Gower Peninsula

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Gower Peninsula

The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel

Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England, and extending from the lower Severn Estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea ....
in the southwest of the historic county of Glamorgan

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen Historic counties of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales of Wales. It was originally an early medieval monarchy of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Anglo-Norman as a lordship....
. Referred to colloquially as 'Gower', this was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of Rural considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government; or the Norther...
in 1956.

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Encyclopedia

The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula

Peninsula

Bristol Channel

Glamorgan

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Gower (Lordship)

Gower was an ancient Marcher Lords of Deheubarth in South West Wales. The district, prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, was the cwmwd of Gwyr, a part of Cantref Eginawc....
, and today it is part of the City and County of Swansea.

Geography

Situated in south Wales, about in area, Gower is known for its coastline, popular with walkers

Walking

Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on Earth, distinguished from running and crawling . When carried out in shallow waters, it is usually described as wading and when performed over a steeply rising object or an obstacle it becomes scrambling or climbing....
and outdoor enthusiasts, especially surfers. Gower has many caves, including Paviland Cave and Minchin Hole Cave. The peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
is bounded by the Loughor estuary to the north and Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is an Headlands and bays on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot....
to the east. Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Crofty

Crofty is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Penclawdd of Swansea and lies just to the west of Penclawdd village....
, Three Crosses, Upper Killay

Upper Killay

Upper Killay is the name of a village and a community in Swansea, south Wales. Upper Killay has its own elected community council. The Clyne Valley cycle track passes though the village....
, Blackpill

Blackpill

Blackpill is a suburban area of Swansea, south Wales. It is located beside Swansea Bay, about 3 miles south west of the city centre.Blackpill falls into the Mayals ....
and Bishopston

Bishopston, Swansea

The village of Bishopston is situated on the Gower peninsula, some 6 miles west-southwest of the centre of Swansea city centre in South Wales....
. The highest point on the Gower peninsula is The Beacon at Rhossili Down at 193m/633ft overlooking Rhossili Bay.

The interior of Gower consists mainly of farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel....
land and common land. The population resides mainly in small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, larger than a hamlet , but smaller than a town or city. Though generally located in rural areas, the term urban village may be applied to certain urban area neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in Beirut, Lebanon....
s, though suburban development has made a number of communities in eastern Gower part of the Swansea Urban Area

Swansea Urban Area

The Swansea Urban Area is an area of land in Wales, United Kingdom defined by defined by the Office for National Statistics for population monitoring purposes....
. The southern coast of the peninsula consists of a series of small, rocky or sandy bay

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment....
s like Langland

Langland Bay

Langland Bay is a popular coastal holiday resort near Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. In the right conditions, it is one of the best surf beaches in Wales and the West Country....
and Three Cliffs

Three Cliffs Bay

Three Cliffs Bay , otherwise Three Cliff Bay, is a Headlands and bays on the south coast of the Gower peninsula in the City and County of Swansea, Wales....
, and a few larger beaches like Port Eynon

Port Eynon

Port Eynon is a village and Community council in the city and county of Swansea, Wales. The community has its own elected community council. The village is located in the remote south western corner of the Gower peninsula which is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty....
, Rhossili

Rhossili

Rhossili is a small village and community on the southwestern tip of the Gower peninsula near Swansea in Wales. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea....
and Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay is a bay on the south of the Gower peninsula, Wales.Its landscape features sand dunes, salt marshes and woodland. Oxwich Bay includes a 2.5 mile long sandy beach, accessible from the village of Oxwich....
. On the north side of the peninsula there are fewer beaches, this section of the coast includes the famous cockle

Cockle

Cockle may refer to:* Cockle * Lolium temulentum* Berwick cockles, a confectionery from Scotland* The phrase 'warm the cockles of one's heart' refers to the Ventricle s of the heart ...
-beds of Penclawdd

Penclawdd

Penclawdd is a village which is situated in the north of the Gower peninsula in Swansea, Wales. It falls within the Penclawdd It is one of the larger villages on the Gower peninsula....
. There are six castle

Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
s on the Gower peninsula: (also known as Landimore Castle), Oystermouth Castle

Oystermouth Castle

Oystermouth Castle is a Norman architecture stone castle located overlooking present day Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower peninsula near the Wales village of Mumbles....
, Oxwich Castle

Oxwich Castle

File:Oxwich Castle 4.jpgOxwich Castle occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower peninsula, Wales, United Kingdom....
, Pennard Castle

Pennard

Pennard is the name of an Ward , a Community council in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Pennard has its own community council....
, Penrice Castle

Penrice Castle

Penrice Castle is a castle near Penrice, Swansea on the Gower peninsula in south Wales....
and Weobley Castle

Weobley Castle

Weobley Castle is a fortified manor house on the Gower peninsula, Wales, United Kingdom in the care of Cadw.It is near the village of Leason overlooking Llanrhidian Marsh and the River Loughor#Estuary....
.

History

Following the Norman invasion of Wales

Norman invasion of Wales

The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman invasion of England. It was not undertaken with the fervor and intentionality of the invasion of England, and, as such, a specific date is difficult to pin down; nonetheless, it can be said that the invasion gradually played itself out through the 1060s into the 1070s, though the si...
, the commote

Commote

A commote , sometimes spelt in older documents as cymwd, was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix cym- and the noun bod ....
of Gwyr passed into English hands, the southern part eventually becoming heavily anglicised

Anglicisation

Anglicisation or anglicization is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English language for an English speaker....
. Rhys Grug of Deheubarth

Deheubarth

Deheubarth was a south-western kingdom or principality of medieval Wales....
occupied the peninsula in 1215, but in 1220 he ceded the area to the English, apparently on the orders of his overlord, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Thereafter Gower remained largely beyond the reach of Llywelyn's successors as prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom . The current Prince of Wales is Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom....
, though the peninsula suffered at the hands of Rhys ap Maredudd during his revolt of 1287-8.

The Act of Union (1535) made the Lordship of Gower

Gower (Lordship)

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen Historic counties of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales of Wales. It was originally an early medieval monarchy of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Anglo-Norman as a lordship....
, and the south-western section became the Hundred of Swansea.

In modern times, the Gower peninsula was administered as a Rural District

Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Administrative county....
of Glamorgan, which merged with the county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control....
of Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
in 1974 to form the Swansea district

Swansea (district)

The Swansea district was one of the four districts of Waless of West Glamorgan, Wales from 1974 to 1996. It was formed from the areas of the county borough of Swansea and the Gower Rural District, from the administrative county of Glamorgan....
. Since 1996, Gower has been part of the City and County of Swansea.

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
remains important to the area but tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
plays an increasing role in the local economy. The peninsula has a Championship status golf course

Golf course

A golf course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, Golf course#Fairway and rough, rough and other hazards, and a green with a pin and cup, all designed for the game of golf....
at Fairwood Park just off Fairwood Common, having twice held the Welsh PGA Championships in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Gower Golf Club at Three Crosses hosts the West Wales Open, a two-day tournament on Wales' professional golf tour

Professional golf tours

Top level Professional golfer golf consists of a year round schedule of weekly tournaments played all around the world. Most of the tournaments are organized into series called tours....
, the Dragon Tour. Gower is part of the Swansea Travel to Work Area

Travel to Work Area

A Travel to Work Area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of employment....
(see Economy of Swansea

Economy of Swansea

The City and County of Swansea council is an urban centre of regional importance with a largely rural hinterland in Gower. Swansea's Travel to Work Area, not coterminous with the local authority, also contained the Swansea Valley in 1991; the new 2001-based version merges the Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, and Llanelli areas into a new Swansea Bay T...
).

Representation in the media

The village of Mumbles set the scene for a six part drama ‘Ennals Point’ featuring Welsh actor Philip Madoc

Philip Madoc

Philip Madoc is a Welsh people actor who has had many television and film roles.Perhaps his most famous role was as the title character in the BBC Wales drama The Life and Times of David Lloyd George....
. The series focused on the local lifeboat crew and first aired in January 1982. To those living locally, the continuity leaps were often amusing - departing a house in the village the actors would find themselves immediately in an area distant. A film, Gower Boy, made by artist Gee Vaucher

Gee Vaucher

Gee Vaucher was born in 1945 in Dagenham, East London.File:Rimbaud .jpgHer work with Anarcho-punk band Crass was seminal to the 'protest art' of the 1980s....
and musician Huw Warren

Huw Warren

Huw Warren is a jazz pianist and composer. A graduate of Goldsmiths College and Guildhall School of Music, he is known for his work with June Tabor, Perfect Houseplants, and various groups....
, described as a "gentle, contemplative exploration of the Gower peninsula in Wales", debuted at the 14th Raindance Film Festival

Raindance Film Festival

The Raindance Film Festival is the UK's largest independent film festival. It was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove to extend the normal film school activities of Raindance and to celebrate and support independent filmmaking - it runs in the autumn each year in London's West End and always features an eclectic mix of genres with films fr...
in October 2006 . The village of Rhossili

Rhossili

Rhossili is a small village and community on the southwestern tip of the Gower peninsula near Swansea in Wales. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea....
appeared as a location in the 2006 Doctor Who
Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British Science fiction on television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien Time travel known as "Doctor " who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box....
episode "New Earth

New Earth

"New Earth" is an list of Doctor Who serials of the United Kingdom science fiction television series Doctor Who which was first broadcast on April 15 2006....
". In the episode, Worm's Head could be seen.

Archaeology

Gower is home to menhir

Menhir

A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top....
s or standing stones from the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
. Of the nine stones, eight remain today. One of the most famous of the stones is Arthur's stone near Cefn Bryn

Cefn Bryn

Cefn Bryn is a 5 mile long Old Red Sandstone ridge in the heart of the Gower peninsula in Wales. Local people colloquially refer to it as the "backbone of Gower"....
.

At Paviland Cave

Red Lady of Paviland

The Red Lady of Paviland is a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic-era human male skeleton dyed in red ochre, discovered in 1823 by Rev. William Buckland in one of the Paviland limestone caves of the Gower peninsula in south Wales, dating from c29,000 Before Present....
in South Gower, a human skeleton

Skeleton

In biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa....
(named the Red Lady of Paviland
Red Lady of Paviland

The Red Lady of Paviland is a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic-era human male skeleton dyed in red ochre, discovered in 1823 by Rev. William Buckland in one of the Paviland limestone caves of the Gower peninsula in south Wales, dating from c29,000 Before Present....
, though he is actually a male) was discovered by Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian Era of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the period of Victoria of the United Kingdom reign from June 1837 to January 1901....
archaeologists, dated as 25,000 years old.

Villages

The villages in Gower include:

Bishopston
Bishopston, Swansea

The village of Bishopston is situated on the Gower peninsula, some 6 miles west-southwest of the centre of Swansea city centre in South Wales....
Burry Green
Burry Green

Burry Green is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea....
Caswell
Caswell, Swansea

Caswell is a village in the Gower peninsula, Swansea, south Wales. It is located up a steep hill from Caswell Bay....
Cheriton
Cheriton, Swansea

Cheriton is a village in the county of Swansea, south Wales, in the Gower peninsula. It is popular with summer tourists who often choose Cheriton as a place to stay whilst exploring the beaches in the local area....
Crofty
Crofty

Crofty is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Penclawdd of Swansea and lies just to the west of Penclawdd village....
Gowerton
Gowerton

The village of Gowerton is situated about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to Gower peninsula....
Horton
Horton, Swansea

Horton is a rural village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea. It is located just north east of Port Eynon off the A4118 road....
Ilston
Ilston

Ilston is the name of a village and a local government community in Swansea, South West Wales Wales. Ilston has its own community council. The population of the community in the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 538....
Kittle
Kittle, Swansea

Kittle is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Pennard of Swansea. Kittle approximates to the housing estate spread northwards and southwards from Pennard Road....
Knelston
Knelston

Knelston is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea....
Landimore
Landimore

Landimore is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea....
Langland
Langland, Swansea

Langland is a village in the City and County of Swansea, Wales falling in the Newton, Swansea and Oystermouth wards. Langland is located in the south eastern part of the Gower peninsula, directly north of the Langland Bay beach resort....
Llandewi
Llangennith
Llangennith

Llangennith is a village in the City and County of Swansea, south Wales, in the Gower peninsula. It has a scattering of houses and one pub - the Kings Head....
Llanmadoc
Llanmadoc

Llanmadoc is a village in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, lying in north west of the Gower peninsula.St. Madoc's Church lies in the village....
Llanmorlais
Llanmorlais

Llanmorlais is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Penclawdd of Swansea.The name Llanmorlais is not a true Llan place name....
Llanrhidian
Llanrhidian

Llanrhidian is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea.The village church is the St. Rhidian & St. Illtyd Church....
Llethryd
Llethryd

Llethryd is a rural village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea. The village approximates to the buildings around the B4271 road just over halfway between Upper Killay and Llanrhidian....
Middleton
Middleton, Swansea

Middleton is a village near Rhossili in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea. The village is centred along the country road linking Rhossili with Scurlage....
Mumbles
Mumbles

Mumbles is a large village with adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay. It is part of the administrative area of the City and County of Swansea in Wales....
Murton
Murton, Swansea

Murton is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Bishopston of Swansea....

Newton

Newton, Swansea

Newton is the name of an Ward and a village in the City of and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. The Newton ward is a part of the Mumbles Community ....

Nicholaston

Nicholaston is a rural village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea....

Oldwalls

Oldwalls is a rural village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling within the Gower of Swansea. The village consists of a small number of houses built along a countryside road....

Overton

Overton, Swansea

Overton is a small rural village near Port Eynon in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea....

Oxwich

Oxwich is a village in the subdivisions of Wales of Swansea, Wales. It is situated to the far south of the Gower peninsula. Attractions in the village include the Oxwich Burrows marsh, the Tudor architecture Oxwich Castle, Penrice Castle and local sandy beaches including Oxwich Bay....

Oxwich Green

Oxwich Green is a village on the Gower peninsula, Wales falling in the Gower of Swansea. The village is centred on the road between the villages of Oxwich and Slade, Swansea....

Parkmill

The village of Parkmill is a small rural settlement in the Gower Peninsula , South Wales , midway between the villages of Penmaen and Ilston , about eight miles west of Swansea , and about one mile from the north coast of the Bristol Channel ....

Penclawdd

Penclawdd is a village which is situated in the north of the Gower peninsula in Swansea, Wales. It falls within the Penclawdd It is one of the larger villages on the Gower peninsula....

Pennard

Pennard is the name of an Ward , a Community council in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Pennard has its own community council....

Penmaen

Penmaen is a very small village consisting of a scatter of houses around the A4118 road in the Gower peninsula, South Wales Wales. The village sits at the foot of the slopes of Cefn Bryn....

Penrice

Penrice, Swansea

Penrice is the name of a village and a community in Swansea, south Wales. Penrice Castle is situated near the village. Penrice has an elected community council....

Pitton

Pitton, Swansea

Pitton is a rural village on the Gower peninsula, Wales falling within the Gower ....

Pitton Green

Pitton Green is a rural village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling within the Gower of Swansea. The village is centred around the country road connecting the villages of Scurlage and Rhossili....

Port Eynon

Reynoldston

Reynoldston is the name of a rural village and a Community council in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The community has its own elected community council....

Rhossili

Rhossili is a small village and community on the southwestern tip of the Gower peninsula near Swansea in Wales. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea....

Slade

Slade, Swansea

Slade is a small village situated north-west of Oxwich Bay on the Gower peninsula, South Wales. Points of interest include Eastern Slade Farm, a dairy farming and campsite....

Scurlage

Scurlage is a village in the Gower peninsula, in Swansea, Wales....

Southgate

Southgate, Swansea

Southgate is a village in the Gower peninsula, Wales falling within the Pennard of Swansea....

Three Crosses

Upper Killay

Upper Killay is the name of a village and a community in Swansea, south Wales. Upper Killay has its own elected community council. The Clyne Valley cycle track passes though the village....

Beaches

This is a list of the larger beaches. Blue Flag

Blue Flag beach

A Blue Flag beach is a maritime or freshwater recreational beach that has met stringent quality standards during the whole of the previous bathing season....
beaches are marked with a *:

Swansea Bay
Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is an Headlands and bays on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot....
Mumbles Beach
Mumbles Beach

Mumbles Beach is a very small sheltered area of sand and rock pools sandwiched between Swansea Bay beach and Bracelet Bay in the south eastern corner of the Gower peninsula, Swansea, Wales....
Bracelet Bay
Bracelet Bay

Bracelet Bay is a bays and headlands on the south side of the Gower peninsula, Wales, just to the southwest of Swansea Bay.It is a small bay surrounded by limestone cliffs....
*
Limeslade
Limeslade Bay

Limeslade Bay is a small cove just to the west of Bracelet Bay in the south east corner of the Gower peninsula, Wales. It is a mainly rocky beach with little sand....
Rotherslade
Rotherslade

Rotherslade is a small stretch of sandy beach at the eastern end of Langland Bay in the south Gower peninsula, Wales. Also previously known as 'Little Langland' it only exists as a separate beach at high tide....
Langland Bay
Langland Bay

Langland Bay is a popular coastal holiday resort near Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. In the right conditions, it is one of the best surf beaches in Wales and the West Country....
*
Caswell Bay
Caswell Bay

Caswell Bay is a popular UK holiday resort in the south east of the Gower peninsula, Swansea, Wales.Access to the beach is relatively easy and inland from the sandy beach is a recreational park....
*
Brandy Cove
Brandy Cove

Brandy Cove is a very small beach in the Gower peninsula, south Wales, that is much less accessible than Caswell Bay immediately to the east. It is set at the end of a valley from Bishopston village....
Pwlldu Bay
Pwlldu Bay

Pwlldu Bay is a small beach on the south Gower peninsula coast in south Wales. It is one of the more remote beachs and is not easily accessible by car but there are three narrow footpaths leading down to the beach....
Foxhole Bay
Pobbles Bay
Three Cliffs Bay

Three Cliffs Bay , otherwise Three Cliff Bay, is a Headlands and bays on the south coast of the Gower peninsula in the City and County of Swansea, Wales....
Three Cliffs Bay
Three Cliffs Bay

Three Cliffs Bay , otherwise Three Cliff Bay, is a Headlands and bays on the south coast of the Gower peninsula in the City and County of Swansea, Wales....
Tor Bay
Oxwich Bay
Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay is a bay on the south of the Gower peninsula, Wales.Its landscape features sand dunes, salt marshes and woodland. Oxwich Bay includes a 2.5 mile long sandy beach, accessible from the village of Oxwich....
Slade Bay
Slade Bay

Slade Bay is a sandy beach near the village of Slade, Swansea, south Wales. It is set in a relatively inaccessible location - being reachable only on foot and climbing over some large rocks....
Horton Bay
Horton Bay

Horton Beach is located in Port Eynon on the south coast of the Gower peninsula in Wales.It is reached from the nearby village of Horton, Swansea via a steep hill, and has a car park sited a few minutes' walk away....
Port Eynon Bay*
Mewslade Bay
Mewslade Bay

Mewslade Bay is a sandy beach in the south of the Gower peninsula, Wales.To the east lies Butterslade, to the west lies Fall Bay.It is accessible via a rocky wooded path which is muddy in places....
Fall Bay
Rhossili

Rhossili is a small village and community on the southwestern tip of the Gower peninsula near Swansea in Wales. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea....
Rhossili Bay
Rhossili

Rhossili is a small village and community on the southwestern tip of the Gower peninsula near Swansea in Wales. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea....
(Llangennith Sands)
Burry Holms
Burry Holms

Burry Holms is a small tidal island located at the northern end of the Gower peninsula, Wales. 9,000 years ago it was up to 12 miles away from the sea and inhabited by nomadic Mesolithic hunters....
Blue Pool Bay
Blue Pool Bay

Blue Pool Bay beach is situated near Burry Holms on the Gower peninsula, Wales. The beach is popular with surfers & youngsters who go to jump from the rocks into blue pool itself....
Llanmadoc Beach
Broughton Bay
Broughton Bay

Broughton Bay is a beach of the Gower peninsula, south Wales, located at the north western tip. The bay is backed by sand dunes further inland....
Whiteford Sands
Whiteford Sands

Whiteford Sands is a two mile expanse of beach on the northern side of the Gower peninsula, south Wales. It is the most northerly beach on Gower and sits on the edge of the Loughor estuary....

Beach awards

Gower's beaches have won awards for their high standards.

Blue Flag Beach Award 2005

The beaches that have the Blue Flag beach

Blue Flag beach

A Blue Flag beach is a maritime or freshwater recreational beach that has met stringent quality standards during the whole of the previous bathing season....
Award in Gower are:

Bracelet Bay
Caswell Bay
Langland Bay
Port Eynon Bay

Green Coast Award 2005

The aim of the Green Coast Award is: ‘To acknowledge those beaches which meet Guideline water quality and are prized for their natural, unspoiled environment.” The beaches that have this award on the Gower peninsula are:

Rhossili Bay
Mewslade Bay
Mewslade Bay

Mewslade Bay is a sandy beach in the south of the Gower peninsula, Wales.To the east lies Butterslade, to the west lies Fall Bay.It is accessible via a rocky wooded path which is muddy in places....
Tor Bay
Pwll Du Bay
Limeslade Bay
Limeslade Bay

Limeslade Bay is a small cove just to the west of Bracelet Bay in the south east corner of the Gower peninsula, Wales. It is a mainly rocky beach with little sand....

Seaside Awards 2006

Only the beaches that have good water quality, that are clean and well-managed, receive the Seaside Award. The Gower beaches that have received this award are:

Bracelet Bay
Bracelet Bay

Bracelet Bay is a bays and headlands on the south side of the Gower peninsula, Wales, just to the southwest of Swansea Bay.It is a small bay surrounded by limestone cliffs....
Caswell Bay
Caswell Bay

Caswell Bay is a popular UK holiday resort in the south east of the Gower peninsula, Swansea, Wales.Access to the beach is relatively easy and inland from the sandy beach is a recreational park....
Port Eynon Bay
Langland Bay
Langland Bay

Langland Bay is a popular coastal holiday resort near Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. In the right conditions, it is one of the best surf beaches in Wales and the West Country....
Limeslade Bay
Limeslade Bay

Limeslade Bay is a small cove just to the west of Bracelet Bay in the south east corner of the Gower peninsula, Wales. It is a mainly rocky beach with little sand....

External links

General Information

Churches

Tourism

Information from Wales, One Big Garden

Awards

Surfing and watersports

Web cams

Gower Peninsula

Geography

History

Economy

Representation in the media

Archaeology

Villages

Beaches

Beach awards

Blue Flag Beach Award 2005

Green Coast Award 2005

Seaside Awards 2006

See also

External links