Three Cliffs Bay
Photo via Wikimedia Commons — licence & author.
Gower's most photographed beach
This is a quick reference, not a full walked guide. The facts below — location, parking, grid reference and access — are maintained from our dataset, but we haven't published our own first-hand write-up of Three Cliffs Bay yet. Know it well? Help us get it right.
A dune-and-river-backed beach guarded by a dramatic triple-pointed limestone headland, with the ruins of Pennard Castle on the ridge above — often called the most beautiful beach in Wales, and certainly its most photographed. No road reaches it, so the walk in over the dunes or along the Southgate clifftop is half the magic. Take care with the tide and the river channel when crossing to the sand. Parking is paid.
Getting there
Three Cliffs Bay is in Gower, near Swansea, Gower. It's roughly 16 min (4.7 miles) from Port Eynon , and within reach of Swansea & Mumbles (20 min) and Rhossili (23 min).
The nearest parking: Roadside/NT parking at Penmaen or Southgate. Grid reference SS 540 883 — works on any OS map and doesn't need a phone signal.
Good to know
Approach from Penmaen or the Southgate clifftop path. Beware the tide and the river channel when crossing to the sand.
On the map
View Three Cliffs Bay on OpenStreetMap ↗, or open it in the Explore Wales trip planner to add it to a day out with drive times and offline maps.
Staying over?
Port Eynon makes a relaxed base for exploring the area — worth staying over to catch an early start or a golden-hour finish.
Browse places to stay near Port Eynon ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signalNearby places
Make Three Cliffs Bay part of a day out
Add it to a trip in the free Explore Wales planner — chained drive times, weather, campsite suggestions, and offline maps for when the signal drops.