Swansea, Neath, and Port Talbot are all located within a small area on the coastal plain of South Wales. Before the Industrial revolution, Swansea was a small harbour and fishing village at the point where the River Tawe flows into the sea. But in the eighteenth century, the plentiful supply of cheap coal, together with deposits of copper ore, led to smelting works being built on the river above the town.

Swansea has undergone a complete transformation in recent years. The copper smelters have now gone, and the old dock area on which Swansea's prosperity was founded has become the Maritime Quarter, where a waterfront village has grown up around a marina.

The quarter includes the national Waterfront Museum landmark building, while Ty Llyn, the Dylan Thomas Centre, is the national literature centre for Wales. It holds literary readings, performance and interpretative exhibitions. Swansea is a popular seaside town, whose other attractions include sandy beaches, the city museum, a leisure centre and Plantasia, a glass pyramid with more than five thousand plants of a thousand varieties.

Swansea port is still in use today with ferries sailing to Ireland, France, and even Spain. The town has first class transport connections to the rest of the UK.

About a mile to the east of Swansea is Crymlyn Bog National Nature Reserve, an unspoilt area supporting a wealth of plants, insects, and birds such as reed buntings, water rails and marsh tits.

Less than twenty miles away from Swansea are the towns of Neath and Port Talbot. Both of these developed as industry increased but lately have fallen into decline to a degree and now have high rates of unemployment.

The whole of the south Wales region is famous throughout the rest of the UK for their Rugby Union teams. There has been resurgence in the sport in recent years with the National Team regain its past glory.