Attraction in Swansea

Dan-yr-Ogof in the Swansea Valley of the Brecon Beacons National Park is the largest and most complex showcave system in Britain, a labyrinth of passages and caverns discovered in 1912 and progressively explored over the following century that extends for approximately seventeen kilometres of surveyed passages beneath the limestone country of the upper Swansea Valley. The showcave complex open to visitors includes three separate cave experiences of considerable variety, from the spectacular stalagmite formations of the Cathedral Cave to the archaeological Cathedral Cave with its Iron Age and Bronze Age deposits. The Cathedral Cave takes its name from the enormous cavern at its heart, a chamber of approximately 40 metres height filled with the largest single collection of stalagmite and stalactite formations of any showcave in Britain, assembled over hundreds of thousands of years by the dripping water that has carved and decorated the cave since the limestone was first penetrated by surface water. The scale of the individual formations, some of considerable height and girth, creates an atmosphere of geological majesty that justifies the cave's name. The Bone Cave, the third showcave in the complex, contains the archaeological evidence of the human occupation of the cave system from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, including human skeletal remains of at least forty-two individuals deposited in the cave over a period of several thousand years. The Dan-yr-Ogof complex also includes an extensive dinosaur park in the surface grounds that provides entertainment for younger visitors while the archaeological and geological interest of the caves appeals to adults.

Mumbles Pier is a Victorian pleasure pier at Mumbles on the western edge of Swansea Bay in south Wales, one of the few surviving traditional seaside piers in Wales and a beloved landmark of the Gower coast. The pier was opened in 1898 and served as the terminus of the world's first passenger railway service, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which ran along the bay from 1807 to 1960. Extensively restored and redeveloped in recent years, the pier now houses an RNLI lifeboat station, an amusement area and various food and retail outlets, maintaining its traditional seaside character while providing modern visitor facilities. The pier provides excellent views over Swansea Bay, the limestone headland of Mumbles Head and the outlying lighthouse island. Mumbles village is one of the most attractive communities on the Gower coast, known for its restaurants, independent shops and the beginning of the Gower Peninsula coastal path.