Gower
A thumb of land west of Swansea that in 1956 became the very first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Britain — and still one of the best. The Gower packs the show-stopping sweep of Rhossili, the serpent island of Worm's Head, the postcard dunes of Three Cliffs and the ice-cream promenade of Mumbles into a small, sunny peninsula.
4 places covered · 1 towns to stay.
🥾 Walks & hills
🏖️ Beaches & coast
Britain's first AONB, still one of the best
Rhossili is the show-stopper: three miles of sand backed by the Down, the ribs of the Helvetia shipwreck showing at low tide, and the tidal Worm's Head at its tip. The Worm is only crossable for about two and a half hours either side of low water — check the tide tables, or you'll be stranded on it, as a young Dylan Thomas famously was.
Three Cliffs Bay is perhaps the most photographed view in Wales, best seen from the Pennard cliffs or over Cefn Bryn; Mumbles, back towards Swansea, has the pier, the lighthouse and Joe's ice cream to round off a day.
The lanes are narrow and the popular car parks (Rhossili especially) fill fast on a fine summer's day, so come early — and plan around the tide for anything involving Worm's Head or the Three Cliffs crossing.
Build a day out here
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