Gower Peninsula^

[Zoe Newsam]

Anyone done much sea paddling there? Any recommendations for a 2-day trip?

Cheers,
Zoe

[Mark R]

Basically you can do the whole thing in two days, starting from Mumbles Head...gets better the further west you go. Finish in the surf at Rhossili.

It took me about four days due to poor weather!

[Helen M]

I got lost there when I was about 7 - In the sand dunes. Unfortunatley they found my sister!

Wasn't a paddler then. Things may be different now.

H - x

[Zoe Newsam]

Thanks Mark. I've only got Sun/Mon off for the next Bank Holiday weekend, so was thinking it might be an idea.

Easy enough to find wild camping spots?

Z

[Dave Thomas]

Hmm - more like a day and a half of normal paddling. Mumbles to Port Eynon is only a reasonable length day, and I fairly regularly do Port Eynon to Rhossilli and back in a day.

I've only ever done day trips, but it's not obvious where you might find a quiet wild camping spot about 'halfway'. That would be roughly between Oxwich and Port Eynon, Much of the coast there (and indeed eastwards) is fairly well-populated where it is accessible (ie backing beaches - much of the non-beach coast has extensive rock platforms which dry at low water), apart from the E end of Oxwich - a long beach but I think much of the area behind it is a nature reserve. But you may find something with careful study of the map - as I say, I've never viewed it with that in mind.

Dave Thomas

[Hamish]

Zoe



I think Gower is a great place to paddle (I would say that though). There are plenty of places for a quiet camp away from the villages.



Worms head is one of my favourite headlands and the rest of the coast is great to paddle along. I live between Oxwich and Porteynon. email me on hamishosborn@hotmail.com if you want any more info.



hamish

[Jim]

Just thinking about the comment about E end of Oxwich, do you mean as far as 3 cliffs bay or just on the Oxwich side?

Had a couple of scout camps down there in the past, there is a good scout campsite (scouts only) near there and the brother of the original founder of our group was (maybe still is) the owner of the car park at Oxwich if not the whole beach so we used to be reasonably welcome.

The points I remember (apart from surfing at Rhosilli which was always nice) are that the burn at 3 cliffs bay is supposed to form a relatively serious rip for swimmers or scouts in kayaks (don't think a sea kayaker would notice it), and that there is a footpath that follows the burn from the road to the bay, and whilst it is a relatively secluded spot, it will attract a fair crown on a nice day. We used to climb at 3 cliffs when the tide was out and have paddled past it before we were advised not to because of the rip. Of course it must be remembered that we were sea scouts so all our scouts were quite capable in kayaks especially the 2 that went surfing with us (also against the association rules - oops), but that's another story....

JIM

[Dave Thomas]

Jim

I guess Three Cliffs Bay would be a possibility provided you set up camp after the crowds had departed and cleared off early in the morning. But I was thinking further W, on the E end of the main Oxwich beach. It's fairly quiet beach-wise IIRC, being some way from the road/carpark but I'm not sure whether the nature reserve extends to the beach, or that far along it.

Anyhow, Hamish obviously has far more detailed local knowledge, so I'm sure he'll sort Zoe out.

Dave Thomas

[wave skier]

Pwll Ddu Bay is pretty remote with only 2 houses. You are also protected from the West. It's an easy paddle from Mumbles on the ebb. Three Cliffs is ok but you can have surf on the entrance to the river. Campsite and pub adjacent to Beach in Port Eynon. Lovely little spot tucked in corner on Rhossili side of Worms Head where they used to load stone for North Devon. Probably needs a look before landing. There's a hut and some steps. Good in settled weather.
Hope this helps,don't forget strong tidal flow particurly on springs.

Harry.

[Chris W]

Hello Zoe!

I've paddled along the southern coast of the Gower. With a following wind or tide you could probably, at a push, paddle it in a day. It'd be a nice leisurely paddle over 2 days.

I'd plan it so you finish day 1 at Oxwich Bay close to sunset, and discretely fly camp (like some of us did on the IoW last year).

It's all really rather nice, although Port Eynon is just one big caravan park.

I suppose another option would be to try a section of the Glamorgan coast east of Portcawl, en route- it looked rather interesting on the BBC's coast programme....

Chris W.

[Dave Thomas]

Yes - I've been thinking that maybe my prejudice against the Bristol Channel any further east than Minehead or Mumbles needs busting! And the 'Coast' programme was one input into that change of view. As well as the Glamorgan coast, there's always Steepholm/Flatholm!

Back to the Gower - perhaps I was a little unkind in my first response to it. There is certainly some excellent scenery along much of the southern coast. West of Port Eynon, it is pretty much remote and free of cliff-top development, and Worms Head is stunning (rocks, seals, bird life). Port Eynon bay is pretty 'developed', and the village itself is quite resortish (though pubs and chip shops have their uses!). From Three Cliffs eastwards, there is plenty of good cliff scenery, and bits like Pwll Ddu (if that is where I think it is - just west of Caswell Bay?) is nice. But there is an increasing tendency for the edges of housing developments to poke over the skyline. And, for example, there is pleasant enough cliff-top walk from Caswell to Langland, but it's a tarmac path - very popular for Sunday afternoon strolls. It's not unpleasant scenery to paddle past, but remote it ain't!

And then at Mumbles you can wave at the Swansea coastguard MSRC!

Have fun, Zoe!

Dave Thomas

[Dave Thomas]

Did you get to the Gower this w/e, Zoe? I guess from conditions in Pembrokeshire that you'd have had a good day Sunday if you went. Yesterday would have been fine travelling eastwards - hard work heading west!!

Dave Thomas

[Zoe Newsam]

Sadly, no. Work commitments meant a bank holiday weekend at home- shock, horror!

We had a slightly damp, very windy paddle in Chichester harbour yesterday instead...