I only found out about that Tesco last Saturday, potentially very handy for supply raids (and I dare say a lot cheaper for food/drink than the alternatives of Smiths or that Premier Foods).
Until you asked me about it, I didn't know it was there. It's a very new addition to Swansea, and it's going to be welcome competition for the likes of CK's (I think that's the one that's gone over to Premier now, I can't be sure, but it was always CK's in my day and always will be) which has gone downhill massively in recent years. It used to be a regular stop for me before or after a trip, when I went there last year I was hugely disappointed. Granted, it was hard to find much in there for me anyway, being a fussy vegan, so I can't fault them too much as I'm not their primary target market, but I am very happy to see Tesco is there now. Mind you, before that even WHSmith was a welcome sight in Swansea, in my day it wasn't much in the way of choice on the station with The Lemon Tree or on-board catering. Those days are quite some way back now, and I'm getting deep, deep, DEEP into nostalgia territory here. I was going to say all it would take now to trip me down Memory Lane even more would be to mention step-entrance Darts, but I've done it to myself there
I think a trip to Swansea just for the memories sake needs to happen. I was there recently, and a walk around some of the shops really broke some memories, but I didn't get to properly go through Uplands, Killay, Hendrefolan, Fforestfach, Middle Road or indeed a number of other places in Swansea. It would be a good excuse to go for a full power walk, that's for sure, and the elevation gain on the walk from the station to Fforestfach would be pretty beast. I've already looked at Maps for the plan, I was going there this month as the end point to an epic 2-day tour of a ride from Hereford, which is on hold for now
ANYWAY! Before more nostalgia kicks in, I must comment on the honourable gentleman's pondering on what he's missing in Swansea. Well, truth be told, not a great deal anywhere near the station. Swansea's best bits are outside the city centre, a prime example is the Mumbles. Really nice place by the seaside, hugely popular whenever the sun's out. Further on from there are the likes of Langland Bay, Bracelet Bay and Carbis Bay. Be forewarned, these are officially in the Gower and that's full of hills. I don't think I'll ever forget that horribly steep hill into Carbis Bay, with a fairly sharp curve at the bottom, that was a ride that was rather clenching, shall we say! However, it is an absolutely gorgeous area and the Gower is just full of beautiful, gorgeous Welsh scenery, bays, beaches and rural walking.
The city itself, it's becoming a lost cause, quite honestly. There's some nice new stuff coming along the Waterfront, not sure exactly what is coming along there though. When I was down there recently, there was so much that had changed I didn't actually know where I was! All this said, the city is still far better than the likes of Neath and Port Talbot. The bus station is hugely improved on what it used to be, not that that was hard to do! The Quadrant shopping centre it's next to, that however has lost the majority of the places it used to have, that was a big piece of nostalgia broken!
Also! I seem to recall noting you haven't yet been to Llansamlet. You may not be aware of them, but just east of the station you have Brunel's Flying Arches. You'll have to forgive my failure to remember the number of them now, I want to say it's 12. Without researching them to tell you about them better, they are there to hold back the cutting the line goes through on its way towards Skewen, Neath and onwards through South Wales. I *think* you can see them from the eastbound platform, but I haven't been on that station since at least 2004 so I can't be sure now. I've been through it way more times than I care to remember though!
That curve coming into Swansea from the west, that is a monster gradient and going up that on a solo 153 would always mean a slow crawl. Sadly, despite doing an HST up it as well, I don't have any memory of the classic HST scream up it. The gradient detail I have forgot, I want to say 1 in 53 but I also have 1 in 67 in memory.
Gowerton, I have a university-related memory of that station. I have no idea how me and a group of friends (evangelists, so we were all quite sensible. Well, they were more than me!) ended up on a rural walk, but that's what we did and we ended up in Gowerton and got a train back. This was of course a long time before smartphones etc, but it remains a favourite memory of the 2003-2004 era. You know, I really should make an effort to get in touch with those good people and see what they're up to these days. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Gowerton is not the most exciting place, and I was going to tell you there is at least a Toby Carvery nearby but that's in Gorseinon which is a bit of a trek if on foot. Otherwise, it is a better station than it was in my day although you'd have preferred it back then because it was only a single platform. Good gravy, I've just realised the re-doubling works in that area are now quite a long time ago!
I'm sure I can bore you to tears about the Heart of Wales stations you haven't done too!