'Gower Journey' by A.G. Thompson

Excellent, comprehensive and information packed guide to the Gower Peninsula. This hardcover book was made available in two editions – the first edition being published in 1950. The book was reissued a decade later in a very slightly smaller reprint. With the additional exception of a slight addendum to the introduction, where the author notes the passing of the Mumbles Railway and the fishing weirs along Swansea Bay since the first print of the work, the two editions are otherwise identical. Lavishly illustrated with a fine monochrome photograph on every single page of the main text, this book explores the nooks and crannies that other works on the peninsula have ignored. Probably the second best book ever published on the area, beaten only by George Edmund’s incredible ‘The Gower Coast,’ and if you were only ever to possess two Gower books in your library then these would be the titles to go for. 228 pages of nostalgic walks and detailed explorations of Gower as it stood over half a century ago. A beautiful book.