Barland Quarry, located 1km north of Bishopston, is now disused, but large amounts of limestone have been quarried here in the past. The area is now used mainly by climbers and cavers.

On the nearby Barland Common, evidence of the old Barland Castle is still visible. This was the first medieval earthwork castle excavated in the whole of Glamorgan and is now visible as a broad ditch protecting a level platform some 25 metres across. During its excavation, several pieces of glazed pottery, fragments of a leather shoe and a bronze ornamental buckle were discovered. The site, unfortunately, lies on private land.

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The present building was probably built during the 13th Century from an earlier chapel. Inside the chancel is an early priscina and the 13th Century font appears to have the base from an earlier period. There are also the remains of a medieval cross on the south side of the church. The massive tower has a small pyramidal roof rising within the English type battlement, housing at its foot two bells dated 1713 and 1714.

The church has been restored many times since the original Norman building, with a South Porch added in 1851 by Thomas Penrice of Kilvrough, recorded as such for posterity above it’s solid oak door.

The east window of the chancel has a stained-glass window, which is a memorial to seven men of the Parish who lost their lives to the First World War.

The church key is available from the nearby Winston Hotel . Groups should telephone (01792) 232140.

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At low tide, the beach is best accessed from Broughton Bay along the shoreline. As the tide comes in, however, Blue Pool Bay is cut off from Broughton, making this approach impossible. At these times, a walk southwards along the cliffs at Broughton will lead to a beautiful walk along cliff top dunes. By following this path, the walker will eventually reach Burry Holmes and Llangennith Sands. However, if a careful watch is kept to the seaward view, well before these two land marks are reached, a wide stretch of sand will be noticed clinging to the foot of the cliffs. Descending the well-used slope to the northerly edge of the beach will soon bring the large rock pool, which gives this bay its name, into view.

Blue Pool itself is an immense rock pool which legend has held is bottomless. Whilst this is obviously not the case, the depth of the rock pool has been measured at between four and eight metres, depending on tidal and weather conditions. This depth of water has made the rock pool popular for diving.

Although the bay is charming, caution should be taken when swimming in the bay, as at certain times of the tide a strong rip current is present and has the potential to drag swimmers away from the beach, especially children.

The cliffs around Blue Pool Bay has an interest formation known as the Three Chimneys. Here is located a small bone cave known as Culver Hole (which is not to be mistaken for the Port Eynon/Overton cave of the same name). This cave has yielded numerous prehistoric finds.

Near Three Chimneys, gold doubloons from a Portugese shipwreck, were discovered in 1770 and again in 1840. The cliffs here still evidence the blasting they received as prospectors wondered whether more coins were hidden within their deep crevices.

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The castle was built by the de la Bere family who lived here for over a century. Although the manor house had been built to sustain military attack, its main purpose was one of grand residence. It was therefore hardly surprising that the building was significantly damaged when Owain Glyndwr, leader of the Welsh rebellion, raided Gower between 1403-1406 with the purpose of reclaiming Wales from its Norman rule. However, not suffering the full treatment from Glyndwr and his army that Swansea Castle received, the Weobley manor house recooped and continued to be the home of the de la Bere family until the mid 15th century when it seemsthe family moved to Berkshire. The residency was then taken up by the powerful Sir Rhys ap Thomas.

Sir Rhys ap Thomas had been knighted and made Governor of Wales on the battlefield of Bosworth in 1485, after triumphantly slaying Richard III, and had become the close friend of the new Tudor king, Henry VII. During his ownership of Weobley Castle he made several improvements and additions of typical Tudor-style.

After Sir Rhys ap Thomas relatively short residence, the castle was owned by the Crown. Henry VIII at first gave the castle as a gift to Lady Catherine Edgecumbe, but when both the King and Lady Catherine died in 1547 the Crown leased the castle to Sir William Herbert for 10 years.

Finally, the Mansel family of Llanrithrid procured the castle, which they owned for many generations until 1911, when Miss Emily Charlotte Mansel Talbot of Penrice Castle signed the castle over to the appropriate government department dealing with architecture.

Over more recent years a certain amount of renovation and restoration work has been carried out and maintained by the government department CADW – who deal with Welsh historic monuments. Today, the well maintained castle is open to the public (for a small fee) and hosts a comprehensive exhibition on both its own history as well details of other historic attractions of the peninsula.

Opening Hours:

• Summer – April to October 9.30am – 6pm
• Winter – October to March 9.30am – 4pm
• Closed: December 24,25,26 and January 1

No Dogs Allowed

Tel: 01792 390012 for up to date information.

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Swim here with caution however, for the tides off Mumbles Head are treacherous as its naval history testifies. The first Mumbles lifeboat disaster occurred here in 1883, resulting in the loss of four lives and numerous ships have floundered off its rocky coastline.

Bracelet Bay offers great views towards Mumbles Lighthouse, whose operation is now the responsibility of Trinity House. A stone lighthouse has stood on the outer islet at Mumbles Head since 1794. Originally a twin platform construction with a coal fired beacon on each, it was designed to alert passing ships of the dangerous Mixon Sands and Cherry Stone Rock – two massive undersea sand banks that have caused the destruction of countless ships and taken the lives of hundreds of seamen over the centuries. In 1799, the twin coal-fired beacons were replaced by a single oil lantern and in 1905, this was made to flash at regular and precise intervals. With the retirement of the last lighthouse keeper in 1934, a modern automatic light was added to the structure of the original lighthouse. The collection of buildings that surround the lighthouse were a coastal defence fort, built in 1861.

The bay is easily reached by road and car parking facilities are ample, stretching completely around the natural curve of the limestone beach. Such is the view from this car park that it is not unusual to find drivers parked here even on the most inclement of days, sipping from the Thermos flasks as they watch the sea, surf and sand. There is also a restaurant and bar situated here, a nightclub and, during the summer months, numerous vans selling ice-creams and take-away fast foods.

At low tide there is an interesting cave to explore to the east of the beach, but please be wary of the tide!

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Perhaps less well known than its history of smuggling are the two stories of the supernatural connected with the beach. The first concerns a certain old woman who went by the name “Old Moll”. “Old Moll” was said to have made her home in one of Brandy Coves’ caves, but spent much of her time wandering through the many small villages and farms on the Gower Peninsula . A later tale of the supernatural connected with Brandy Cove has a chilling link with a real life murder that took place on or near the beach during the winter of 1919.

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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 1850’s, 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, especially after such conditions as just mentioned, many a rewarding find had been discovered by walking this stretch of beach – more especially in the past, perhaps, but historians and archeologists all insist that this area still has a lot of treasure to disclose to the lucky beachcomber. 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.

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.

The southern end of the bay gives access, at low tide only to a series of small coves, the largest of which is Broad Pool Bay.

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There is a small pond on the green which has become quite notorious for its maverick geese – who have been known to launch more than the odd unprovoked attack on unsuspecting admirers (this author included).

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Burry Holmes itself derives its name from the Viking word “holmr.” The islet, cut off from the mainland for five hours at high tide, marks the northern end of Rhossili Bay and has a rich and varied history. Mesolithic flints have been found here as well as a pin dating as far back as the Bronze Age. At the western end of the islet once stood a five acre fort and this site is still separated from the other 10.25 acres of land by a double rampart and wide ditch. Later, during the Middle Ages, a monastery was constructed on the landward end of the islet and remains of this building are easily identified today.

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Caswell takes its name from the stream that meanders down Caswell valley and out and along the beach to the sea. The stream travels underground for some distance, giving rise to curious bubbling pools along certain stretches of the bay.

At low tide, the eastern side of Caswell Bay is by far the more interesting aspect of the beach to explore – with a shallow cave and some of Gower’s more spectacular geology to investigate. It is also along this stretch where starfish can sometimes be found in abundance amongst the many rock pools which form here. An eye should be kept on the incoming tide, howeve, as this part of the bay is cut off during certain tidal conditions.

The larger parts of Caswell Bay – the middle and western sections of the beach – offer good batheing conditions and excellent flat sands for relaxing in the sun or for children to play and build sand castles.

Further attractions, leading from the bay, include a fine cliff walk eastwards towards Langland and Mumbles, a rougher track that spreads westwards to Brandy Cove, Pwlldu Bay and beyond and walks through the well maintained Bishop’s Wood. For those with an interest in history, Red(ley) Cliff, on the western end of Caswell Bay , has the remains of an Iron Age earthwork at its summit.

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