Temporary fix is 'soul-destroying' as wait for pier access goes on

A VOLUNTEER for lifeboat charity the RNLI said operating from a popup shop in a church away from the Mumbles lifeboat station was “soul-destroying” although she and others were grateful for the space.

- RICHARD YOULE

The volunteer, who asked not to be named, claimed few people knew the popup shop was there.

It sells things like mugs, T-shirts, jam and dog leads. Its previous base was the £11m all-weather lifeboat station which opened in 2014 at the end of Mumbles Pier.

That section of the pier was closed early in 2023 by its private owners after the RNLI said a structural engineer identified issues with the structure, and it hasn't reopened since.

The all-weather lifeboat has moored a couple of hundred metres out at sea as a result, with crew members accessing it for rescues via an onshore launch vessel.

Mumbles has also an inshore lifeboat station and it was there that the shop moved temporarily while the RNLI and the pier owners sought to resolve the situation. But earlier in 2025 this arrangement came to an end, which surprised the volunteer, although the inshore station remains open in other respects as normal.