Parc-le-Breos

Swansea, The Gower & Carmarthenshire


Nestled in a tiny valley between wooded hills, this verdant park contains the Long Cairn, a 5500-year-old burial chamber consisting of a stone entryway, a passageway and four chambers. It once contained the skeletons of 40 people, but these were removed, along with its protective earth mound, after it was dug out in 1869. Nearly opposite is a lime kiln, used until a century ago for the production of quicklime fertiliser.

Further into the park, a natural limestone fissure houses Cathole Rock Cave, home to hunter gatherers up to 20,000 years ago. Flint tools were found in the cave, alongside the bones of bears, hyenas and mammoths.

The turn-off for Parc-le-Breos is right beside the Gower Heritage Centre in Parkmill; the park is less than half a mile further on.