Cwm Ivy Woods

Best accessed from the lane that plunges north from Llanmadoc Church, Cwm Ivy marks the western extreme of the Burry Estuary. A lonely area of the peninsula, Cwm Ivy has several interesting habitats to explore, as well as possessing one of the main footpaths to Whiteford Burrows and the curious ruins of Whiteford Lighthouse.

Cwm Ivy Woods is managed by the Glamorgan Wildlife Trust as a local Nature Reserve and is home to buzzards, green woodpeckers, kestrels, the occasional merlin, badgers, rabbits and hares. Cwm Ivy Marsh is a conglomeration of natural sand flats and reclaimed fields. It was in one of these fields at the foot of Cwm Ivy woods that a bell, believed by some to be St Cennydd's famous "titty bell", was uncovered. The bell now resides in the National Museum for Wales, Cardiff.



Facing the marsh at Cwm Ivy is a whitewashed cottage called Brandy House. This cottage was built in 1780 for smuggling purposes. Its floor was excavated to a great depth and then arched over to create a huge and secret cellar where delivered booty could be hidden safely from the prying eyes of Customs officials. A nearby limestone kiln provides evidence of another, this time more lawful industry indigenous to the locale.



Overlooking Cwm Ivy is North Hill Tor (also known as Nottle Tor). The Tor, a large outcrop of limestone rock, was quarried in the past and once contained a large cave where the men of the village used to take refuge when the press gang crossed the estuary from Llanelli. The Tor is also home to another of Gower's Iron Age Forts.