DetectingWales.com

It still amazes me that Barry Island still releases pre decimal silvers from its sandy depths nearly every visit without fail. thats after God knows how many detectorists have hammered its beach.

I think the answer is in the photos below!

The first one is pretty much how I remember it as a kid!

Brings back happy childhood memories, I hate to admit that I can remember that first view but without Butlins :-\

I remember it like you Geoff , went there with my mum @ dad and brothers so many times and always had egg sandwiches from a biscuit tin that my mum always took lol good old days :D

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 thought i spotted wearing wollen swim trunks geoff lol.
 aberavon was pretty much the same.stiil loads out there waiting to be washed up

the good old days always end up crying couse i could.nt find my parents..lol..what ever sandwiches you had.. you had a fair share of sand in them..lol..

went there most years , just had to make sure the week didnt clash with the miners shut down(summer hols)

I can remember it quite crowded, but not quite like that  :o  I had an aunt who lived down there, my cousins and I used to go down to the old railway graveyard and play on the old steam trains, anyone else remember those ?

Wow the bloke in the bottom picture 3rd from the right has just dropped his ring :o There is a carpet of gold still waiting to be found on this beach and now you can see why. ;D

You lads must have all been posh, all we had was a fortnight in Porthcawl {miners Holidays } or there again was I the posh one   ??? ??? ;D

fortnight in porthcawl we had 4hrs int  buiscuit tin ont side off tut motorway lol ;D

BISCUIT TIN ? we couldn't afford a biscuit tin, we had our sandwiches
packed in grass, and as for motorways, we couldn't afford petrol and had to hop
one one wooden leg all the to Porthcawl.  ;D

by eck wooden leg you were lucky lol ;D

Dryland, did you say Motorways lad.
Sorry to say, but when I was a kid there were no Motorways  :-X
When we wanted to get to Barry we had to ride Donky up beach from Swansea lad  :P
Tell that to the kids today and they wouldn't believe you ::)

I can remember going to that railway knackers yard once and was fascinated by all that railway history. Many had grand names the like of .............Castle or ............Duchess etc. Sadly they are all gone now.

Jeff, you had a donkey? That was probably the one that ended up
in our sandwiches. and when I say sandwiches I mean, donkey meat in between two
bricks. ;D. And Mike when I said wooden leg I meant one we borrowed off next doors
three legged cat,  ;D

Brill comments guys,some of you have really had a hard life :D ;D ;)

Hard life, when I were a boy............................ ;D ;D

Yes, I do remember those - my brother was a member of the Caerphilly Railway Preservation Soc, so had quite an interest in them when he was younger.

It can still be pretty crowded on a bank holiday weekend, although there are fewer hazards floating by in the water nowadays!

Probono,
When you say "fewer hazards floating by", I guess that's all down to the new improved sewage system  :P  ;D

Swimming there used to be called "going through the motions".