The eastern end of Langland bay, known as Rotherslade, only really exists as a separate beach at high tide – at other times being well and truly joined to the larger beach.
This area once contained quite a formidable concrete building (seen briefly in the above photograph) that housed a café, dance hall and sundeck, but this has now been demolished. It’s replacement – the landscaped terraces, the new modern style café and the large steps that lead down to the beach from the road at the head of the cliffs, are a definite aesthetic improvement to the area.
In 1892, during the construction of an extension to the old Osborne Hotel, a cave, known as Rother’s Tor Cave was revealed. Examined briefly by the Swansea Scientific Society, when the remains of Pleistocene fauna were discovered (these are now on show at Swansea Museum), the cave had to be filled in before any detailed excavation could take place due to fears of undermining the foundations of the hotel. Traces of the lower parts of Rother’s Tor Cave , however, can still be found in the rock face.
Other interesting aspects of Rotherslade include the rare Honey Comb Worm Reefs found along the shore line at low tide and the scores of in situ fossils embedded in most of the limestone rock here.
