Mumbles Pier and seafront

Mumbles is a seaside village on the edge of Swansea Bay, at the start of the Gower Peninsula, Britain's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Victorian pier, recently restored, has a lifeboat station, cafés and amusements, and the seafront is lined with ice-cream parlours, pubs and restaurants. Joe's Ice Cream is a Swansea institution.

Beyond the pier, the coast path leads around Bracelet Bay to the sandy coves of Limeslade, Langland Bay and Caswell Bay, with rock pools and the occasional cave. It's great for families, without being too commercialised.

Get there by train to Swansea, then bus, or cycle or walk along the bay from Swansea; the road continues to the Gower beaches.