We woke up after a good nights sleep at
Pitton Cross Campsite and after some breakfast we headed back down to Rhossilli and parked back up paid the £4 fee and had another cuppa in The Bay Bistro made use of their WiFi to upload yesterdays pictures whilst waiting for the 10am start of The Walking For Pleasure walk to Llangennith,Burry Holms and back.
Before lond it was 10am and we met the group from WFP, Max,Julie,Heather,Steve,Clive,Paul,Gavin and his daughter Anya,Muireann and Katarzyna.
We headed off through Rhossilli and past its church
St Marys. The original church at Rhossili spent its early days at the foot of
Rhossili Downs known today as the Warren. The church here, possibly
dedicated to a St. Sulien or St. Sili, with a history stretching back to
the 6th Century, was further built upon by the Anglo-Norman settlers
some time before 1150. There is even exists some documentation in early
charters that Rhossili was the site of an even earlier monastic
settlement dedicated to St. Cynwal. However, it is claimed that during
the 13th century, huge storms erupted which lashed the west coast of
Gower with forceful winds and rain, engulfing both village and church
with a mountain of sand.
During the early 13th century, the new church and village was built upon
the clifftop to avoid the never-ending threat of wind, sea and sand.
From the early part of the 13th century church, dedicated to St. Mary
the Virgin, became the property of the medieval Order of the Knights
Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, sanctioned by William de
Turberville. This gift is documented in a confirmatory charter of Bishop
Anselm of 1230. Their order was dissolved during the reign of Henry
VIII, and rectors were appointed on behalf of the Crown by the Lord
Chancellor, until 1920 when the Church in Wales was disestablished.
We take the footpath to the Coast Path and across the Rhossilli Down Commons.
The commons also boast prehistoric stone circles, cairns and burial
chambers. Rhossili Down and Cliffs are among the larger of the commons
on Gower covering 354 hectares in total. Rhossili Down is predominately
composed of dry acid dwarf shrub heath (Biodiversity Action Plan
priority habitat) and bracken dominated areas. The site supports a good
biodiversity of flora and fauna including a number of protected species: Brown Hare,Chough,Skylark, and others.
We head up the steep hill to the top.
If you look back towards Rhossili village you will see the Medieval strip field system of The Vile on the headland.
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| Herd of sheep off in single file. |
Up upon the top, the views are just breath taking in a 360 degrees jaw dropping beauty.
The beacon marks the highest point on Gower at 633ft and is also the site of a
Bronze-Age cairn built around four thousand years ago. As you continue
along the ridge path you will pass the remains of Stone Age burial
chambers called Sweynes Howes.
Just about now Max points out a pair of Choughs, to say I'd seen them I was well chuffed to say the least. A first for me seeing these rare birds.
The vegetation around you as you walk on the ridge path is predominantly
heathland and is a dazzling display of pinks and purples in late
summer. Further down the slope to the right there are areas of wet
heath.
We reach the remains of a World War II Radar Station situated on top of the Down
towards its north western end. From this position the radar station was
able to send early warning to Swansea of approaching enemy planes. On
the cliffs to the right of the path that leads to Worm's Head are
distinct grass covered mounds and ditches which are the remains of Old
Castle Camp, an Iron Age Fort.
Here we stop for a break and something to eat and drink whilst soaking in the views.
We head down to Hillend, this path here was very steep. Glad to be going down rather than up !
At the bottom of the hill we made our way along a busy Moor Lane that leads to the campsite towards Llangennith.
The village of Llangennith or "Llangenydd"
(meaning Church of St Cenydd) nestles between the slopes of three hills;
Llanmadoc Hill, Rhossili Down and Hardingsdown. The latter is the smallest
of the red sandstone hills and has a number of iron age earthworks on
its slopes.
Llangennith is a popular destination with families and surfers (it
even has its own surf shop). Even before surfing became popular, the
sea was the focal point of the village, given its setting at the foot
of the hills.
The church in Llangennith is the largest in Gower and is believed to
have evolved from St Cenydd's Priory, founded in the 6th century and
hence giving its name to the village.
Here we reach Broughton Bay, another jaw dropping beauty of a bay. In past ages, the bay used to be regularly visited by sailing vessels up
to 700 tons. These were able to anchor here up until around the 1850s,
after which the sand of the Burry Estuary silted the bay too heavily to
afford their traffic.
The sands here can shift quite drastically with the tides, especially
after a gale. At low tides, after the sands have shifted, many a
rewarding find have been discovered by walking this stretch of beach.
Not so long ago, the handle of a 17th Century sword was discovered,
protruding from the sands like King Arthur's Excalibur itself. The
handle had become separated from the blade itself but, remarkably, this
also was found, and by the same man, a few days later whilst patrolling
the same stretch of bay. Historians and archeologists all insist that
this area still has a lot of treasure to disclose to the lucky
beachcomber.
At the northern end of the bay, set high amongst the cliff, lays the
twin entrance of Spritsail Tor Cave. Discovered in 1839 whilst quarrying
the rock here, remains of Ice-Age animals and two fragments of worked
bone suggest that the cave was occupied by Palaeolithic man. Further
animal and human bones were also uncovered here, along with fragments of
pottery, detailing how the cave later came to be used as for domestic
and funerary use during the Roman occupation of the area.
To the south-east of the bay, at Foxhole Point, a deep but shallow sea cave with a clean, sandy floor can be found.
The southern end of the bay gives access, at low tide only to a series of small coves, the largest of which is Blue Pool Bay.
We continue along the Coast path looking for The Blue Pool where we were to have a swim, sadly we couldn't find it.
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| A kestrel flys above the bay. |
We now walk downhill to Burry Holms (Ynys Lanwol) where we decided as we couldn't find the Blue Pool we would have a swim.
9,000 years ago Burry Holms was up to 12 miles (19 km) away from the sea and inhabited by nomadic Mesolithic hunters. Flint tools provided the first evidence of their existence in 1919, since when charcoal, charred hazelnut shells, and tools made out of wood and bone have also been found. A 1998 excavation by the National Museums and Galleries of Wales found that Burry Holms was used as a Mesolithic seasonal camp. Iron Age people subsequently built a 5-acre (20,000 m2) hillfort and ditch on the island, while in Medieval times it was home to a monastery.
During spring and summer Burry Holms is covered by flowers such as thrift and sea campion. The island is also popular among collectors of shells.
It reaches a height of 30 metres (98 ft).
Max and I were first in the water followed by Anya. A little later Gavin joined us having borrowed a pair of very fetching tight and bright pink shorts from Muireann that bought about a few laughs !
Muireann joined us for a short time. The tide was on its way out and the pull of the tide was amazing, I was swimming against it but going nowhere, thankfully you could stand in the shallow waters. The area was littered with underwater rocks that were sharp, but what an amazing swim and surprisingly warm for October.
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| Gavin in his fetching shorts |
I got dressed after about a 30 minute swim and walked around to join the rest for something to eat before the walk back to Rhossilli along the beach.
The walk along the beach in Rhossilli Bay was exhilarating and so peaceful , as I watched the surfers,kayakers and paddleboaders peddle their trade.
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| National trust Building |
I reached the walkway back up to the car park and hotel. Total knackered I walk up the steep path before having another pint and debrief in The Wormshead Hotel. A Gorgeous walk of 8 miles with fantastic views and company. thank you everyone!
