Porthcawl

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Porthcawl
Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl
Porthcawl shown within the United Kingdom
Population	16,000
OS grid reference	SS825775
Principal area	Bridgend
Ceremonial county	Mid Glamorgan
Constituent country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PORTHCAWL
Postcode district	CF36
Dialling code	01656
Police	South Wales
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
European Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Bridgend
List of places: UK • Wales • Bridgend

Coordinates: 51°29′N 3°41′W / 51.48, -3.69

Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles (40 kilometres) west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles (30.5 kilometres) south-east of Swansea. Situated on a low limestone headland on the South Wales coast, overlooking the Bristol Channel, Porthcawl developed as a coal port during the 19th century, but its trade was soon taken over by more rapidly developing ports such as Barry. Northwest of the town, in the dunes known as Kenfig Burrows, are hidden the last remnants of the town and castle of Kenfig, which were overwhelmed by sand about 1400.

Porthcawl is a holiday resort in South Wales and is home to one of the largest caravan and camping parks in Europe, Trecco Bay. It has an extensive promenade and several beaches, two of which are Blue Flag beaches: a tourist-oriented beach at Trecco Bay, at the east end of the town; a sandy beach at Rest Bay, which lies to the northwest of the town; and the quiet and sandy Pink Bay leading out towards Sker point where a tarmac-covered car park serves a sandy beach.

There are many hotels and guest houses as well as a funfair called Coney Beach . Four rocky points line the shore: Hutchwns Point, Porthcawl Point (on which a lighthouse is situated), Rhych Point and Newton Point.

Porthcawl, like many UK resorts has suffered a decline in its holiday trade over recent years, especially since most of the South Wales Valleys coal pits have closed. A major feature of the summer used to be the miners fortnight when the miners would take their annual break in large numbers.

1 Local attractions
2 Beaches
3 Newton Village
4 Festivals
5 Sports
6 Getting there
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Local attractions

Tourist attractions in the area include sandy beaches, a Grand Pavilion, a fun fair named Coney Beach (modeled after Coney Island in New York City), and 3 golf courses.

Porthcawl Promenade

Built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee, Porthcawl's promenade runs along the seafront from Lock's Common in the west to the harbour, before joining the eastern promenade and leading to Coney Beach and Griffin Park. The promenade was restored in 1996. Many cafes, bars, restaurants and hotels are located along the promenade which offers spectacular views across the Bristol Channel.

The Promenade Princess Road Train runs along the promenade from Rest Bay to Coney Beach throughout the summer.

The Grand Pavilion, built at a cost of £25,000 in 1932, is the venue for popular shows, including the annual pantomime. The singer, actor, and civil rights activist Paul Robeson once performed 'live' at the Pavilion via a transatlantic telephone link.

Controversial luxury apartments now dominate the seafront on the site previously occupied by the Esplanade Hotel, which dated back to the late 1880s. The Royal Society of Architects in Wales awarded 'Esplanade House' a Welsh Housing Design Award in 2006, but the architecture has proved unpopular with many local residents who have nicknamed it 'the bottle bank'.^[1]

Harbour Quarter

Porthcawl Lifeboat Station, purpose built in 1995 is situated near the harbour and 'Cosy Corner' a park area, which over the years has housed a theatre, cinema, roller skating rink and ballroom. The Jennings Building, built in 1832, is a grade II listed building and Wales' oldest maritime warehouse, and currently holds the PADS Skate Boarding Centre. The building has been identified as a potentially important facility as part of the Porthcawl Regeneration Strategy.^[2]

At the end of Porthcawl Pier stands a lighthouse built around 140 years ago. The Pier and surrounding area are popular spots for sea fishing.

The historic ships the PS Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, and the MV Balmoral sail from this area during the summer months.^[3]

[edit] Beaches

Newton Beach to the east of Porthcawl is a long sandy and rocky beach, backed by the Newton Burrows and Merthyr Mawr sand dunes, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, and ending at the mouth of the River Ogmore at Ogmore-by-Sea. Newton Beach and the sand dunes are popular with walkers and horse riders. The beach is popular with windsurfers, jet skiers and power boat users.

Trecco Bay is a large, sandy and rocky Blue Flag beach.^[4] Although the Trecco Bay holiday park is sitauated alongside the beach it is non commercialised and unspoilt.

Sandy Bay, also known as Coney Beach, is a large sheltered and sandy beach. The beach has lifeguard cover from May - September and the water quality is rated as excellent. Sandy Bay is popular with families who can enjoy donkey and pony rides on the beach, alongside other facilities such as trampolines and bouncy castles and the adjacent Coney Beach Fun fair. Sandy Bay is also popular with surfers. Sandy Bay hosts the ever popular Christmas morning swim where hundreds of swimmers, many in fancy dress, have braved the waters on Christmas day since 1965, drawing in thousands of spectators and raising thousands of pounds for local charities.

Seafront Beach, also known as Town Beach, is a rocky beach in the centre of Porthcawl which was partly tarmaced over in the 1980s to repair sea defence. Swimming is prohibited at the beach and conditions are only suitable for experienced surfers due to the tides and sharp rocks.

Rest Bay is a sandy Blue Flag beach^[5] situated in the west of Porthcawl. It is a very popular for water sports, especially surfing. A 'surf cam' shows live conditions from Rest Bay 24 hours a day. A surfing acamedy offers lessons and board hire during the summer months.^[6] A lifeguard station overlooks the beach.

Pink Bay is a quiet beach, 15 minutes walk from Rest Bay, that has a steep pebble bank down onto a flat beach edged by a rocky shoreline. These rocks have a unique pink marbling effect – hence the name Pink Bay.

Sker Beach is the most westerly beach in Porthcawl, and is accessible only by walking from Rest Bay or Kenfig National Nature Reserve. Its remote location makes it one of the quiter beaches in Porthcawl. A plaque, in memory of the 47 lives lost on the S.S.Santampa, capsized and wrecked in heavy seas, and the Mumbles RNLI Life Boat which attempted rescue on April 23, 1947,^[7] is visible at low tide. At very low tides wreckage is still being found.

[edit] Newton Village

Newton village dates from the 12th century. St. John's Church, founded by the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem 800 years ago, and originally built as a fortress, overlooks the village green. The Jolly Sailor pub, the oldest in Porthcawl, and the Ancient Briton pub also overlook the green. To the south of the church lies St John's well, the water from which is reputed to have healing properties.

[edit] Festivals

Porthcawl Town Carnival takes place annually in July. A procession of themed floats and acts make their way around the town, collecting money for charity, and competing for the prize of best float. The procession makes its way to the carnival field where there are stalls, a fun fair and live acts to be enjoyed.

The Porthcawl Jazz Festival is held annually in April hosting a variety of musical performances, workshops and family events over a weekend.

Surf Cult runs for a week in September. Events include surf contests, music, art, fashion and film, and an outdoor market. The festival ends with the legendary Surfers Ball.

The Elvis Festival runs every September, attracts Elvis tribute artists and devotees from across the world, and is the biggest gathering of Elvis fans in Europe. The Elvis Festival was selected as one of the UK's top twenty summer festivals by The Times in 2008.^[8]

Other festivals include the Newton Beer Festival, and the Porthcawl Sea Festival.

[edit] Sports

Porthcawl is one of the top locations in Wales for surfing and competitions are held at Rest Bay. It also has an extensive golf course which attracts players from around the world.

[edit] Getting there

Road - M4 motorway junction 37, left at Pyle roundabout, then follow A4229 south direct to Porthcawl
Rail - nearest station is Pyle, although Bridgend station is the nearest mainline station, with direct trains from Paddington.
Sea - crossings from Ireland to: Swansea, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard
Air - Cardiff International Airport