Jersey Marine
Coordinates: 51°37′49″N 3°51′52″W / 51.63022°N 3.8645°W
Jersey Marine is a village in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales, UK located about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Swansea. It falls within the Coedffranc West ward.
Jersey Marine is centered on a main road formed by Ashleigh Terrace, coming from a junction with the A483 road (Fabian Way), which curves to the east along New Road leading to Llandarcy. The A483, Fabian Way, is normally considered the gateway into Swansea City Centre, therefore it is mistakenly thought that the area is part of the city of Swansea despite the village being part of Neath Port Talbot. The local primary in the village is the Crymlyn Primary School. Secondary school age children attend school in Neath, not Swansea.
The village includes the Pant Y Sais Nature Reserve, a fen area featuring a circular boardwalk which connects with the tow path of the Tennant Canal.
A new 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) distribution centre for Amazon.co.uk is sited south of the village on the site of a former cable manufacturing plant. It opened on 16 April 2008.
Jersey Marine tower
Jersey Marine is most famous to locals for its tower. This is a four storey octagonal tower that was built in the Victorian era. The tower was designed to provide a panoramic view of the surrounding area through its camera obscura. It was built as part of the development of Jersey Marine as a holiday resort. Having fallen into disrepair, there were proposals to restore the camera obscura but it was eventually fully restored in 2006 as part of The Towers Hotel and is now used as a bridal suite.
Jersey Marine beach
Jersey Marine beach stretches from the River Neath estuary to Swansea Docks. It is backed by sand dunes at Crymlyn Burrows to the north. To the northeast lies the golf course of the Swansea Bay Golf Club. Heavy industrial sites are prominent to the eastern and western ends of the beach.
Visitors should be aware of the dangers of this beach, which have been the cause of many deaths in the past. Firstly, the tide goes out extremely far, which can lead people to walk out to get close to the water's edge. Unbeknown to many, there are a number of large sand banks across the beach. When the tide comes in, it comes in widely around these sandbanks. Anyone facing the water would not know that it is cutting them off from behind. The extremely strong currents in this water makes it a recipe for disaster.