Welcome to Splott Beach(Image: WalesOnline/ Rob Browne)

Cardiff has a hidden beach that you've probably never been to

by · Wales Online

Cardiff is famous for many things, but having a beach is not necessarily one of them.

Smelly, strewn with rubble, yet exposing traces of the city’s extraordinary industrial heritage, it’s astonishing to discover that Splott Beach is listed on Google Maps as a “beach resort”. And whilst you won’t encounter parasols, ice cream vans and sunbathers there, what you will encounter is sand - albeit black and dark grey in colour.

What you will find here is a bleak shoreline scarred with industrial debris from decades past against the backdrop of imposing industrial units.

The beach is tucked away near Rover Way, though it’s easily overlooked as you drive past. When the East Moors steelworks were torn down, the waste was simply bulldozed and abandoned.

WalesOnline photographer Rob Browne, who captured the below images, said: “Splott Beach is a hidden spot just off Rover Way. There are no sign posts and the path to it is easily missed. After a short walk along a track there is an opening to the beach.

“When I arrived there was no-one there. It was empty and larger than expected. The first thing you see is a concrete building, single storey. Then some kind of water outlet that looks pretty grim.

“The sand is black to dark grey. There are not many skimming pebbles but plenty of house bricks and broken walls. There are some black tyres but no shopping trolleys. The beach is covered in industrial concrete with bits of steel, house bricks dark sand. Not really one for sunbathing.”

Gavin Cox, who served as a Splott councillor in 2011, described the beach at the time as “probably Splott’s best-kept secret”.

“What people don’t realise is that Splott does actually have some beautiful open spaces,” he said. “They are seriously under used and could provide great recreation for both old and young alike. I’m a keen angler and I know there are spots in Splott and further along Tremorfa. I see them fishing around the Bay on a daily basis and it could be that they are trying to keep the beach for themselves.

“Splott has a lot of secret land which people just don’t know exists and we have to work at getting people out there and enjoying all the activities which they offer.”

The beach is strewn with rubble(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
You won't find many beachgoers here(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
But a former councillor has labelled the beach as 'probably Splott's best kept secret'(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
It's hardly the Copacabana(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)