Splashland is an indoor swimming pool situated inside the Trecco Bay holiday park…read more This is a fun pool, with most of the features mainly suiting children and families. It is very busy during the school holidays and summer. The pool operates on a timed slot basis, and you are given a coloured band which indicates the start and end time of your session. The pool has a decent waterslide, a children's pirate ship play area and a separate toddlers area. There is a jacuzzi type bubble area where you can sit/lie which is joined to the main pool. There are two swimming lanes - sometimes roped off and sometimes not - which are fine for some relaxing swimming - but due to the size and temparature (Very warm) of the pool they are not really suited to serious swimmers. You can sit and watch the swimmers in a seated area, and there is a good size changing village, including family size changing rooms. There are aqua aerobic classes available during the week.

a fantastic place to take the children,very reasonably priced,well maintained,plenty of lifeguard…read moresupervision,a very comfortable changing village. Great water slide and fun pool that includes a toddler end including slides, a pirate ship area for babies and toddlers,set seperate from the main pool. Main pool includes two swimming lanes for those keeping fit. reccomend to all!

Quaint little bit of old Porthcawl, the harbour still has a couple of fishing boats bobbing about…read morein it (or wedged on the mud flat when the tide is right out). Like the whole place, it's a bit ragged round the edges, a bit unkempt, like the disused old dockside warehouse buildings waiting, probably vainly, for a trendy arty community to go and revitalise them. But, in a funny sort of way, this is part of the charm of the place, it's seaside, but not upmarket, trendy or snooty, but down to earth (wind and sea), a place for everyone.

Porthcawl Harbour and the surrounding area are a tourist attraction in the middle of Porthcawl,…read moresituated between the the esplanade and eastern promenade. Alongside the harbour itself - which is reasonably small, holding around 50 boats is a purpose built lifeboat station, which is often open to the public to explore. 'Cosy Corner' is a green, park area, which has previously been home toa theatre, cinema, roller skating rink and ballroom. It is now quite scruffy and run-down, but is pleasant enough on a summers day. The Jennings Building, a grade II listed building which is Wales' oldest maritime warehouse, is currently home to the PADS Skate Boarding Centre, which can be visited for a few quid. There is a giant chess board area near the lifeboat station - but no pieces, so immagination is required! At the end of Porthcawl Pier there is a lighthouse, which is approximately 140 years old. The Pier and the area surrounding the harbour are popular spots for sea fishing. There is a small bait and tackle shop near the lifeboat station. A small Sidoli's cafe and ice cream shop stands near the harbour. There are one or two outside tables, but this mainly caters for take-away ice creams. You can sail on the historic ships the Waverley, the world's last sea-going paddle steamer, and the Balmoral from this area during the summer months.[3] The whole of the harbour quarter has been identified as an important area as part of the Porthcawl Regeneration Strategy. The Porthcawl Sea Festival, Summer Markets and Surf Cult Festival often focus on this area - and they are best enjoyed on busy, sunny summer days.

What a day I have had!…read more I thought, the rain is pouring, wind is blowing like like an Indian Restaurant after vindaloo night, the perfect day for a trip to the beach! I arrived and parked in the car park behind Aldi's which reminded me I needed to hemeroid cream next Thursday. I called into "The Beachcomber" and I was a little disappointed it didn't sell combs. My hair had been blown all asunder in the wind (what a day to forget my seagul feather plumed hat!) The bar man was friendly and I enjoyed joking with him as I ordered a pint of Pinot Grigio. I drank the whole glass in one gulp my thirst was so severe. Very nice it was too. Hints of citrus, top notes of mint, dill and vine ripened grapes. And a wonderful overtone of cow pats and graveyard dirt. After finishing my pint, I walked down to the food vendors and came across Sinatra's. I ordered a bacon and cheese hotdog. Service was excellent except for the baboon who was doing unspeakable things with a banana (I saw his eyes, they had murder in them). They served me my hotdog and I filled a shotglass with mustard, before sitting down on the beach. This is where the real drama started. I was attacked by the SEAGULLS FROM HELL. MINIONS OF BEELZBUB. WINGED RAVEN OF THE DEVIL. TORIES!!! (Probably didn't help that I was wearing a coat made from bread and sing "Nom, nom, nom! Look at these buns!") Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was carried off by the seaguls and I believe as I'm writing this, I'm about 1 mile off the coast of Weston-super-Mare. Coney Beach 5/5

This is less of an amusement park in the respect that I would always think of: it's hardly a…read moreChesington World of Adventures or Alton Towers. It's not even a Legoland. No, this amusement park is more like a permanent fairground, with all the slightly dodgy looking rides (the sort you can pack up in the back of a lorry and drive to the next destination) and the slightly dodgy looking operators. This being said, you can still have a good time at Coney Beach, it's just going to be the kind of fun you get from eating too much candyfloss. The location is quite nice, with a large and popular beach and seafront just a hop skip and a jump away. There are also donkey rides available if you're into that kind of thing. It's something a bit different anyway.

Newton Beach is a long sandy beach, approximately 3 miles long, stretching from Newton Point in the…read moreeast to the mouth of the River Ogmore in the west. Newton Beach is long and unspoilt, and mainly popular with walkers, dog walkers and horse riders. You do get families and sunbathers in the summer - but other Porthcawl beaches more specifically cater to these groups. The beach is popular with windsurfers, jet skiers and power boat users. The Newton Burrows and Merthyr Mawr sand dunes back Newton beach, and are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. The present warren is what is left of what was once the largest sand dune system in Europe, stretching along the coast to Mumbles The dunes form an important habitat for wildlife and plants, and also claim fame to the second highest sand dune in Europe, locally known as the 'big dipper'. Some of the filming of Lawrence of Arabia took place on the dunes. The sand dunes and beach are beautifal and unusual - with good quality water, but for facilities such as toilets and cafes, you need to enter Trecco holiday park or go into Newton village

a real teasure trove. Maybe looks a little busy but ake time and look through as the best brands…read moreand definately at the best prices. Largest secondhand and new wetsuit range i have every seen and staff were so helpful. The place is a gem and must be supported when so many other shops in area are expensive and in most cases very unhelpful. I bet you will like me end up buying a load of stuff from Ladies wear, stuff for m husband and the kids. Even the dog was welcome. Fresh change to normal stuffy attitudes at surf shops. Hire Wetsuits and Boards too (great to keep the kids busy). they will wvwn tell you safest place to take them surfing too! Love it and will always be on my visit list!

Want to learn how to surf? Just want to rent kit? Hugh does all of that. I found him online and…read morehe was very quick to respond back to my email about lessons. He offered a lesson and kit for £30. Our lesson was around 2.5 hours... and he was willing to go longer if we wanted. Porthcawl was easy to find and Hugh was parked up near the entrance of the car park with a couple of other guys offering lessons and kit rental. He showed me how to put the wetsuit on and then we waited for some of the other people to show up. There were four of us in total, but two of the other ladies were late in getting there. That was probably the only downside to the whole thing... having to wait for other people when they were late. He runs the lesson in three parts... first safety, second catching waves, and third... standing up. He was really easy to understand, taught us an efficient way of catching waves for beginners that was really easy to pick up. He gave us feedback as we caught waves. Once he was satisfied that we were comfortable with that, he taught us a couple of methods to stand. I didn't stand up, but I also didn't expect to stand on my first lesson. I did get to my knees, using a different method than the pop because I was having trouble with that. Hugh also runs specials on weekday lessons and also after school bookings. He also rents out kit, as I was standing there some guys came up and asked about renting boards... he offered boards for £5 to use until they were done. He then said after our lesson that if we wanted to come back and rent kit to practice, he would rent everything to us for £15. He also took pictures and sent them to us. I really enjoyed the lesson and would highly recommend him if you're out in Porthcawl.

i loved this place, it is very nice and calming 10/10. i stopped here after a stressful day, with…read moremy dog, she has lost her back 2 legs due to an accident on the roads. she hasn't ran around happily in her little wheels in months. she loves the birds and i love the nature. i would give this infinite stars if i could, definitely recommend to people who need a little bit of relaxation when things get stressful!

This is a fabulous place to visit. I often visit here with my dog, Molly. She loves the freedom of…read morebeing able to run for miles. It's a nature reserve, with an onsite building, with toilets. The toilets are modern, clean and well maintained. There's usually an exhibition in the main hall. The reserve itself is a haven for wildlife. If birdwatching is your interest, then this is ideal for you. There's also a large pond, which further increases the number of visiting birds. If you walk along the paths, eventually you'll get to Sker Beach. This is a wide sandy beach, usually deserted. A great cheap day out - take a picnic, parking is free!

A beautiful wide and sandy beach about a mile from Porthcawl, which is very popular with surfers -…read moreit's a lovely place to walk too. There is a lifeguard here during the summer (when dogs aren't allowed on the beach). There's a car park above the beach and the coast road, right next to The Royal Porthcawl Golf Course. A small Italian ice cream shop stands off to one side of the car park but there are no other cafes.

Really family friendly, kite friendly, bird friendly, surfing friendly, walking friendly, really…read morefriendly! The sands at Rest Bay stretch probably for more than 1.25 miles at low tide - flat and enticing, especially in the setting sun. Black headed gulls dot the shimmering sands, rivulets invite giant steps and running jumps to cross, the setting sun due west blindingly dazzling. There are rock pools and sand holes to explore, flat expanses to run around and expend as much energy as a whole pack of Duracel batteries, waves that generate excitement even for hardened surfers to run towards with glinting eyed expectation. Definitely worth a visit - something for everyone.

Newton Green is a traditional vilage green, at the heart of Newton vilage…read more St. John's church, a norman structure, built by the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem 800 years ago and originally built as a fortress, overlooks the village green. Also surrounding the green are The Jolly Sailor and Ancient Briton pubs, and the newton church hall. To the south of the church lies St. John's water well, the water from which is reputed to have healing properties. A modern childrens playground sits on the south of the green, and a walk down beach road leads you to Newton Beach and Sand dunes. The green is busy in the summer - with people drinking, chilling out, playing sports and riding horses. A great traditional village green!