Some of Swansea’s top outdoor attractions are set to close for the season this weekend – but there’s lots more fun planned for families.
Swansea Council’s Singleton Boating Lake and crazy golf, the Southend Gardens crazy golf, Blackpill Lido and the Swansea Bay Rider land train will end this year’s operations this Sunday, September 24.
Family fun planned for the autumn includes a free-entry Spooks In the City fun day on Saturday, October 28, in the city centre St David’s Place, next to the former Iceland store.
It’ll feature a range of ghoulish good fun including themed entertainment, face painting, Halloween arts and crafts and live shows from Swansea dance schools.
The land train is also set to return for the spooky season, with a Halloween theme.
Families will be able to ride the Halloween land train from Blackpill and Mumbles on the evenings of October 30 and 31. There’ll be five trips each day, running every half hour from 4.30-6.30pm. More: www.bit.ly/HGTrain23
Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “It’s been another busy summer for our outdoor attractions and we’re delighted that so many thousands of people were able to enjoy them.
“Now the focus turns to the colder months – when we still plan to offer lots of great free and low-cost cultural and leisure opportunities for the whole family.”
Free leisure opportunities will include bracing walks along a Swansea beach or in one the city’s many parks. It’s a good way to get fit and improve wellbeing. Dogs are welcome back on Swansea beaches from October 1.
The council’s cultural venues will be offering good free-entry opportunities, especially when the weather’s unappealing.
There’s the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea Museum and libraries across the city. All have access, events and activities throughout the year.
Swansea Museum will be re-opening its chill out space to offer a warm place to enjoy games, activities, or just relax with free Wi-Fi.
Diary dates include:
· October 2-8: Libraries week with the theme Green Libraries being celebrated across all Swansea libraries.
· From October 9: Libraries’ first magic week with events for adults, children and families focussing on all things magical, mythical and spooky.
· October half term: All libraries will have events including a party at Gorseinon Library on October 31 from 10am-noon, spooky stories at Penlan Library on November 1 from 10.30am-2.30pm, and a bonfire night craft session at Townhill Library on November 2 from 2.30-3.30pm. The Dylan Thomas Centre celebrates the poet’s birthday with a range of fun and free activities.
· November 2: Free drop-in craft workshop at Swansea Museum from 10am-1pm where all ages can make a firework flip book.
· November 3: Autumn-themed creative self-led activities, a new trail around the Love the Words exhibition, and a drop-in family workshop – all at the Dylan Thomas centre from 1-4pm.
· November 4 and 11: Free-entry creative writing workshops for adults at the Dylan Thomas Centre with novelist Alan Bilton.
· November 17-18: Tales from the Vault at Swansea Central Library, displaying items not usually on show.
· December: Drop-in activities inspired by Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales at the Dylan Thomas Centre.
More info: www.enjoyswansebay.com
