First day

Arriving just past midday, parked and stretched it was  time to take stock. A stroll through Wind Street also doubled as our recce for the nightlife spots. I have been told that Wind Street is over a thousand years old, perplexing as I have a hard time visualising anything other than pubs and bars on it! As the street opened up to Castle Square, the de factocentre of Swansea we got our first look at Cwtsh. Big windows and a slick looking sign, a great start.

After a quick who could get to the top first, stairs or lift game (stairs won) we were buzzed into reception by Rowan. He talked us through our room which was a four pod dorm, with some very exciting lights to have a fiddle with later on… Then moving onto the full tour of the building, nosying round the different dorms and onto the kitchen/common room. It was quite obvious that a lot of thought had gone into the design. Each bed had their own designated locker underneath with padlocks available at reception. Beds were also treated to their own aforementioned light which could be programmed using a colour wheel! The kitchen was packed with all the essentials, a massive fridge and two sets of ovens and stove tops. As well as all the cutlery and utensils of course.

The view from the kitchen

Grinning Rowan illuminated us with the knowledge of the living rooms projector, all set for Netflix. A welcome addition in my eyes. Finally arriving back at reception we were showed our keys, or more specifically our phones. Rowan helped us through getting the key app set up and left us to it. Tired from the drive a bit of R&R was in order. While not intending to lie in until 6, it was definitely round the corner from tea when we made tracks out to town. Eventually finding ourselves in a Mexican restaurant just off the main strip. Beans, burritos and beer, it was all there. Delicious, and deceptively large portions it was a verifiable hit. Taking advantage of 2 for 1 drinks plans were laid for the evening where the real drinking could begin.

Joe finding a particularly funny chapter of the guide

Pinballing from one bar to the next the nightlife in Swansea was better than expected. The usual suspects lining the streets, the well dressed, the fancy dressed and for the first night back on a cold January evening the comically underdressed. Shivering aside there was still a buzz about the air, people ecstatic to reengage in the popular British pastime of getting leathered on a Saturday night. Bambu, a themed tiki bar was the last stop on the tour of Wind Street. A live DJ and plenty of liquid, can’t complain.

Before long the time to head back had approached, forgoing a taxi we laboriously walked the requisite 200 steps back to Cwtsh. Admiring the ruins of Swansea castle on the way, it was truly hard to believe just how close we were to the center of town. After shuffling through the door to our room we drifted off to a restful but admittedly alcohol lubricated snooze.

Day 2

A consensus hadn’t been formed on the in’s and outs of the day yet, so turning to reception I sought out some advice. I was informed that by the beach happened to be the tallest building in Wales, and better yet it was open for Tea and Coffee. In the land of 3 storeys the 27 storeyed is king. A beautiful day awaited us outside, last nights cold replaced with a clear blue sky and a smiling sun. Severely lacking in fluids we ambled our way through the streets, the Meridian tower acting as a beacon across the Swansea skyline.

Towers, lanterns and street art

Bobbing along, passing the marina it felt good to be out in the fresh air. We decided to pop by the beach, before ascending to new heights. Seeing who could search for the most stunning shells, with or sans crab. While no sea monsters were found we had fun nonetheless. Moving on up we returned to the Meridian tower to take in the view. A novel experience as I can’t say I’ve been more than 5 storeys in a lift before and I didn’t expect to more than quintuple that record on a trip to Wales! More recently I have been stuck in a lift which I suppose goes to show that they can always surprise you. We’d acquired drinks of both the hot and cold variety, and took up residence by a window. Looking down we had seemed to have found the ideal people watching birds nest. Up in the clouds was a lovely place to be, even more so when we spotted this strange and unusual crop circle…

Aliens?

Finishing up our drinks we still had some time to burn before needing to get back to our home country, naturally it was time to have a snoop round the shops. A good deal to choose from too. Along the way spotting street art and a fair few dragons. A highlight of the shops was finding a very cool hat, however I was told I was not allowed to buy it. A good mooch round later it was time to return to Cwtsh and say our goodbyes. As well as dropping off some board games we’d acquired for the common room.

Cool hat

Swansea was a blast and a big thank you to Llyr and all the staff at Cwtsh for the stay.