Swansea Bay is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot. Swansea Bay & the Bristol Channel, experience one of the highest tidal ranges in the world with a maximum range of about 10m. Sweeping the five miles between the Maritime Quarter and Mumbles. It is backed by a promenade with cycle track (part of National Cycle Route 4 from London to St David's in Pembrokeshire). At Mumbles is the Pier, an 835 feet (255 m) long Victorian pier built in 1898. Mumbles Pier was also the western terminus for the world's first passenger carrying railway, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway. Originally built under an Act of Parliament of 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to Swansea and to the markets beyond, it carried the world's first fare-paying railway passengers on the day the British Parliament abolished the transportation of slaves from Africa. It later moved from horse power to steam locomotion, and finally converted to electric trams, before closing in January 1960. A Lighthouse (completed in 1794) is located at Mumbles. The structure, which sits on the outer of two small islands off Mumbles Head,is clearly visible from any point along the five mile sweep of the bay. Here we are on the slipway at Southend, Mumbles. Southend is the name given to the area roughly from near the end of the Bowling Green to just beyond Knab rock. In summer in particular, but also in winter, small boats, yachts and other assorted pleasure craft can launch into the beautiful sweep of the bay during high water. The promenade is also where hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors walk taking exercise, fresh air and the beautiful views across the expansive sweep of the bay, the city of Swansea and the backdrop of the Brecon Beacons national park. On the hill in Oystermouth is the castle built in 1106.