Oystermouth is an electoral ward and a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the Mumbles

Mumbles

Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...

 community

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 and also the City and County of Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. The village of Oystermouth is more commonly known as the Mumbles

Mumbles

Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...

.

The electoral ward consists of some or all of the following areas: Oystermouth, the Mumbles

Mumbles

Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...

, Thistleboon, Limeslade, in the parliamentary constituency of Gower

Gower (UK Parliament constituency)

Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....

. The ward is bounded by Newton

Newton, Swansea

Newton is the name of an electoral ward and a village in the City of and County of Swansea, Wales. The Newton ward is a part of the Mumbles community...

 to the west, West Cross

West Cross (electoral ward)

West Cross is the name of an electoral ward in the Mumbles community and a suburb in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The ward falls within the Mumbles community....

 to the north and Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan and Blackpill stream flow into the bay....

 to the south and east.

Description

The ward consists of suburban housing stretching from the northwest to the south east. It is surrounded by the sea to the east and south. Two hills at Rams Tor and Mumbles Hill have little development. Mumbles Hill is now a protected nature reserve managed by the local council. The boundaries of Mumbles community and the Oystermouth ward are clearly defined. However, in the public mind, the separation between villages of Oystermouth and Mumbles is not clear. Local buses to the area are signed as Oystermouth, however most people from the area would say they are living in Mumbles.

Local beaches include the southern tip of Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan and Blackpill stream flow into the bay....

, Bracelet Bay

Bracelet Bay

Bracelet Bay is a small bay on the south of the Gower Peninsula. It is the first bay one comes to after leaving Swansea Bay and rounding Mumbles Head....

 and Limeslade Bay

Limeslade Bay

Limeslade Bay is a small cove just to the west of Bracelet Bay in the south east corner of the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea in south Wales. It is a sheltered, mainly rocky beach with little sand. Bathing is possible. There is a car park in the adjacent Bracelet Bay...

. From the Mumbles Head area there are views towards Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

, Port Talbot

Port Talbot

Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...

 and the hills of the South Wales Coalfield

South Wales Coalfield

The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...

.

As well as being a local service centre, Oystermouth Castle

Oystermouth Castle

Oystermouth Castle is a Norman stone castle in Wales, overlooking Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower Peninsula near the village of the Mumbles.- The early castle :...

is well preserved, in grounds with views over Swansea Bay.

Oystermouth was served by one of the very earliest passenger rail services, along a shoreline railway used in the 19th century to transport limestone and coal. The long-disused (since the 1960s) route remains as a cycle/footpath.

2008 local council elections

For the 2008 local council elections, electorate turnout was 42.91%. The election results were:

Candidate	Party	Votes	Status
Anthony Colburn	Conservative	556	Conservative gain
Roger Barnabas Beynon	Liberal Democrats	436
Rhodri Griffiths	Green Party	263
Joan Thyrza Gwenllian Peters	Independents	241