Catherine
Friday
I scrounged a lift off the climbers to the carpark at Southgate and walked down with them to Pobbles beach, Threecliff Bay, where they planned to do some sea cliff climbs. I then returned to the carpark and followed the clearly marked coastal path SE to Pwlldu Head which gave stunning views of the coast in both directions and of the very impressive sea cliffs. The geology of the area is fascinating.
Heading NE along the coast I got as far as Brandy Cove, by then, a lovely little sandy cove, perfect for a paddle & then lunch. Due to the impending heavy rain (which duly fell & didn’t stop for 12 hours!!) I then retraced my steps along the coastal path to meet up with the others in the fab café at the carpark for a very welcome cup of tea & a dry off!
Saturday
Saturday brought much better weather, the sky having emptied it’s water reserves on us over night. Again, I got a lift off the climbers to nearby Penmaen & walked down with them to the western edge of Threecliff bay (more sea cliffs – very impressive!). Returning to the layby via an interesting little scramble up onto Penmaen Burows from which I got fabulous views over Oxwich Bay in full sunshine.
I made my way up onto the eastern end of Cefn Bryn which is a, comparatively, high ridge running from Penmaen WNW virtually to our campsite at Kennexstone. Whilst not high (186m) it has the most fantastic views over all of the Gower peninsula & beyond. The sun was shining, the bees buzzing & the heather heady! I had a wonderful seascape view in each direction. I could have walked along the ridge for days. Made even more enjoyable as no one else around.
I made a slight (but well worth it) extension to take in Arthur’s Stone, an ancient burial chamber. A massive stone of 4 tonnes (apparently, I didn’t feel the need to check!!) perched on smaller uprights. Whoever Arthur was, he was clearly well revered. A wonderful lunch stop with great views over the north coast of the peninsular.
Continuing down to Hillend at the end of the hill…. The final mile or so I chose the B road as it was hot & I wanted the most direct route back for a glass of wine in the sun. I had planned to add the small hill of Ryder’s Down at the end but it was late enough & I’d had a wonderful day with glorious views & virtually to myself.
Sunday
It started a little overcast but turned into a lovely, hot day. I walked from the campsite in a NW direction, heading for the N end of Rhossilli Bay using local foot paths, some of which don’t exist. I ended up scrabbling up to the NE end of Llanmadoc Hill over pretty rough ground which was hard going & took time. I did get my legs exfoliated for nothing though! Having got up on top it was well worth it with delightful views over Broughton Bay & Whiteford sands. I don’t think you can get those views from anywhere else. Gorgeous. Like Cefn Bryn, the top was covered in heather and bees.
Once at the NW end (186m) I was rewarded with stunning views over Rhossili Bay. I made my way down to the coastal path at Broughton Farm to go around the headland at the N end of Rhossili Bay to enjoy the magnificent geological features. Lunch lounging in the full sun on the beach was wonderful. I decided to don my swim wear & put my boots on my rucksack & walked in the surf all the way down to the southern end of the beach. Heavy pack, but great fun!
By the time I met up with the climbers tackling some sea cliffs at the southern end it was to late (tide time) to go around Worms Head but I had had great views of it as I paddled down the beach. A long, hot day with fantastic views & scenery so I was grateful for a lift back, via the ice cream shop!!
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