4 minute read
MOVE TO MUMBLES A
MOVE TO MUMBLES
Swansea Bay’s upwardly mobile property hotspot is a mix of sandy beaches, seafood and celebrity, writes Lesley Gillilan
Swansea’s charming seaside suburb is not just for the weekend; it’s a great place to live too. In fact, Mumbles (or the Mumbles, as they say here) took first place in 2018’s Sunday Times guide to the best places to live in Wales.
On a thumb-like headland jutting from the Gower Peninsula into Swansea Bay, the place certainly gets 10 out of 10 for location. Add points for sandy beaches, surfing and great seafood among a long list of attractions. And then give it top marks for re-invention: what was once an old-fashioned resort popular with Welsh Valley miners has now become an up-market seaside village with a reputation for oysters and A-list celebrities (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bonnie Tyler and Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page are regulars). According to Carwyn Thomas, owner of Mumbles’ Langland Cove Guesthouse, it’s always been the ‘jewel in the crown of Swansea Bay’. And some things never change – like the seafront’s Italian-style ice cream parlours, the majestic ruins of Oystermouth Castle, or the great views from the Victorian pier to Mumbles Lighthouse. But the little town, he says, has a new energy.
The legendary ‘Mumbles Mile’, once the haunt of Swansea pub crawlers, now has a ‘Café Quarter’. Oyster Wharf, a smart new retail development which opened on the waterfront in 2017, has helped build its reputation as a Swansea Bay food hub. And the high street in ‘Mumbles Village’ is a buzzy community of boutique shops and independent restaurants. ‘It’s become a place that attracts young families,’ says Carwyn, whose sons Maelo and Rowan were part of his move-to-Mumbles plan. ‘And it has a really positive vibe.’
WHERE TO BUY
For waterfront properties, the best options are Mumbles’ Promenade Terrace or, a mile to the west, posh Langland Bay. In and around the town, look for colour-washed terraces of tall Victorian houses (some with sea views and verdant gardens), particularly around Overland Road and Church Park. Narrow lanes of smaller terraced cottages sit in the back streets off the main shopping street on Newton Road. Castle Road offers a leafy line of 1930s semis close to Oystermouth Castle. And for a quieter, more rural life, head deeper into Gower: Caswell Bay, Oxwich or Rhossili.
HOW MUCH
Expect to pay a lot more than most of South Wales – and 100% more than most of Swansea. The optimum price is between £300,000 and £500,000: ranging from a two-bedroom new-build apartment at the lower end of the price range, up to a five-bedroom townhouse at the upper
MUMBLES: £291,670SWANSEA: £179,536WALES: £192,091UK: £309,500 CAN YOU AFFORD IT?
AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES, MAY 2019. SOURCE: ZOOPLA (ZOOPLA.CO.UK).
‘It’s BECOME a PLACE that attracts FAMILIES and it has
a really POSITIVE VIBE’
end. On the promenade, a three-bedroom Victorian home overlooking Swansea Bay, goes for around £400,000. Two-bed cottages can be purchased for around £200-£250,000. But dig a bit deeper if you are thinking of heading to Langland Bay for example, where a five-bedroom detached home is currently on the market at a price of £779,000.
TIME OUT
There’s lots to do here. For local beaches head for Bracelet Bay or Limeslade Bay, or further afield, the Gower Peninsula (Britain’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) has some gems including awesome Three Cliffs Bay near Rhossili. Other local attractions include historic Oystermouth Castle and Mumbles Hill Nature Reserve, and there are golf clubs at Langland Bay or nearby Clyne. Pop into the city of Swansea for high-street shopping and the National Waterfront Museum, Grand Theatre and Liberty Stadium. Good local eateries include the humble Gower Seafood Hut as well as The Plough & Harrow at Murton – named the best gastro pub in Wales in 2018’s Food Awards Wales. For classic gelato, head for Verdi’s, Joe’s or Forte’s.
TRAVEL LINKS
As there is no railway station in Mumbles a car is essential here, although there are local buses to Swansea, where you can pick up regular mainline rail services travelling direct to Cardiff, Bristol, London and Manchester. London by car takes around four hours via the M4’s Severn Bridge. There is also a small domestic airport in
PAY A VISIT
After buying this former inn in 2014, Carwyn Thomas and Sarah Elliott hired Tamsin Leech-Griffiths, an ex-fashion designer for Paul Smith, to design the cool, uncluttered interiors: a palette of chocolate and charcoal furnished with crisp white linen, original prints and the occasional floral cushion. In the four en suite bedrooms, you get robes, fresh milk and home-made cake. The sea is a short walk away. B&B from £85 per night.
Swansea, but for international flights head for Cardiff (40 miles).
SCHOOLS
The nearest school is Bishopston Comprehensive (three miles to the east of Mumbles, it’s rated by Estyn as ‘excellent’). In Swansea, Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr (seven miles) is another great local school.
REALITY CHECKS
The village tends to get very busy in summer; holiday traffic here is notoriously slow and congested, and exacerbated by a shortage of parking. In winter, however, you can look forward to a slower pace.
COMING UP
Major plans are afoot for redevelopment in Mumbles. The famous pier has been undergoing a £3.2m refurbishment, and the owner is also proposing a multimillion-pound scheme that will incorporate the former Cinderella’s nightclub on the pier head into some new apartments on a redeveloped foreshore.
