The city's Welsh name, Abertawe, means the settlement at the mouth of the River Tawe. The first reliable mention of Swansea dates from 1099, when a Norman castle was built here as an outpost of William the Conqueror's empire. A small settlement grew near the coalfields and the sea, developing into a mining and shipbuilding centre that, by 1700, was the largest coal port in Wales. Copper smelting became the area's dominant industry in the eighteenth century, soon attracting other metal trades to pack out the lower Tawe Valley, making it one of the world's most prolific metal-bashing centres. Swansea is Wales's second city, and it grew to its present importance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, becoming a centre of heavy industry. However, it did not enjoy the same degree of immigration as Cardiff and the eastern valleys. Consequently, it retains close links with agriculture and rural life.
Transportation in Swansea
By Car: From the east exit the M4 J42 & follow the A483 to Swansea.
From the west exit the M4 J47 & follow the A483 to Swansea.
By Train: There are frequent Direct Rail services operating trains to Swansea from within Wales and around the UK.
By Coach: There is a frequent National Express service operating various coaches to Swansea bus station.
By Ferry:
Swansea is the second city of Wales, with around 200,000 people, and has great aspirations to be the first; it's certainly far more Welsh than Cardiff. Close inspection reveals Swansea's multifarious charms - some intact old corners of the city centre, the spacious and graceful suburb of Uplands, a wide seafront overlooking Swansea Bay and a bold marina development around the old docks. Swansea ferry port offers excellent communication links with easy access to the M4 and direct access to the UK railway network. Swansea is less than 3 miles by dual carriageway from junction 42 of the M4 motorway.
The spit of land between Oystermouth Road, the sea and the Tawe estuary has been christened the Maritime Quarter - built around a vast marina surrounded by legions of modern flats. The city's old South Dock, now cleaned and spruced up, features the enticingly old-fashioned Swansea Museum. A small grid of nineteenth-century streets around the museum has been thoughtfully cleaned up and now houses some enjoyable cafés, pubs and restaurants.
Behind the museum, in Somerset Place, is the airy Dylan Thomas Centre, the national literature centre of Wales, complete with theatre space, book and craft shops, a great café, and two galleries. One of these is devoted to Dylan Thomas, and includes a mock-up of the shed in which he wrote, in which you can see a fascinating video on his life and work
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