WALK 8: DYLAN THOMAS UPLANDS IN SWANSEA
| Cwmdonkin Park really is a magical corner of Swansea, an oasis in a busy city. The park is the centrepiece of the walk which also takes in Dylan’s early home and some of the places he frequented as a child or wrote of in his poetry. Photo: Cwmdonkin Park, J. Davies |
Map: OS Explorer 165 or Landranger 159
Distance: Approximately 1 mile, 1.5 kilometres
Terrain: Local streets and parkland, hilly
Start: Cwmdonkin Park north entrance; map reference 638933
Bus there: Mondays to Saturdays: Veolia service 8 or 9 from Swansea city centre; frequency, every hour, daytime (alternates clockwise/anti-clockwise); this route is advised as it travels on a route with excellent views of Swansea Bay then allows mostly downhill walking
Sundays: Services 8 & 9 do not operate on Sundays; First Cymru service 20 operates every half hour to Uplands Square
Walk: There are two north entrances to Cwmdonkin Park; use either and walk around the park taking in the features of Dylan Thomas’ childhood memories including the sports pavilion, the fountain and the stream flowing through a reed lake. Leave the park at the east end on to Cwmdonkin Terrace; turning right into Cwmdonkin Drive, you will see number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Dylan’s childhood home, now fully restored as a specialist self-catering establishment. Go downhill turning right into Uplands Terrace then the small square at the Grove. Here you will see the Ebenezer chapel, at which Dylan attended Sunday School. Turn left and proceed to Uplands Crescent. On the right hand corner was the Uplands Cinema, now Lloyds TSB. Turn left and you will see the Uplands Tavern, much modernised but still bearing the same name. Inside is a room dedicated to the poet’s memory with photographs and quotations. Further down you will see the Kingdom Hall in Mirador Crescent (left) which was Dylan’s Primary School. Retrace your steps to the Uplands Tavern form outside of which the bus leaves for Swansea.
Finish: Uplands Square; map reference 639929
Facilities: Uplands Square has a number of cafés, the Uplands Tavern (one of Dylan’s favourites), shops and post office. Public toilets are situated in Cwmdonkin Park
Bus back: Mondays to Saturdays: First Cymru Services 15, 18, 20, 21, 29, 37 provide a very frequent link back to the city centre. Sundays: First Cymru Services 20, 21 operate every half hour to the city centre
Tickets: Two single (one way) tickets are advisable as Veolia and First tickets are not inter-available; holders of Welsh concessionary bus passes can travel free!