Swansea Vale Railway nineteenth century, when land transport was limited to what pack animals could carry on their backs. At that time the extraction of copper in Cornwall became an important industry, and as a great deal of coal is required to smelt copper, it became the practice to bring the copper to Swansea by ship and smelt it there. This specific sector of the metal industry became so dominant that Swansea was given the nickname "Copperopolis". The works engaged in this industry were located on the banks of the River Tawe at first, but the construction of the Swansea Canal, opened in
Bishopston, Swansea beyond the reach of many first time buyers. Nearly all of the property in Bishopston is privately owned, with only 1% of homes rented from the local authority. Bishopston and the Gower was named one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017. http://www.bishopston.swansea.sch.uk/ Bishopston, Swansea Bishopston () is a hamlet and community situated on the Gower Peninsula, some west south west of the centre of Swansea in South Wales. Forming part of the Bishopston ward of the City and County of Swansea, it is one of the largest villages on Gower. Bishopston has its own rugby club,