Gower Peninsula

Introducing Gower Peninsula

With its grey limestone cliffs, sweeping butter­scotch-coloured beaches and pounding surf, the Gower Peninsula (Y Gŵyr) feels like a little chunk of the Pembrokeshire coast tacked onto Swansea’s back yard.

A 15-mile long thumb of land stretching westward from the Mumbles, Gower was designated the UK’s first official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1956. The National Trust (NT) owns about three-quarters of the coast and, although there is no continuously waymarked path, you can hike almost the entire length of the coastline. The peninsula also has the best surfing in Wales outside Pembrokeshire.

The main family beaches, patrolled by lifeguards during the summer, are Langland Bay, Caswell Bay and Port Eynon. The most impressive, and most popular with surfers, is the magnificent 3-mile sweep of Rhossili Bay at the far end of the peninsula. Much of Gower’s northern coast is salt marsh that faces the Burry Inlet, an important area for wading birds and wildfowl.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009