Singleton Park

 

Singleton Park

Singleton Park

 

Singleton Park

Swiss Chalet, Singleton Park

Singleton Park Stone Circle

Singleton Park Botanical Gardens

Can and Bench, Singleton Park

Sketty Hall

Singleton Park's Swiss Cottage

If 2 Somerset Place is my favourite building, then the Swiss Cottage in Singleton Park has to a close runner up. Designed by architect Peter Frederick Robinson, who also designed Sketty Hall, the building is Grade II listed was built in 1826 and is a real feast on the eyes.

Half ruined in a fire in 2010, its major refurbishment really has to be commended and today it looks better than I have ever seen it.

‘Lebe so dass du wieder leben magst’ - translates as
Live that you may live again

Currently owned by Swansea Council, due to financial restraints inflicted by the evil Tories, the building is up up for either Let or Sale. Hopefully, its new owner, whoever eventually takes it on, will re-open the small coffee shop that used to operate from the house...

Swansea's Gorsedd Stone Circle

Set in the grounds of Singleton Park, near its Sketty entrance, can be found an interesting Stone Circle. The circle, however, is not a prehistoric monument but a Gorsedd Stone Circle. It was erected here on July 2nd 1925 for the National Eisteddfod of Wales' Proclamation Ceremony. The circle was later enlarged for the Eisteddfod's revisit to Swansea in 1964 to allow more people to participate in the ceremony.

The Gorsedd is the organising body of The National Eisteddfod of Wales - a druid-influenced celebration of Welsh culture and art. When the Eisteddfod visits a locale, it is traditional for a stone circle to be built if there is not one already in existence on the site. Gorsedd Stone Circles are important icons of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Not only do they stand as monuments to previous visits of the Eisteddfod, but they are also important features used for ceremonies by the organisation. It is within these circles that future Eisteddfod's are announced (traditionally a year and one day prior to the opening of the event). These Proclamation Ceremonies are lead by the Archdruid of the Gorsedd of Bards. It can often be disappointing when it is discovered that a well-loved stone circle is not as ancient a monument as it may at first appear. Yet the reverence in which such later formations were built and their importance to the ceremonies that were held within them should always be remembered.

Singleton Park Ruins

This in an interesting ruin. It can found in Singeton Park, near to where it joins Swansea University. I haven't been able to find any history of the place yet but I am guessing that maybe it is a folly. Still, it is a fascinating feature and, hidden away in a less visited part of the park, is a real treat to stumble upon and explore

Flowers, Singleton Park

Tree, Singleton Park

Cornflowers, Singleton Park