Welcome to Gower

Your online guide to the beauty of the Gower Peninsula's beaches, history, countryside, wildlife, folklore, and much, much more. 338 pages of information, photography and local reviews.

Make Welcome to Gower your guide to discovering Britain's 'First Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.'

Blackthorn, Langland

The Gower Peninsula is famed for its succession of golden beaches and unspoiled countryside. Within its coastline lies no less than twenty five beaches, ranging from stunning vistas of sand such as Oxwich Bay, Rhossili Bay and Whiteford Sands, which stretch for almost as far as the eye can see, to secluded coves, 'secreted' away amongst Gower's fascinating limestone cliffs. Historically, the seclusion of some of Gower's smaller beaches, such as Brandy Cove and Pwlldu, led them to being used as landing points for smuggler's who offloaded their illicit cargoes here ready for them to be disseminated around Gower's then equally remote villages. Today, these coves provide sheltered and often quiet sunbathing spots for those willing to walk that little extra distance to reach them.

The Helvetia Shipwreck, Rhossili Bay

Whilst Gower's most crowded beaches tend to be located close to Swansea, this popularity has just as much to do with their ease of access from Gower's nearest city as much as any extra aesthetic quality they might possess over Gower's more remote bays. With a few noteable exceptions, the deeper one heads along the Gower coast, the more spectacular Gower's bays tend to become. The isolated character and the brooding beauty of much of Gower's beaches is also echoed in its natural rural landscapes. Emotions and imaginations are easily stirred by Gower's pictorial splendour and this may go someway to explaining why just so much of the peninsula is purported to be haunted or is infused with remarkable legends and folklore. Dark, shifting shapes of phantom smugglers roaming along the coastal tideline at dusk, a young ghostly woman clutching her baby only moments before drowning both herself and her infant in the Bishopston Stream, a black steed-driven chariot commanded maniacally by a long dead squire of the peninsula as he searches for lost treasure across Rhossili Bay, a strange voice requesting unwary visitors to an old, wind-swept parsonage to turn around and confront it - such ghostly encounters are rife on the Gower Peninsula.

Arthur's Stone

Tales of King Arthur and Sweyne Forkbeard, the Viking King, lend even further mystery to the numerous already enigmatic Neolithic stone monuments which are scattered throughout Gower's countryside. Strange standing stones, huge burial tombs such as Arthur's Stone and Giant's Grave, engraved stones from the Dark Age and the curious 'leper stone of Llanrhidian Church with its stylised depictions of humans and animals all add an extra, deeper dimension to Gower. These and the recorded adventures of Gower's indiginous race of faeries, known locally as the 'Verry-Volk,' embroider the atmosphere of the Gower countryside and infuse the area with an air of myth and magic which are just as much a part of Gower's character as its clean, award-winning beaches.

Unsuprisingly, given that Gower was chosen as Britain's first 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' - affording it protection by the National Trust since 1956, it is not only Gower's beaches or its historical monuments or folklore which draw visitors to the peninsula each year. Within its boundary lies an almost infinite variety of wildlife habitats. These include woodland - both indiginous and pine, dune, salt marsh, rivers, caves, commons and agricultural fields. So important are some of the species of flora and fauna found in these habitats that large areas of Gower have been protected in order that they are not faced with the modern-day pressures that threaten to destroy so much of the rest of the UK countryside. Whilst securing the future of these species in Gower, this in turn also has the effect of preserving Gower's unspoiled landscapes for future human generations to enjoy and ensuring the area's interest to the tourist industry for many years to come.

Before leaving any discussion of the Gower Peninsula, no matter how brief, mention must be made of the numerous villages, many of them rustic and anachronistic, which divide the peninsula. Given the rural nature of Gower, many of these hamlets held quite distinct histories until fairly recent times. Even today, some distinct character remains to each individual Gower village.so whilst travelling through Llangennith on the way to the beach or heading through the winding lanes of Gower looking for a place to pitch a tent or park your caravan for the weekend, why not take time out to explore the history, meet the people or just take in the atmosphere of Gower's many and varied villages?

Blessed with so many natural and historical treasures, the Gower Peninsula truly is a place to cherish and delight in and is one of the most irreplaceable and inspiring locations in the Britain Isles.

Broad Pool, Cefn Bryn

It is my aim, through Welcome to Gower to share my explorations of this most remarkeable of places. Bookmark this site, return to it regularly and discover why Gower remains as one of the UK's top tourist resources. Learn about the peninsula's numerous shipwrecks that can still be visited along Gower's immaculate coastline. Read of the ghost stories and legends that once formed a staple entertainment of the people of this rich and glorious land. Enjoy the full breadth and richness of the Gower countryside and revel in what has to be one of the most unique and utterly inspiring landscapes in the whole of the Britain.

Content is added to Welcome to Gower on almost a daily basis so please check the What's New section to make sure you keep up to date with the latest entries. You can also keep up to date with my latest project, walking the complete Gower coastline through 2008 here.

In producing this site, Welcome to Gower hopes to fuel and enhance your enjoyment of all that Gower has to offer. I have designed this site as a series of field guides, introductory notes, photographic essays, reviews and general information articles that allow a more complete understanding/knowledge of Gower. The growing content available on this site will serve to highten your experience of Britain's finest stretches of countryside.

Rhossili Bay

This site is entirely the work of Chris Elphick and is primarily driven by the author/photographer's love for the Gower Peninsula. It does not exist just to rake in money from accommodation providers in the area and it is not funded by any Tourist Board and/or local attraction or Council. I am proud of this fact as it means that all my articles and reviews are free from commercial spin etc.Welcome to Gower is a genuine product of devotion to the UK's first "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

Thankyou for visiting and please remember that this site is totally interactive. Please feel free toleave some feedback or additional information on any entries you find particularly interesting.
- Chris Elphick