The Perfect Swansea Summer With Ground Level Swansea The Ultimate guide to entertaining kids, families, teenagers and adults across the summer in our beautiful city.
Please note, this is only a selection of the great activities across Swansea and whilst we have done our best to find everything we could, we cannot be responsible for missing events.
For the kids... *Tennis Sessions - Beginners up Kite-making workshops Where: Victoria Park and Elba Sports Where: National Waterfront Museum Complex When: From July 21st until July 27th, all day When: July 26th and 31st (Park), August Who: Anyone aged 7+ 2nd and 7th (Elba) Booking required £1 per child *Crown and Shield making Gower Medieval Heritage Week Where: Oystermouth Castle Where: Gower Heritage Centre When: July 25th, 10:30am When: July 30th until August 5th £1 per child Who: Anyone Olympic Opening Ceremony *Bug Hunt Where: Castle Square Where: Coed Gwilym Park When: July 27th, 2pm-9pm When: August 9th, 10.30-11.30am Free £1 per child *National Play Day Community Farm Play Scheme Where: Coed Bach Park Where: Swansea Community Farm, FforestWhen: August 1st, 1:00 pm fach Free When: Every Monday and Tuesday through August Cycle Power and Ice Cream Who: Anyone, but registration is required Where: Plantasia £1 a day When: July 25th and 26th Who: Anyone Birds of Prey Admission prices apply Where: Plantasia When: August 7th until August 9th Who: Anyone Admission fees apply. All events marked with * require pre-booking through the Junior Park Rangers online through ticketsource.
For the kids... Get knotted/Rope Making Where: National Waterfront Museum When: August 4th-12th Pirate Weekend Where: National WaterfronT Museum When: August 11th-12th, 11am-4pm Films for Kids (Shrek, The Lion King, The Muppets) Where: Castle Square’s big screen When: August 14th, 21st and 28th; 1pm and 3:30pm Who: Anyone Admission free. Beach Fun Day Where: Gower Heritage Centre When: August 15th *Medieval Story Telling Where: Oystermouth Castle When: August 21st, 10.30-11.30am £1 per child. *Treasure Hunt Where: Clyne Gardens When: August 23rd, 10.30-11.30am £1 per child
*Orienteering Where: Parc Llewelyn When: August 30th, 10.30-11.30am £1 per child. Roald Dahl Weekend Where: National Waterfront Museum When: September 8th and 9th Monthly Movies Where: National Waterfront Museum When: August 12th, August 19th, August 27th, September 8th. All ages, free. Open House Where: All over Swansea When: September 8th and 9th All ages, free. Visit Swanseaopenhouse.co.uk
For teenagers Films for Teens Where: Swansea Central Library When: Every Friday 6pm-8pm Who: 13-17 year olds, no parents allowed! Free Shabby Chic Workshops Where: National Waterfront Museum When: Saturdays from 1.30pm Who: All welcome, aimed at teenagers Free, booking required. Skate Jams Where: Skate parks through Swansea When: Fridays from 24th July til 21st August, 1pm-3.30pm Academy of Creative Arts Where: Across South Wales When: All summer Visit: www.academyofcreativearts.co.uk for more details. The A Level Results party Where: Oceana When: August 16th Who: Anyone over 18. Football Frenzy Fun Day Where: City Centre When: August 16th Watersports and more! Wakeboarding, Go Wake, Swansea Marina Surfing, Progress Academy, Killay Kite Boarding, Gower Kite Riders, Mumbles Indoor Climbing, Dynamic Rock, Clydach Archery, Perriswood Archery, Penmaen
For the adults... Sandfields: Past and Present Where: Swansea Museum When: 16th June-31st August
Beer Festival Where: Brangwyn Hall When: August 23rd until 25th Who: Anyone 18+
Neath Comedy Festival Swansea Fest Where: The Duke, Neath Status Quo, Steps and Battle Proms When: July 30th until August 2nd Where: Singleton Park Who: Anyone over 18 When: August 25th, 26th and 27th Tickets available at: theclownspocket.come- Tickets are £30, plus fees, 5 and under go dy-festivals.co.uk free. Buy at Derricks Music or TicketlineUK. Make and Mend Where: National Waterfront Museum Welsh Menu Live When: August 4th, September 1st, October When: August 25th-27th 6th, 1:30pm Who: Adults Bluegrass Festival £5, Booking is required. Where: Gower Heritage Centre When: September 7th until 9th. Outdoor Theatre (Midsummer Night’s Dream; Romeo and Juliet) Murder Mystery Night Where: Oystermouth Castle Where: National Waterfront Museum When: August 15th and 16th When: September 7th Tel: 02920 573600 to book. Big Band Years Where: Oystermouth Castle Taliesin Arts Centre Films and When: August 17th Exhibitions Book by calling 01792 637300 Where: Swansea University campus When: Throughout Summer What the Dickens! The Frenzied and Cre- Who: Check individual films for age restricative Life of Charles Dickens tions Where: National Waterfront Museum Taliesinartscentre.co.uk When: August 18th, 11am Swans 100 Craft Fair Where: National Waterfront Museum Where: Swansea Museum When: September 16th, 11am-4pm When: August 18th and 19th www.swans100.org.uk
What can we do for free? Check out some of the free exhibitions on over the summer at the national waterfront museum, like ‘windsong’ and ‘games’. Explore the Swansea Museum, Dylan Thomas Centre or take a walk around the Marina. Take a walk along the beach or in one of Swansea’s many parks. Go along to the Egypt Centre, based on Swansea University Campus. Arrange a trip to the Community Farm. Get a free swimming session for under-16s in pools across Swansea (Penlan, Pen-yrheol and Morriston). Get crafty - follow instructions for our calendar or bake with the kids. Have a teddy bear’s picnic in the back garden, or set up a tent and sleep out overnight. Put toys or chocolates in various places through the house and host a treasure hunt with clues to the treats’ locations. Try ‘what gets wet while you stay dry’ for a treat hidden near the umbrella stand. Explore the Gower, with long walks along the beaches and the cliffs. Head to library with family ot friends and pick books out for each other. You never know, your kids might have good taste! Set up a scavenger hunt in the local park, beach or back garden. Remember the countryside code ‘leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories’. Design and send postcards to family members - Wish you were here in Swansea!
What else is around? If you want to trek a little further out of Swansea, try the ape and monkey sanctuary just 15 miles outside of Swansea. Visit: www.cefn-yr-erw.co.uk for more details. Try all the flavours in Joe’s ice cream. Take a cruise on the River Tawe in the community boat. Trips cost around £7 for adults and run three times a day. Check out the bowling at Parc Tawe or treat yourself to a new release in the cinema or an old release you missed the first time in the Taliesin. Visit plantasia for the day! Head to the LC for an afternoon on the water slides. Stroll through the market and pick up fresh produce for the week. Ask the vendors for their favourite recipes and try them at home! Book a session at Exist skate park. Visit the chocolate factory for a taste of the finest right here in Swansea. Try your hand at Wakeboarding with Go-Wake. They run special kids and ladies sessions through the summer. Head to go-wake.co.uk Try out crazy golf or the pedalos at Singleton Park Pop to Ashleigh Road golf course for the only 10-hole course in Swansea. The Archive Service based in the Civic Centre can help you trace your family history. Book your place online and start exploring your past!
Summer Gig Guide Live and Local @ Sin City, July 27th, 7.30pm Charity Night @ The Mill, with Grand Theft Audio, July 27th, 8pm No Obligation @ Castle Square, Olympic Ceremony, July 27th, 6pm. Comedy Nights @ Oceana, Friday August 3rd, 7pm. Tonedeaf Fest @ Koopas, August 3rd (1pm) til August 5th (11pm). Acoustic Junkies @ The Garage, August 4th, 9pm. Midriff @ Mozart’s, August 8th. Crunch Poetry CLub @ Mozart’s, August 9th and 16th. The Phantom Light @ Mozart’s, August 11th. Mixtapes and Starters @ Mozart’s, August 17th. Smiths Tribute @ The Garage, August 18th, 9pm. Peatbog Faeries @ The Garage, August 22nd, 8pm. The Uplands Music Festival @ Venues across Uplands, 24th-27th August, 4.30pm. State of Quo @ The Garage, August 25th, 2pm. Swansea Fest @ Singleton Park, August 25th-27th. Melyn’s Big Day Out @ Melin’s park, Neath, August 26th, 12pm6pm. Swansea Gathering @ Sin City, Koopas, Bar Ten and Oxygen, August 26th, 5pm-5am Spirytus @ Sin City, August 31st, 7.30pm The Doors Alive and Buffalo Summer @ Sin City, September 8th, 7.30pm. Please note age restrictions and door fees may apply. Always take ID and check ahead with the venue.
Summer of Sport This year is truly a summer of sport for Britain, so why not host your own games in the comfort of your living room or backgarden to keep the kids entertained? You could even make medals out of card and ribbon and stack old newspapers or yellow pages to create a winner’s podium. No mess egg and spoon race To avoid the risk of egg on your face (or the carpet) hard boil your eggs for around 10 to 12 minutes so they won’t splat when they fall. Simple Hoopla or Bowling Use old plastic bottles, painted in various colours, as pins for bowling or hoopla. Create rings to throw by scrunching lines of newspaper and sealing with sticky tape.
Paper Plate Discus and Loo Roll Javelin Best suited to outside play, use painted paper plates or frisbees to recreate the discus. Make a javelin by sticking together some toilet or paper towel rolls and rolling half a paper plate to create a pointed end.
Welly sling Another outdoor activity, prizes to whoever can fling a welly the furthest, without damaging the flowers of course! Bean bags are another alternative if you have them. Blow Football A classic most dads will remember! Table tennis balls work well on a flat surface with butter tubs making good goals. Players use drinking straws to blow the football around and hopefully score!