The Mumbles Mile

We'd heard about a legendary pub crawl just outside Swansea, called the Mumbles Mile. Once it was a epic journey, but it is now a shadow of it's former past - from over 20 apparently it now contains 9 pubs. But that was not to put us off! So, we got together with Lewis and Sarah and headed off on the 31st of January. So on a cold and blustery day we all leapt on the train and headed out to Swansea. We got there a little early, and wandered around for a little bit to kill some time. Apart from seeing a bunch of girls heading off for a hen's party,

That's the second biggest cock I've ever seen

we also saw the ruins of a castle,



and wandered down past the Dylan Thomas museum to a little marina, and back again. We walked past Salubrious Passage and Salubrious Place and went down Windy Street (as in wine, not wind). After debating how best to get to Mumbles, we decided on a taxi. We got dropped off out at the lighthouse. We thought about walking out to the lighthouse - for about 2 minutes! It was cold and windy, and you can barely make out the lighthouse.

Brrrrr! The lighthouse is just over Kathy's right shoulder - apparently!

So we headed back towards Mumbles.

PUB 1 - THE SALTY



Not officially part of the Mumbles Mile, but Kathy's pub-dar went off - and we were cold. It's located right beside a pier,

Mumbles Pier

which was surprisingly busy. It had a nautical theme, of course. To warm us up we had Guinness. There was a dog in the pub, and there was a kid and his dad playhing snooker outside.

PUB 2 - THE GEORGE


Not officially the second pub, as the real next one on the list was closed for the winter. The George is a 'Salt' pub, which is a swish Brains pub. We had a meal there, which was tasty but the service was a bit slow. The pub was pretty cold, too. Suitably fortified, it was onwards.

PUB 3 - THE ANTELOPE


We had Flowers Original and Worthington. We felt pretty uncomfortable here - we were interrupting the barmaid's TV viewing. Would you believe that she cried at the end of The Parent Trap! She was certainly more interested in what she was watching than in serving. Kathy's glass was dirty - which she discovered part way through her beer, of course. Not to worry. After leaving, Matt managed to drop the map, and as we were waiting the alarm in a Volvo Kathy and Sarah were standing next to went off, and scared the pants of us!

PUB 4 - WILLIAM HANCOCK



Worthington. This is a rugby pub, and the Scarlets v Barbarians was on TV. Not busy, though the staff were friendly. Dark wood interior.

PUB 5 - THE VILLAGE INN


Worthys again, but we thought it was a bit on the cold side. Quaint place, more set up as a wine bar/bistro than a pub. Certainly had a wine bar feel, decorated with empty bottles and faux ivy, and lots of places were set for dinner. Again the staff were friendly.

Lewis, Kathy and Sarah

PUB 6 - THE VICTORIA INN



Bit of negotiating to find this place. Drank Old Speckled Hen. Pub was full of old guys talking about the rugby. Quite a nice place, and it was the warmest pub of the day. There was a little dog in the pub. What is it with dogs in pubs? We missed the next one, because we couldn't find it in the dark.

PUB 7 - NAGS HEAD


John Smiths. Bright and noisy pub. We sat and watched TV.

PUB 8 - THE WHITE ROSE


Brains pub. Bass and Brains Bitter. Old wooden bar, and wood panelling. Surprisingly large, and reasonably busy. Tatty but comfy, and a good place to end the day.

After getting back in to Swansea, we decided on dinner at a place called Antons. In 1991 the guy who owns it won some sort of award, and it seemed that the food hadn't moved on much since. Matt's paella tasted as though it was made with instant stock and Kathy's duck with rosemary had dried rosemary in it. Before we had dinner, though, we had drink at a nearby bar while we waited for our table to become free. It was a scary, scary bar. Full of lads on the pull, lots of mutton dressed as lamb, and women wearing skimpy, skimpy outfits. Remembering how cold it was outside, these girls must have been absolutely freezing - many had no coats, and not much else on. Each to their own, I suppose.

The train on the way home was the last one back to Cardiff. It was pretty packed until we got to Port Talbot, but thinned out really rapidly after that. Once we got to Cardiff for reasons known only to the taxi rank folks we were sent to the back of the rank. Odd. Never mind, we had a great day and loads of fun.