked out whether to carry on. I did do a further 2 and a ½ miles to Jersey Marine, along a track that deteriorated to a narrow path, and went past some wetland, and eventually the last mile or so by the disused and overgrown Tennant Canal. (Thankfully this was much to remote a path for more county lines stuff! And I saw 2 cyclists and 1 man walking his dog on the entire stretch!) – There were several signs discouraging crime and telling me I was being watched!

I established a touching point where the path came out by a bridge, and wandered up the road to a very convenient bus stop. I had a short wait to catch a T6 bus into Swansea and then a number 1 back to Bryn Mill. I ate lunch overlooking the beach back near where I started, before heading back to the car.