Rhossili Beach

Simply one of the UK's most stunning beaches, voted best beach in the UK in 2010.


Situated on the west coast of the Gower Peninsular, half an hour by car from Swansea, it sweeps majestically the 3 miles (5km) from the Worm's Head peninsular in the south to Burry Holms in the north.


Backed by a mixture of grassy downland, rocky cliffs, and wonderful dunes, it is a virtually undeveloped, stunning expanse of sand, with amazing views. At low tide, the beach can become up to 500m from shore to the water's edge. The Worm's Head and part of the bay are in the care of the National Trust.


It's popular with surfers, with bird-watchers (lots of sea-birds nesting along the cliffs) as well as more straightforward beach lovers. As well as the sand and sea, there are rock pools for the children to explore, especially good at the northern end next to Spaniard's Rocks. It's also great for walkers and famous for its sunsets.


Surprisingly, it also hosts a couple of ruined mediaeval churches and an old fort, as well as lots of Bronze and Iron Age archaeology and, rather more recently, the wreck of the ship Helvetia which ran aground in 1887.


The village of Rhossili, at the southern end, has a 12th-century church containing a memorial to Edgar Evans, who died in Scott's ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic in 1912.


Practicalities


There is a private car park at Rhossili with public toilets and a National Trust Visitor centre and shop. The village has a convenience shop, a kite centre, an art gallery, surfing shop, a couple of places to eat and drink, and a take-away. It's quite a steep descent to the beach, and best avoided by push-chairs and those with limited mobility.


There are lots of holiday cottages to rent around the village, as well as as few B&Bs.


There's also a car park at Hillend, near the village of Llangennith, 2 miles further north, which provides slightly easier access, but with fewer facilities, although there is a camp-site there.


There is also a car park at Llangennith Burrows (via the village), but it is a mile-long slop across the dunes to the beach. It's generally quieter at this end, though.


Gower bus provides a regular service on routes 118 and 119 (roughly hourly) from Swansea to Rhossili, with a less frequent Sunday service. See Gower Bus details at http://www.swansea.gov.uk .


Finally, beware the tides here: the Bristol Channel has the world's second greatest tidal range, and tide can come in swiftly: accompany children if they wander to the water's edge.


The Worm's Head becomes an island at high tide and, whilst it is easily accessible at low tide, it is important to make sure you don't get cut off.

I couldn't agree more with Sue. It's a fantastic place to be. From the car park, there are three main choices (four if you count 'sitting in the cafe'! :) ). One can go down to the beautiful, sandy beach and walk, swim, surf etc; walk along the hills behind the beach or walk to Worm's Head. If you haven't checked when low tide is, and it might help if you do, there is a look-out hut at the 'end' of the main path there with the times written for all to see. We hadn't timed our trip well, so walked further round the coast instead to the next beach. The car park during summer is £3.50, £2.50 in winter. There are loos by the car park and a National Trust shop.
Oh! And it's likely to be windy! :)
PS 'Worm' is the old word for 'dragon' and the headland is said to resemble a dragon.

A very rugged and beautiful place that is all very Welsh


Very worth coming down here if only to get away from the world!!!

This is stunning beach with a great view all round from the top. Plenty of places to walk around and enjoy the view. Best enjoyed by arriving early when there are fewer people around. There's a path down to the beach, best taken slowly as it can be a bit uneven.
The amenities are good, reasonable toilet facilities, a national trust visitors shop, cafes and ice cream shop to finish off. Queues can build up from 11 onwards as the car park fills up and the place gets more busy.

This is an incredibly beautiful place - in my opinion, the best place on earth.
Rhossili Beach is a long sandy beach, that goes on for miles, until it joins onto Llangenith Beach (very popular with surfers).
The beach itself can be accessed by steep steps down the hillside. These are not so bad going down, but can be very tiring on the way back up. Make sure you're not carrying too much! For anyone who's a bit less fit or able, then the beach is inaccessible.
My favourite part is Worm's Head. This is the long peninsular jutting out at the end of the Gower. The Inner Head can only be accessed at low tide, but the rest of it is fully accessible by all. There's a long flat path to the end, with sheep grazing on the side, so all dogs have to be on leads.
There's a carpark adjacent to Worm's Head and the charges are very reasonable. There's also good quality toilets there as well.
Put this one on your Must Visit List!