This sunny Saturday included a long section of promenade beside the beach of Swansea Bay, followed by a succession of coves and beaches surrounded by limestone cliffs.
My plan was to spend the next three days walking around the Gower peninsula camping out in the dunes. Officially recognised as an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty", in sunny weather it is difficult to find any superior, seaside scenery. On leaving Swansea train station I threaded my way through the streets of the city, by the ruins of the 13th century castle, rather lost among the surrounding buildings. Nearby, the Dylan Thomas centre reminded me that the poet once worked in Swansea as a journalist, I was looking forward to visiting Laugharne where he lived, later in my walk on the coast path. Like Cardiff Bay earlier on this long distance trail, the dockland area of Swansea has been extensively redeveloped, although the route avoids the big Tawe Basin marina with its small boats, yachts and National Waterfront Museum, showcasing Wales' Industrial heritage. Instead I followed the trail along the seafront promenade, an extensive beach on my left and a long, bank of modern, white apartments on my right. I followed the promenade and beach for several kilometres to the Mumbles pier. Lots of people were out enjoying the winter sunshine, many on bikes in Lycra, a few on skateboards, and one throwback to an early decade on roller blades. It was all rather crowded with couples and families strolling along, with many yapping dogs enjoying an outing, especially those racing around on the beach. One yellow labrador called "Lucky" approached me for some food, but was disappointed. The winter sun was low in the sky and I was glad of my sun glasses as it glared in my face, silhouetting the people in front of me. As I progressed from the line of apartments to a more parkland setting I was glad to find a takeaway for a morning coffee and a chocolate orange muffin (and a toilet). Nearby the 1930's Guildhall was a striking white building with clean, square lines. The promenade (which was built on the bed of an old railway line) and beach continued passed the restaurants of the suburb of Mumbles, ending at Mumbles pier (which was closed) and a queue for the fish and chip shop. I looked back at Swansea across the bay, although now far away I could still hear the hammer of pile driving at works to secure the harbour entrance.
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| Promenade by Swansea |
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| Path between Langland and Caswell Bay |
After Mumbles Head with its lighthouse a good concrete path took me around a succession of bays: Limeslade Bay, Langland Bay (notable for its line of beach huts) and Caswell Bay being the most significant. Caswell Bay was a childhood favourite with its limestone cliffs to climb on, a small cave and, at low tide, extensive sands. I sat looking at people enjoying the beach while I ate a "Welsh" burger (which the vendor assured me was made with the best Aberdeen Angus beef). The tide was out allowing me to take the route across the sands around a small headland. Other bays followed, rocky and pebbly as the path wound around, no longer paved but not as muddy today as when I last walked this way, when I slipped, gaining a muddy bottom. At Southgate I stopped for can of lemonade, thirsty with the unseasonal heat. The forecast was three to ten degrees centigrade and I dressed accordingly, but it felt much warmer in the sun (and was colder at night). Previously I had overnighted at a Bed & Breakfast in Southgate, but today I continued across Three Cliffs Bay. I now feel this is the most beautiful beach on the Gower, enclosed as it is by cliffs and sand dunes, not immediately accessible by road it has a secret air. A river runs through the middle and there are stepping stones, but today my arrival coincided with high tide when they are covered, so I took the alternative inland route by the artistic ruins of Pennard Castle, which overlooks the valley. After crossing the river I briefly joined the road, stopping at the shop for another lemonade. A muddy track led me down the other side of the river back to Three Cliffs Bay, where I studied the fast moving water for signs of the submerged stepping stones. There were still plenty of people about, some lads around a fire, a mother with teenage children and earlier, people heading home with surfboards under their arms. Along the coast today there were numerous surfers. I mistook the first group for a bob of seals in their black wetsuits. There seemed to be much waiting for a big wave and not much surfing.
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| Three Cliffs Bay |
Dusk was falling as I continued, now alone on the trail, towards Oxwich, and by the time I reached the dunes of Oxwich Bay, the remains of the sunset was a deep red. As a footbridge was down, I followed the diverted coast path up through trees, listening to the evening bird song, to a point higher up the river. I was not too convinced I had the right route, and the twilight did not reveal much about my surroundings, however, bridges appeared at the right moments below a low mist rising a few feet above the reeds. I successfully reached the beach, surprising a couple in the darkness walking the other way. A full moon was now rising in the clear sky above the sea as I found a place to camp in my bivi bag. Sadly, I dropped the sandwiches I had bought for my tea. I did my best to remove the sand that stuck to them but enough remained to give me an unpleasantly gritty meal. Urgh! Hope it does not give me a stomach upset.
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| A barely visible bridge I crossed in the last light of the day. |
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