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ONE PUB ONLY?
Railway
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
A long walk to the Wig,then head back via the Brunswick, No Sign Wine Bar then the Queens before a bus from the town centre to the ground which is in the middle of nowhere in particular.
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
The Railway
|  |  Brunswick
3 Duke St. SA1 4HS T 01792 465676 W www.brunswickswansea.co.uk
G Allan Rohman
F Home - made food with daily specials 12 to 2.30, 6 to 8
SP TV BM D
O 11.30 to 11.30
Beer from the barrel? Yep. The ale picks from the S+N list works here. It was so good I visited Allan's pub three times over two days and every time there was a different guest on offer. My match day visit was one that confirmed my view that the good people of Swansea match any town for friendliness allied with appropriate footie fervour. The pub itself is in a farmhouse style, with a simple long bar, barrels behind one end. The room is subdivided by wooden screens that allow quite large groups to congregate in corners to talk about the meaning of life and football. Allan is the perfect host and well worth seeking out to get the low down on other pubs in town, the ones that are a treat and the ones to give a miss. His creation here stands up well by comparison.
UPDATE: Allan is still here and the Brunswick is going from strength to strength. One innovation is the art work on the walls. On my visit the work of Bruce Risdon was particularly diverting. As a Swansea fringe venue the pub it has a town - wide importance. It is also now an acoustic music venue.
BWV 5.11.04: St Austell Tribune, Brains Bread of Heaven, SA, Courage Best Young's Special
BWV 25.11.05: Brains Bread of Heaven, Courage Best, Fuller’s ESB, Greene King Ridley’s Old Bob | |  No Sign Wine Bar
56 Wind St. SA1 1EG T 01792 465300
G Philippa Shipley
F All home - cooked, freshly prepared menu with signature dishes. 12 to 10, 12 to 5, 6 to 9 Sun.
MP TV BM D
O 11 to 11 Mon. - Wed. 11 to 12 Thu. - Sat, 12 to 10.30 Sun
Cocktails and wine in a football and real ale Guide I hear you ask. Well this is Swansea and Wind (Wine) Street is the new trendy version of Kingsway and will no doubt be where the masses gravitate on match days as there is no, I repeat no real ale out near the inaptly named Liberty Stadium.
The bar is 85 metres long and has been extended far into the rear in traditional wine bar style i.e. wooden vaults and hanging vines. The clientele is also mixed with couples and families filling the front bar along with what appeared a very determined hen party starting a full day of celebrating. The No Sign has a heritage that has references in Dylan Thomas’s Followers as the Wine Vaults in Paradise Alley. The more obvious history is as the Vaults of Mundays Wine Vaults and this name is taken in the subterranean music venue that adds to their eclectic appeal. The manager talked with enthusiasm that no two days are the same as the pub has a few regulars but many returning customers who having discovered its virtues return because it is the best town centre location for good ale, wine and freshly cooked food. The ale was in top order and the atmosphere perfect for a lone beer hunter who relished the chance to sit and take stock of the beer scene in Swansea. The attempt to introduce guest ales is proving popular and no doubt the No Sign will be on the real ale map for some time.
BWV 25.11.05: Brains SA Greene King Ridley’s Old Bob, Ruddles County, Palmer Copper Ale | |  Queens Hotel
Gloucester Place, SA1 1TY T 01792 521531
G Gary Owen
F Completely traditional Welsh cuisine 11.30 to 2.30
SP SK JB PD
O 11 to 11, 12 to 11 Sun
This marina pub has a justifiably proud landlord. Set among converted warehouses with picture windows the high ceilings and massive mirrors ooze a touch of class without any pretensions of grandeur. The Queens Hotel proved to be a popular matchday pub, several discrete away groups came and went without masses of interaction, getting a good hearty meal and then being left to enjoy the pub as a good friend would. The pub is a rare Welsh outlet for Theakston's, very popular apparently with the locals. Have you seen the bear? You can’t miss it, standing bouncer like near the door. I have used the pub on many occasions especially combining it with the tourist bits that are now found along the once desolate town dockside. Not far from the town centre it will now be a taxi ride to the new stadium. Because it is out of Kingsway and away from the big town pubs, it avoids the hassles sometimes found when so called local English teams visit the self - appointed Welsh capital.
UPDATE 25.11.05: Guest ales now change more regularly and include local brews. Sea shanty festivals also centre on the Queens Hotel.
BWV 5.11.04: Buckley's Best, Theakston’s Best, ,Mild
BWV 25.11.05: Buckley’s Best, Theakston’s Best, Old Peculier, Tomos Watkin Merlin | |  Railway NOW DOES FOOD
553 Gower Rd. Upper Killay, SA2 7DS T 01792 203946
G Martin Hixon NEW LANDLORD
S Throughout
CP TV JB P
F 12 - 2
O 12 to 2, 4 to 11, 12 to 11 Sat, 12 to 10.30 Sun
This is your archetypal country cottage pub. Having small rooms off a tiny bar the theme is on village life and long gone railways. One of only two Swansea brewery pub outlets this is as good as it gets in the Swansea area. The regulars know their beer and will readily share that enthusiasm. “It is a good place for those who like to cycle and drink.” (On a converted rail track cycle way) My visit coincided with an evening petanque match, all very sociable, leaving room in the bars for the serious ale heads. In fact my taxi ride to the pub proved money well spent as the choice of ales kept changing and another undiscovered beauty came into view (I’m talking about the beer o.k.). Unfortunately the pub is not convenient to the railway line despite its name so you will need to convince a non - drinking driving friend to get you to the match. A top pub in a great location!
UPDATE: CAMRA regional pub of the Year 2005. The pub has changed not a jot and the beer choice is still fantastic.
BWV 5.11.04: Jennings Redbreast, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Swansea Original Bitter, Three Cliffs Gold, Bishopswood, Deep Slake Dark
BWV 25.11.05: Archers Ghost Train, Robinson’s Unicorn, Swansea Bishopswood Bitter, Deep Slake Dark, The Original Bitter
LOCAL POTY 2009 | |  Wig
134 St. Helens Rd. SA1 4BL T 01792 466519
G Rob Dawson
F Good value for money menu including Welsh specials and themed nights. 11.30 to 8. Sun 12 to 4 carvery, 12 to 8 in the bar
SP TV JB PD
O 11.30 to 11 Mon. to Thu. 11.30 to 12 Fri. 12 to 12 Sat. 12 to 11 Sun
The Wig was recommended by the regulars at the Brunswick as the best of the other Uplands pubs. Rob and Lynda’s welcome is such that instantly one feels that you have found a pub that is improving rapidly and will be a good real ale house for years to come. Rob tailors the ale to his locals’ tastes to include lighter beers on big match days.
It was interesting to see how, on my visit, the regulars gravitated towards the large picture windows where there is a view out over the patio.. The mix of patrons was very mixed, ranging from students cuddling a beer for an hour to regular lunch takers eating no doubt on expenses before a return to the nearby offices. The reputation for real ales is gained by 20 ales being available in a typical week, changing regularly and offering something new with each visit. So it was that I sat in one of the window seats, none of Joe’s ice cream was seen and Breconshire ales sampled for this drinkers’ first time. I could imagine long hot summer evening spent on that patio, on winter evenings perhaps the corners of the bar would be more welcoming. At any time the Wig is an example of how a modern refurbishment can be done without losing the local nature of a community pub.
BWV 25.11.05: Badger Tanglefoot, Butcombe Gold, Breconshire Red Dragon, Greene King Old Speckled Hen, Tomos Watkin OSB | | | SWANSEA CAMRA | | 
LIBERTY STADIUM
| | LOCAL BREWERY
TOMOS WATKIN
Unit 3, Century Park,
Swansea Enterprise Park,
Swansea
SA6 8RP
Tel: 01792 797300
www.tomoswatkin.com | | WETHERSPOONS
The Potters Wheel 85-86 The Kingsway Swansea SA1 5JE Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
The Bank Statement 57-58 Wind Street Swansea SA1 1EP Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9am-1am
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