The Gower Peninsula 1:

The beauty of the Gower is well known, and it's probably all been said before. But it's all true.

We, that is my wife Eira Wyn and I, managed to squeeze in just two days on Gower during our week long visit to South Wales.

We booked our hotel at short notice and I am afraid we payed the price for our tardiness. The accommodation was clean, which is our priority, but we were in a room that was too small to swing a heavy suitcase, never mind a cat, especially after carrying said suitcase up three flights of stairs!

The hotel was located in the centre of Swansea and was convenient for visiting either the Gower or the City centre. For our first full day there was no contest on where to choose to visit, we chose the Gower Peninsula. Just a fifteen minute drive took us from the heart of the City to the lungs of the Gower. We chose to visit Port Eynon (Welsh - Porth Einon) at the Western tip of the peninsula. It is a delightful little village with a proud history of seafaring men, and a fish and chip shop. Well actually there are two fish and chips shops right next to each other. And it seems that during the summer season they have so many customers that even with the two shops they still have massive queues. The one we chose was a great fish and chip shop and the proprietor of the fish and chip shop was also "great", ....of girth. He may have been eating too much of his own fish and chips but who can blame him? He made delicious fish and chips and a lovely mug of tea, and all served up with a big smile and friendly banter.

I can imagine the beach being wild and stormy on a winter's day but the day we arrived it was perfect for crabbing, beach combing or just plain walking. It is popular for all types of watersports including, diving, sailing, surfing and windsurfing, with a slipway to the beach. It is a safe beach for swimming, as long as you keep well away from the slipway where they launch the power boats. And, should you wish to see Gower from the sea, boat trips are available from Port Eynon.

The village church, St Cattwg's, is a lovely little church that was founded in the 6th century by St Cennydd, (although the present building dates from the 12th century). In the churchyard, beside the usual interesting gravestones, there is a memorial sculpture to the three lifeboat crew who lost their lives at sea in 1916. Soon after it was decided that it was too dangerous to operate a lifeboat station from Port Eynon and it was closed in 1919. A new lifeboat station was opened nearby in Horton in 1968.

From Port Eynon we went the "wrong way" to Oxwich Bay. It may have been the wrong way but it was the most interesting as it took us down narrow, very narrow, winding lanes among delightful wooded valleys. I always begin to panic a bit when narrow roads seem to be getting narrower, but it was not long before we returned to civilisation and arrived on the beach at Oxwich Bay.                                      Page 2 of the Gower : Oxwich Bay >