Seafront benches usually make a virtue of their location overlooking the coast - but not this one.
Instead of looking directly out over Swansea Bay, a pleasantly-trimmed privet, flanked on one side by a vigorous castor oil plant, has been allowed to grow directly in front of it.
If you took away the hedge, this bench by the mini roundabout linking Mumbles Road and Newton Road would have a direct view out over the sea.
Although it may look rather lonesome, Emma Cannon, who works in the nearby Oyster Cabs office, said the bench often had company.
She said: “My mother always sits on it and has a cigarette. She says it’s the stupidest bench in Mumbles.
“It’s been there for ages. I can’t remember it having a view.
“But I think it should stay. I always see people sitting on it.”
A spokesman for Swansea Council said the bench was installed long before the area was landscaped in its current form, but that it still provided a rest spot for the public.
“Fortunately we now have plenty more benches along the seafront where visitors can relax and still enjoy the wonderful views of the bay,” he said.
It’s not the only bench in Swansea with a perplexing view.
One of the benches at Castle Square in the city centre has a direct view of a large tiled wall, which is adjacent to the more architecturally-rewarding Swansea Castle.
The tiled wall is the exterior of the old Castle Cinema, which is currently home to Laser Zone.
