Penarth and Barry are often referred to as the “twin” seaport towns of the Vale of Glamorgan. Both lie to the southwest of Cardiff; both were once important exporters of coal; and both later became tourist resorts. But these twins are far from identical. Penarth, with its solid Victorian architecture and elegant parks, is the steady son. Barry, with its nightclubs and amusement arcades, is the slightly wayward black sheep.

Penarth is a town of two parts, the older quarter and the Marina. The older part has a sleepy, spa-town feel. You will find a delicatessen, “ladies'” clothes shops and traditional butchers, bakers and greengrocers. But if you walk down the hill past Alexandra Gardens, the town's main Victorian park, you arrive at the seaside esplanade with its miniature promenade, pier and Italian Gardens. There is a yacht club, an Italian restaurant and a few cafés. It is all very genteel.

On the hill, just behind the esplanade, you find the “serious houses” - the imposing, six-bedroom Victorian villas of Marine Parade, once the properties of shipowners who would watch from their drawing rooms as their vessels sailed up the Bristol Channel. Now these homes are selling for between £1.1million and £1.6 million. Slightly less grand homes of the same vintage in Plymouth Road and Westbourne Road sell for £500,000 and upwards. “The town is popular with business people and young professionals who have had their fun in Cardiff and want to settle down,” says Nick Jones, of Watts & Morgan estate agents. “The single biggest factor for them is the secondary schools. Stanwell Comprehensive and Westbourne School, an independent, both have excellent reputations.”

Penarth Marina has a different feel altogether. It is part of the Cardiff Bay development - the huge building project that until recently symbolised the economic renaissance of Wales. But now the credit crunch is biting deeply. Recently a two-bedroom flat in Cardiff Bay that would have been worth £235,000 nine months ago sold at auction in London for £110,000. Are Penarth's Marina homes experiencing the same meltdown?

BACKGROUND

• The cost of a sea view

• Bargains on the coast

• FOCUS ON . . . TRURO

• Do floods scupper sales?

• Once more unto the beach

Seaside house prices soar

City-dwellers driving up property prices by the sea

• The boom town rocks

BACKGROUND

• From winos to wine bars

BACKGROUND

• Ramsgate rules

• Shoreham gets trendy

• The coast’s next wave

• House Hunter: Sideways to Brighton

• A change in the tide

Related Links

• The £100,000 beach hut

“Penarth Marina won't go the same way because it isn't overdeveloped to anything like the same extent as the rest of Cardiff Bay,” Jones says. “It attracts steadier types with families, who are less likely to over-borrow, not speculators.” Time will tell if he is right.

In contrast to sedate Penarth, Barry is now probably best known for the earthy BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey. With its industrial estates on the outskirts and a general air of shabbiness, it seems that something has gone horribly wrong in this town.

Yet the town exercises a considerable pull on residents and also on newcomers. The reluctance of Stacey to leave Barry is a major theme in Gavin and Stacey: for her, the town is “well lush”. Gavin, who lives in Billericay, Essex, does not share his wife's opinion: Barry is, in effect, the third person in this marriage.

“Barry is like a town in limbo,” says Angela Fulgoni-Williams, the manager of Knights estate agents. “The cinema, the theatre, Butlins and the outdoor swimming pool have all closed and plans to extend the Marina have been put on hold.”

Barry does have a lot going for it. The High Street has some good independent shops and the main beach is a fine stretch of sand. Cold Knap beach, popular with windsurfers, and Porthkerry Country Park are both impressive attractions. Compared with Penarth, house prices are low. As a rule of thumb, the most popular properties are to the west of the town centre, notably along Marine Drive. Recently a substantial Edwardian semi in that area sold for £440,000. It would have cost £700,000 in Penarth.

There are new homes, too, notably on Barry Marina and in the compact modern executive developments on Barry Island, the former site of Butlins. At Cold Knap, Water's Edge is a block of 26 apartments overlooking the pebble beach that range in price from £115,000 to £400,000.

“There are stunning views towards Ilfracombe and Minehead,” says Christine Parker, 58, a retired receptionist who has lived in Barry all her life and is now moving with her partner, Roy Candy, 59, into the penthouse. “A lot of people would never want to move from Barry, and I'm one of them. We have our problems here but we are close to fabulous countryside in the Vale of Glamorgan, the people are friendly and the quality of life here is good.”

According to the Land Registry, prices in Barry have held steady over the past year. “People are cottoning on to our prices now and I think it's going to change Barry for the better,” Fulgoni-Williams says. “Young couples from the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff and incomers from England are now buying here. We have similar housing stock to that in Penarth, there's a good train service to Cardiff and we share the same sea views as people in Penarth. Why pay more?

Fast facts

- The average price of a property in Barry is £154,119; for a detached house the figure is £275,473; for a semi £148,699; for a terraced house £127,101; and for a flat £115,916.

- The average price of a property in Penarth is £229,603; the average for a detached house is £327,833; a terraced house is £210,792; and a flat £182,555. Source: Land Registry

Contacts

Knights estate agents, Barry, 01446 700222, knightsestateagents.co.uk

Watts and Morgan, Penarth, 02920 712266, wattsandmorgan.co.uk

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