At the base of Horton, amongst the sands of the eastern edge of Port Eynon Bay, can be found Horton and ‘The Burrows’ – a series of sand dunes that during WW2 were fenced off with barbed wire when they were mined by the British Army. Although most of these mines have now been removed, some are still brought to light on occasions so caution should be exercised by anyone visiting this region of the bay.
During WW2, Horton villagers watched in awe as a German Heinkel bomber, returning from a bombing raid over Swansea, was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed in flames into the Bristol Channel here. The crew did not survive the hit.
Slightly later, a camp was established nearby for U.S. soldiers. Proving popular amongst the village, especially by the children, most of the U.S. men stationed here sadly lost their lives on the beach of Normandy .
On the sands at the foot of Horton, Hoar Well provided the villager’s water supply into the second half of the twentieth Century and may hold a surviving clue as to the origins of Horton’s name. Near here, the modern Lifeboat Station can also be found.
