# Porthcawl



## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

I loved Porthcawl as a nipper, half our village would be there for the Miners Holiday. Caravan at Trecco Bay, mini golf, family outings to the Jolly Sailor Pub, the dodgy old funfair.

My brother tells me they do surfing there nowadays. I'd love to go back but I suspect its not half as much fun as when I was seven!


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 12, 2006)

Doesn't Porthcawl mean 'Port of Soup'?


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

ugh! Shitty brown water with turds floating by. Inbreds out on holiday from the valleys with a Welsh accent??? to kill for! The Welsh Blackpool.


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

> Inbreds out on holiday from the valleys with a Welsh accent???


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## fanta (Apr 12, 2006)

ZIZI said:
			
		

> The Welsh Blackpool.



Or the Welsh Portrush. Horrid.


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

My Aunty Katy still has her own caravan there


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

>



Keep your shirt on. I am a valley girl, but I speak with a posh Welsh accent. Come on , you know what I mean


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

I( should have guessed you'd all be posh, I bet it was all holidays in Tenby for you lot


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

ZIZI said:
			
		

> Keep your shirt on. I am a valley girl, but I speak with a posh Welsh accent. Come on , you know what I mean



Thats my family your talking about


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

Errr, ooops


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> I( should have guessed you'd all be posh, I bet it was all holidays in Tenby for you lot




Actually, yes it was,  in a tent at Kiln park. with freezin cold bloody showers.


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## ddraig (Apr 12, 2006)

'Tenby for you lot'
PMSL


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## editor (Apr 12, 2006)

I used to go to Porthcawl a fair bit when I was a kid - it was seen as a posh alternative to the rough'n'tumble of Barry Island!


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

ZIZI said:
			
		

> I am a valley girl,



Then why havent you posted on my Valley thread yet!


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

editor said:
			
		

> I used to go to Porthcawl a fair bit when I was a kid - it was seen as a posh alternative to the rough'n'tumble of Barry Island!



We always wanted to go to Barry Butlins when I was a kid but my Dad was too tight to take us!


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> Then why havent you posted on my Valley thread yet!



Ok, OK, IM GETTING TO IT!!! I am multi tasking you know....


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> We always wanted to go to Barry Butlins when I was a kid but my Dad was too tight to take us!



I went to barry Butlins twice. The last two years that it was a Butlins (85 and 86?). I used to bawl my eyes out when we had to leave   .

When it got taken over we went to Minehead instead.


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

Anyone remember those weird four wheeled bicycles you could hire? like two bikes welded together.


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## ddraig (Apr 12, 2006)

ZIZI said:
			
		

> Ok, OK, IM GETTING TO IT!!! I am multi tasking you know....



you are a lady tho aren't you?


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> Anyone remember those weird four wheeled bicycles you could hire? like two bikes welded together.



Like the Chuckle Brothers used to have?


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

King Biscuit Time said:
			
		

> Like the Chuckle Brothers used to have?



Maybe, I've never actually watched the Chuckle Brothers, what with them coming from B*****l


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## ZIZI (Apr 12, 2006)

ddraig said:
			
		

> you are a lady tho aren't you?




Exactly!


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> Maybe, I've never actually watched the Chuckle Brothers, what with them coming from B*****l



They're from Rotherham!


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## ddraig (Apr 12, 2006)

phew! major embarassment averted there! ta kbt


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

King Biscuit Time said:
			
		

> They're from Rotherham!



Nah, they're from B*****l, same as Hitler.


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## ddraig (Apr 12, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> Nah, they're from B*****l, same as Hitler.



blackpool?


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 12, 2006)

Other famous people from B*****L,

Osama Bin laden
Saddam Hussain
Atilla the Hun
Rasputin
Margaret Thatcher

well, according to the Wales forum official history books anyway.


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## nwnm (Apr 12, 2006)

lets here it 4 Happy Valley - not as big as Trecco, owned by 2 brothers, had a really crap club - but the sand dunes and beach were ace places to play


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## Belushi (Apr 12, 2006)

nwnm said:
			
		

> lets here it 4 Happy Valley - not as big as Trecco, owned by 2 brothers, had a really crap club - but the sand dunes and beach were ace places to play



Happy Valley was posher than Trecco Bay, I remember it being much nicer. We always had to stay in Trecco


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## davesgcr (Apr 12, 2006)

Trecco Bay was apparently the biggest caravan site in Europe _ I recall it had a massive bar capableof seriving about 50 people at once - and a Chapel that sat about 10 !   

I used to love the miniature train on our day trips - and of course the ancient (1890 ish) Wateshute - the fair at the end of the dy was the real treeat. The home on a chartered South Wales Transport double decker to Ammanford.


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## nwnm (Apr 13, 2006)

just remembered the club was the 'blue water' club. Met my first two GF's there over the hols. One older, one younger - both beautiful. Long time ago


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## waterloowelshy (Apr 13, 2006)

well i live in Porthcawl - moved back from London to come home cos i missed it so much.  I cant believe people that come here or those that dont have the wrong impression of it.  Why does everyone go on about the arse end of Trecco Bay or the fair when anyone that lives here wouldnt go within a mile of it if their life depended on it!  It truly is a great area - i mean rest bay and Pink bay is some of the best undeveloped and so far (wind farm pending!) unspoiled coast you could hope for.  I love the place, but yes i guess i am biased.  True it can be slightly boring and like most sea side towns has a bit of an Undercurrent of problems, but on the whole I think it’s a great place.  I just wish that people would not automatically think of Trecco / the fair when they think of Porthcawl as that really is the pimple stuck on the arse of a nice place.   

Rant over – as you were!


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## LilMissHissyFit (Apr 13, 2006)

I lived on trecco bay for a couple of months in the early 90's
Cant understand for the life of me why anyone would choose to go on holiday there


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## Belushi (Apr 13, 2006)

> I just wish that people would not automatically think of Trecco / the fair when they think of Porthcawl as that really is the pimple stuck on the arse of a nice place.



For us Valley folk Porthawl will always be Trecco Bay


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## waterloowelshy (Apr 13, 2006)

Belushi said:
			
		

> For us Valley folk Porthawl will always be Trecco Bay


Unfortunately thats probably the truth! such a shame though.  People are just so blind to whats there - i dare say the majority of folks dont even stray out of Trecco Bay when they stay there - esp now they have the massive walls around around trying to keep everyone in there and not letting their money leak up town!  - mind you its probably good as the best places are kept as they are for me and my dog to enjoy without the crowds!


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## zog (Apr 13, 2006)

> Trecco Bay was apparently the biggest caravan site in Europe



No. That's Swansea!


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## nwnm (Apr 13, 2006)

Zog!   

Rest bay is nice, I always prefered those sand dunes <you know - the former army training camp> and beach there. Took my kids there a few years back. They loved it.


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## davesgcr (Apr 13, 2006)

The Rest Bay side was apprently the favoured place in the 1930s for people who did a runner with the entire Christmas club kitty from the valleys to enjoy a couple of days of the high life before being locked up for their "small transgression or unfortunate lapse" (Wynford Vaughan - Thomas) 

Didnt get far did they ! 

Nothing wrong with Porthcawl - something for everyone - 

I also recall the Autumn Firework displays - some sort of arena - good night out when you are 7 or 8.


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## suzee blue cheese (Apr 13, 2006)

We moved from Port Talbot to Porthcawl when I was 13.  It was like moving to another planet in some ways.  Pink Bay and Sker were among my favourite places to hang out.  What a difference to Aberavon..

My first job was down the fairground when I was 14.  £1 a day back in the 70s.  Long shifts but the rides were free.  Yep, I can see the Blackpool reference if you only know the Trecco area, but Trecco is just one part of it.  

I used to get shipped away for Miners fortnight - as well as the largest caravan site in Europe, Porthcawl was supposed to have the the largest number of unmarried mothers.  A fate worse than death in those days..

Then there was the Stoneleigh for teenage Friday nights, and later on the Apollo - lord, the Apollo..!  Well, you just got to go with what you got - lol..!!

Surfing been a big thing there for years, certainly since the 70s.  Though there's far more surfers these days.  

I left when I was 17.  My folks are still there.  I go back two/three times a year - it makes a welcome change from the cityscape.  Good to catch up with auld mates, take a walk along the dunes at Newton Burrows or Sker.  Clear out the cobwebs.

There's a lot worse places to be.  I don't think I could live there full time again though.


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## nwnm (Apr 13, 2006)

didn't the dancefloor at stoneleigh take on al ife of its own if too many people danced. I used to get told off for making the dodgems go into reverse (apparently your not supposed to) and smahing into others at high speeds


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## Strumpet (Apr 14, 2006)

zog said:
			
		

> No. That's Swansea!





*pokes zog with a spoon*


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## dynamicbaddog (Apr 14, 2006)

suzee blue cheese said:
			
		

> My first job was down the fairground when I was 14.  £1 a day back in the 70s.  Long shifts but the rides were free. .



 we used to go on holiday in Porthcawl(up from the valleys) every year when i was a nipper (though we never once stayed at Trecco Bay   )
I loved that fairground - is it still there?


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## nwnm (Apr 14, 2006)

still there


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## suzee blue cheese (Apr 14, 2006)

> I loved that fairground - is it still there?



Still there indeed.  Though pretty run down these days with a indeterminate future.  There are murmerings regarding the redevelopment of sections of that area.  Maybe move it over to the Salt Lake Car Park area.  Hang on though, isn't that earmarked for the Marina?  Hmmm, can't see it happening anytime soon then..

If any of the recent developments such as that bastard ugly new building that replaced the Esp. or that bastard ugly new housing estate on the front over towards Fulmar Rd are anything to go by, it looks likely that if a bad decision can be made it will be..


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## cymrukid (Apr 14, 2006)

Fucking hate the place personally. If it had to have an anthem it would be Morrissey's 'Everyday is Like a Sunday,' (I choose to ignore the fact that it's  commonly suggested that its lyrics actually refer to nuclear armageddon, they bring up Porthcawl in my mind)


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## suzee blue cheese (Apr 15, 2006)

> Fucking hate the place personally.



You speaking as someone who lives there, yearning to break free?  Or as someone who's spent a desultory weekend seeking entertainment along John St?

It can be dull place to be, on a cold and rainy day certainly, but it just takes a lick of sunshine to bring out its beauty.  However, it's too parochial/conventional to suit me, which is one of the reasons I moved away, but that can probably be said of many small towns.


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## editor (Jun 28, 2018)

It was bloody criminal that they got rid of the railway.....


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## davesgcr (Oct 16, 2018)

editor said:


> It was bloody criminal that they got rid of the railway.....
> 
> View attachment 139267
> View attachment 139268



Too right - would have made a great western area commuter terminal from Cardiff. Had a look a while ago when I was doing "strategic" re-opening options for various rail routes (by the industry I have to say) - but the access in is absolutely lost now due to road building etc. Had it just hung on for a bit longer , it would be making a good contribution to the wider Welsh economy today. The trouble is that the commuter catchment of Cardiff had not developed by then , and Beeching did not support routes kept open for day tripper traffics , unless there were other reasons like commuting (which is how Barry survived and Porthcawl closed) , though Barry had and still has - freight.....

I did manage to get some extra calls at Pyle with help from good Welsh railway staff , which is now the railhead for Porthcawl and does quite well. 

I can certainly remember from an early age , the railway - filthy black Pannier tanks and dull maroon coaches , - not well used - whilst the bus and coach park was crammed full of what in today's world would be heritage / classic vehicles.


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## weltweit (Oct 16, 2018)

Porthcawl has a great beach  
I was there in January.


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## wayward bob (Oct 17, 2018)

has anyone seen the elvises? it's been on my must-do list since forever...

diane who lived in our house before us moved to porthcawl with her fancy man after bringing up her kids and outliving her husband. i've always seen her as a kind of role model


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