Aberavon Beach
Aberavon Beach, also known as Aberavon Sands is three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach located on the north-eastern edge of Swansea Bay in Sandfields, Port Talbot, Wales. With its high breaker waves, it is popular with surfers.[1] Aberavon Beach was awarded Blue Flag status in December 2007 and features in the Good Beach Guide published by the Marine Conservation Society.[2]
A traditional "bucket and spade" resort for the South Wales Valleys during the 1940s, 50s and 60s, Aberavon Beach was once an area of sand dunes known as Aberavon Burrows.[3] Changing economic and social conditions led to the decline of the resort, but in 1998 the local authority published a strategy to improve the physical environment of the area and increase tourism. New facilities completed since then have included an amphitheatre, piazza and skateboard park,[4] while a six-screen Apollo Cinema opened next to the Afan Lido as part of a development called "Hollywood Park". However, associated plans for a bowling alley have failed to progress and restaurant franchises on the site have struggled, leading one businessman to claim that the seafront regeneration scheme has been a "white elephant".[5]
Concerns have been expressed about coastal erosion affecting Aberavon Beach and various other beaches in Swansea Bay.[6]
[edit] Kite Trail Sculpture
The Kite Trail sculpture at Aberavon seafront is Wales' largest sculpture standing at 12 metres high and weighing 11 tonnes. The sculpture, designed by Carmarthenshire-based artist and sculptor Andrew Rowe, was installed in December 2007 .[7]
[edit] References
- ^ BBC | South West Wales Surfing - Aberavon Beach Guide
- ^ Good Beach Guide
- ^ Old Maps - 1884 Glamorganshire
- ^ Renewed Blue Flag for Aberavon
- ^ Is Aberavon’s Hollywood Park a white elephant? Mar 5 2009 by Andrew Pugh, Port Talbot Guardian
- ^ Sustainable Development Commission (2007), Research Report 4 - Severn non-barrage options.
- ^ Neath Port Talbot Press Release December 2007 on Kite Trail sculpture
