Walks near Swansea

The centre of Swansea is compact and located close to the seafront - making it a perfect place to explore by walking. The Swansea City Centre Walking Trail offers a slice of history and culture including Swansea's Norman Castle, Swansea Museum and the National Waterfront Museum – an impressive and highly informative journey through nearly 300 years of Wales’ industrial history, including the growth of Copperopolis as Swansea was once known.

A longer walk in Swansea, a Dylan Thomas trail takes in some of the landmarks that shaped Swansea's most famous literary son including the house he grew up in on Cwmdonkin Drive, The Uplands Tavern where he sipped his first pint of beer and the Dylan Thomas Centre, located in Swansea’s old Guildhall and dedicated to celebrating his life and work.

While exploring walks in Swansea on your own is easy enough, sometimes a guided tour can help you discover even more of Swansea's charms. Both Fogo's Swansea Walking Tour and Griffin Guiding offer sightseeing walks for individuals and small groups.

Swansea's crescent bay stretches for 5 miles (9 km), making it a perfect starting point for exploring Swansea's coastal path and Promenade Walking Route all the way to Mumbles. Along the way take a detour into Brynmill Park, the first urban parkland established for the residents of Swansea and neighbouring, elegant Singleton Park that sits on the former family estate of John Vivian, the Cornish-born copper magnate who pioneered Swansea's industrial growth.

In Mumbles you'll find the ultimate walking reward at one of its delicious Italian ice cream parlours or the many pubs and restaurants.

Swansea is also the gateway to the picturesque Gower Peninsula and its many walking routes. The Gower Coast Path (part of the greater Wales Coast Path) runs around the entire peninsula and offers nature walks near Swansea and beautiful beach views.

In South Gower, signature walks include the easily accessible Langland Bay to Caswell Bay path where, if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the choughs that live in the local rock gulleys and caves. Further down the coast is the Three Cliffs Bay Walking Route where you’ll pass close to the ruined Pennard Castle. Local folklore maintains the castle was cursed by fairies. Oxwich Point Walk leads around a spectacular headland and past one of Gower’s earliest places of worship - the 6th century St Illtyd’s Church. Rhossili to Mewslade Bay, meanwhile, offers dramatic views of Worms Head and the Carmarthenshire coastline.

On the North Gower coast, the Llanmadoc Circular walk takes you past an Iron Age fort and into Whiteford Burrows sand dunes while the Llanrhidian Higher routes lead you across salt marsh and the centre of Wales’ cockle industry.

Away from the coast, the Gower Way is a challenging 35-mile (56km) hike near Swansea that takes you inland and back through time including visiting Arthur’s Stone, a Neolithic burial monument dating back some 4,000 years and located near the highest point of Gower.

Hikes near Swansea can also immerse you in beautiful woodland. To the west of the city centre sits the Clyne Valley Country Park, a 700-acre nature haven (some of it reclaimed from heavy industry and even a main railway line) that is home to ancient oaks, birch and beechwoods.

To the north of Swansea lies Penllegare Valley Woods. It was once a grand Victorian estate and home to Dillwyn Llewelyn, part of the wealthy family that owned Cambrian Pottery. He was both a renowned horticulturist and an early pioneer in the field of photography. Today, you can wander through landscape that inspired him including a hundred hectares of woodland, two lakes and 7 miles of peaceful woodland walks.

Overlooking the city centre is one of the most intriguing hikes in Swansea. This is Kilvey Community Woodland, a relatively young tract of woodland that was planted to help this hill recover from over a century of air and water pollution resulting from nearby copper, iron and coal production. Just 60 years ago, this landscape was denuded but today, it’s brimming with biodiversity and home to emperor dragonflies, blue-tailed damselflies, lizards and even buzzards. It has become a favourite place for both Swansea residents and visitors to wander – not least because it provides breath-taking views of Swansea Bay.