Blackpill

infobox UK place
country = Wales
static_

static_image_caption =
latitude = 51.59539
longitude = -3.99628
official_name = Blackpill
welsh_name =
population =
unitary_wales= Swansea
lieutenancy_wales= West Glamorgan
constituency_westminster = Swansea West
constituency_welsh_assembly=Swansea West
post_town= SWANSEA
postcode_district = SA3
postcode_area= SA
dial_code= 01792
os_grid_reference= SS618903

Blackpill (or Black Pill) is a suburban area of Swansea, south Wales. It is located beside Swansea Bay, about 4 miles south west of the city centre.Blackpill falls into the Mayals ward.

Situated on the seafront is a building which once served as a station and power station for the Swansea and Mumbles Railway. Today it houses a cafe called "The Junction", as well as housing a public convenience.

The southern entrance to the Clyne valley cycle track is located just across the road from the boating lake area. This cycle track runs though the Clyne Valley Country Park to Killay, Dunvant, and Gowerton, by following the route of a former railway line, which formed the start of the Heart of Wales Line prior to the Beeching Axe of the 1960s.

Sloping uphill to the west of Blackpill are Clyne Gardens (Gerddi Clun), the landscaped former park of Clyne Castle. Clyne Castle, first built in the late 18th century and much altered, was for half a century a university hall, but is now converted to flats, while futuristic housing is replacing demolished 20th-century student accommodation blocks.

A Territorial Army barracks is based just off the Mumbles Road leading up to West Cross.

Leisure

Blackpill has leisure facilities such as a former boating lake, which was located here for about thirty years and has now been converted in to a shallow swimming pool. North of the boating lake is a mini golf course sandwiched between a carriageway and cycle track. Blackpill Pitch-and-Putt, despite its name, is actually located within the Sketty electoral ward and Community. The course is colloquially known in some quarters as "Royal Ashleigh" due to its proximity to Ashleigh Road and is in fact a small municipally-owned links course. It is often advertised as a nine-hole course, but in fact has ten par-three holes. Along the edge of the course, bordering the seafront footpath and bicycle track, is an obstacle course for BMX bikers and skate-boarders. On the West Cross side of Blackpill is a recreation ground containing a ramp for BMX bikers and skateboarders to practice their aerial stunts on.

Blackpill Beach

Blackpill Beach is a known for wildlife and wildlife watchers. Large numbers of wading birds and a variety of gulls, some rare, gather here at high tide. The beach and the stream that flows out of the area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Future plans

The local council has plans to improve the leisure facilities in the area. Proposals include a new visitor centre for bird watchers at the mouth of the Blackpill Stream, additional car parking, upgrades to the Blackpill Lido to create a children's water park, a cycle hire centre, and improvements to the waterfront skate park. [http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/7/r/Swansea_Bay_Strategy_Action_Plan_27th_June_2007.pdf]

A new foot and cycle bridge has been proposed, crossing over the dual carriageway, to connect the waterfront promenade to the cycle track in the Clyne Valley. A fourth park and ride site for Swansea is planned to be located at the existing car park at the entrance to the Clyne Valley Country Park. This new park-and-ride facility would serve both Mumbles and the city centre. [http://www.swansea.gov.uk/media/pdf/7/r/Swansea_Bay_Strategy_Action_Plan_27th_June_2007.pdf]

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/coast/pages/8.shtml BBC South West Wales: Blackpill Dunes]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/panoramics/pages/blackpilllido.shtml BBC South West Wales: Blackpill Lido]