What are the best Gower beaches? All of them! But here are three beaches in the Gower you need to visit if you’re in the area.
The Gower peninsula just outside of Swansea, southwest Wales is one of the UK’s most incredible places for beautiful scenery. The serrated coastline has a plethora of beaches carved into it and these can be visited by walking along the Wales Coast Path.
I explored a few of the beaches in the Gower when I did a walking trip along the Gower coast path. It was a misty, moody day when I was there. A clear blue sky wouldn’t have gone a miss, but the misty views gave the landscapes somewhat of a unique and definitely an intense atmosphere.
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The beaches in the Gower you should check out
There are 20 beaches in the Gower. Here’s my take on the ones that you cannot miss.
Caswell Bay
- Distance from Swansea by coast path: 14km
- Distance from Swansea driving: 10km
- Car parking: pay and display car park right behind the beach
Caswell Bay is one of the first beaches in the Gower that you will come to if you’re walking the coast path from the direction of Swansea. It’s one of the better-known beaches on the Gower peninsula meaning that it’s also one of the more touristy ones.
But its popularity and the housing developments that overlook it haven’t taken away from Caswell Bay’s gorgeous scenery. When you’re looking out to the beach, you’ll see the Gower coast path snaking up the hillside to the left. And to the right, you’ll see rugged, teeth-like triangular cliffs jutting out. These look amazing as they line up one after the other.
Caswell Bay is also one of the better beaches in the Gower to surf at and there’s a surf school there if you’re looking to take lessons.
I’ve written a complete guide to Caswell Bay here.
Pwll Du Beach
- Distance from Swansea by coast path: 16km
- Distance from Swansea driving: 16km
- Car parking: carpark in Southgate 1.5km away. You could also try parking on one of the streets in Bishopston
Continue on the Gower coast path past Caswell Bay for roughly 6km and you’ll come to Pwll Du, or Black Pool Beach. This stretch of the coast path is breath taking and, in some places, almost looks like a scene out of Jurassic Park.
As you come around the final bend before the beach, you’ll first see a small group of houses. Admittedly, I felt slightly jealous that these lucky people had such a beautiful beach on their doorstep. Then you’ll notice that a large part of the beach is covered in a pale grey shingle.
Pwll Du is one of the smaller beaches on the Gower, but the interesting shingle and quaint cluster of houses make it one of the most picturesque. It’s also one of the easier ones to get down to from the coast path. The path actually drops down to the beach level passing you right by the houses at the beach’s edge.
Three Cliffs Bay
- Distance from Swansea by coast path: 24km
- Distance from Swansea driving: 16km
- Car parking: pay and display at Gower Heritage Centre 2.4km away
Three Cliffs Bay is roughly another hour further along the coast path from Pwll Du. I’d heard about it before going there, but I wasn’t expecting the scenes to be as impressive as they were.
From atop the coast path the beach is a huge horseshoe shape enclosed by narrow cliffs that stretch out into the water. There’s also Pennard Pill, a large stream that runs into the sea twisting and turning down the beach splitting it in two.
Getting down to Three Cliffs Bay beach is a little tricky. There are a couple of sandy paths that bring you down from the coast path, but it’s a bit of a scramble whichever way you choose.
Once down on the beach, look back, and you’ll notice how Pennard Pill winds up the valley leading your eye to the ruins of Pennard Castle. The castle sits atop the valley and has commanding views of Three Cliffs Bay.
Pennard Castle is the cherry on top. It throws in a bit of history, has a cool fairy tale backstory and is something else to explore at the beach. From the beach, the castle looked amazing in the distance shrouded in mist, which, unfortunately, was a little too thick for my camera to focus. I guess this means I’ll have to go back some day to get some shots.
You can check out my complete guide to Three Cliffs Bay here.
Rhossili Bay
- Distance from Swansea by coast path: 52km
- Distance from Swansea driving: 30km
- Car parking: pay and display car park just above the beach
I visited Rhossili Bay on a previous trip to the Gower when the sun was beaming and the temperature was scorching. If I remember correctly, it was the highest UV-rated day of the year and I got a pretty bad sunburn.
Despite the elements taking a toll on my skin, Rhossili Bay blew me away. The beach is incredibly wide and stretches off into the distance. It is also deep and at low tide you’ll have some walking to do too if you want to have a dip.
Behind the beach are tall, steep cliffs which you can walk along. This gives Rhossili Bay the best of both in terms of being able to swim and hike and, in my opinion, is what makes it the best beach in the Gower.
If you want to experience all that’s on offer at Rhossili Bay, then ensure you’re there for low tide. This is when the causeway linking Worms Head to the main beach isn’t submerged and you can walk out to the point. Although, you do have time this well as the causeway is only passable for around five hours a day.
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