Where
is it? : Oxwich Bay, on the Gower peninsula south Wales.
Allow
: 2.5 hours , Distance 5 miles / 8 km
Why? : one of the best
beaches in Britain, sand dunes, nature reserve, beach combing for cockles,
scallops, sea views, swimmers, surfers, cliff views.
Rating : This is an easy walk.
Parking : Car Parking is
available on the seafront at Oxwich Beach for a small charge.
Directions : [ Map of
Oxwich beach to Three Cliffs Bay Walk location ] 
From Swansea take the A4118 to the Gower. After Nicholaston watch out for
signs to Oxwich. Follow the signs to Oxwich.
The walk starts on the beach at Oxwich Bay and it is a very easy walk
to describe, but no less beautiful for that. Simply exit the car park
by walking on to the beach and turn left. Continue walking for 2 miles
to Three Cliffs Bay, turn around and walk back.
I recommend the walk when the tide is out as this offers the opportunity
to vary the walk with a bit of beach combing at low tide on the outward
walk and, by keeping to the high water mark on the return trip, the chance
to visit the sand dunes and nature reserves of Oxwich Burrows and Nicholaston
Burrows on the return journey.
It was out of season when Eira Wyn and I visited the beach and, except
for a lone horse-woman and a 
few dog walkers, we had the beach pretty
much to ourselves. (I understand that it can be very busy at the Oxwich
Beach end in the high season)
We set out to Three Cliffs Bay and I have never found so many cockles,
scallops and other interesting shells on a beach before and I am sure
that if we had a stove Eira Wyn could have cooked up a nice seafood platter.
Oxwich beach and Three Cliffs Bay are as beautiful as they look in the
brochures, but it is necessary to resist the urge to go for a swim as
there can be dangerous under currents at Three Cliffs Bay.
We kept close to the rock faces on the return journey and there are some
wonderful rock features bursting through the sands and reaching for the
sky. I was surprised that the magnificent cliffs weren't crawling with
rock climbers.
The landscape quickly changes from the rugged cliffs of Three Cliffs
Bay to the soft sand dunes of 
Nicholaston Burrows. Times for this walk
are pretty meaningless as you could spend a day exploring Nicholaston
Burrows and the nature reserve around Oxwich Burrows, a flat-land of
salt and freshwater marshes.The ancient woodlands of Nicholaston Woods
are a special area of conservation for Ash trees, and the rare plant
life to be found there include Purple Bromwell (of which in 2007 there
were only ten plants to be found), Bloody Cranesbill and Butcher's Broom.
But time and tide and Eira Wyn wait for no man and as needs must when
the devil drives we head back to the car park !
Please -- click on the pictures -- for enlarged
pictures of the Walk from Oxwich Beach to Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, South
Wales, UK.
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