Gower Peninsula
The Gower Peninsula (Template:Lang-cy) is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales. It was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 1956.
Geography
Situated in South Wales, about 70 square miles in area, Gower is known for its magnificent coastline, popular with walkers and many other outdoor enthusiasts especially surfers. Gower has many caves, including Paviland Caves and Minchin Hole Cave.
The interior consists mainly of farmland and common land. The peninsula falls under the administration of the county of Swansea, the urban area of which is situated just to the east of the peninsula. The peninsula is bounded by Swansea to the east and the Loughor estuary to the north.
On the peninsula itself, the population resides mainly in small villages. The southern coast of the peninsula consists of a series of beautiful, small, rocky or sandy bays like Langland and Three Cliffs. There are also some spectacular beaches like Port Eynon, Rhossili and Oxwich Bay which are slightly larger. On the north side of the peninsula there are fewer beaches, where this section of the coast includes the famous cockle-beds of Penclawdd.
Brief history
Following the Norman occupation of Glamorgan, the lordship of Gŵyr or Gower passed into English hands, and the southern part subsequently became one of the most Anglicised regions of Wales. Villages in the north-east of the peninsula such as Penclawdd and Gowerton remained strongly Welsh-speaking until the middle of the 20th century.
On the Gower Peninsula there are six castles. Such castles are: Bovehill Castle, Oystermouth Castle, Oxwich Castle, Pennard Castle, Penrice Castle and Weobley Castle.
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The Gower Golf Club at Three Crosses hosts the annual West Wales Open, a two-day tournament on Wales' professional golf tour, the Dragon Tour.
Economically, agriculture remains important to the area but tourism plays an increasing role in the working lives of the inhabitants. However much of the working age population in the Gower work in Swansea, and in that sense the economy of Gower is little different from elsewhere in Swansea.
A film, Gower Boy, made by artist Gee Vaucher and musician Huw Warren, described as a "gentle, contemplative exploration of the Gower Peninsula in Wales", debuted at the 14th Raindance Film Festival in October 2006 [1]. The village of Rhossili appeared as a location in the 2006 Doctor Who episode "New Earth". In the episode, Worm's Head could be seen.
Archaeology
Gower is home to several menhirs or standing stones from the Bronze Age. Of the nine stones, eight remain today. One of the most famous of the stones is Arthur's stone near Cefn Bryn.
Also at Paviland Cave in South Gower, a human skeleton (named the Red Lady of Paviland, though he is actually a male) was discovered by Victorian archaeologists, and has since been dated to an age of about 25,000 years.
Villages
Gower is dotted with many small villages with each village having its own unique history. These villages include:
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Beaches
Gower is renowned for its beaches which are scattered around Gower. These beaches are:
- Swansea Bay
- Mumbles Beach
- Bracelet Bay
- Limeslade
- Rotherslade
- Langland Bay
- Caswell Bay
- Brandy Cove
- Pwlldu Bay
- Foxhole Bay
- Pobbles Bay
- Three Cliffs Bay
- Tor Bay
- Oxwich Bay
- Slade Bay
- Horton Bay
- Port Eynon Bay
- Mewslade Bay
- Fall Bay
- Rhossili Bay (Llangennith Sands)
- Burry Holms
- Blue Pool Bay
- Broughton Bay
- Whiteford Sands
Beach awards
Gower's beaches have won many awards for their high standards. [2]
Blue Flag Beach Award 2005
The beaches that have the Blue Flag Award in Gower are:
- Bracelet Bay
- Caswell Bay
- Langland Bay
- Port Eynon Bay
Green Coast Award 2005
The Green Coast Award is recognised as environmentally excellent which establishes to acknowledge, promote and protect the surrounding environment of Welsh rural beaches. The aim of the Green Coast Award is: ‘To acknowledge those beaches which meet Guideline water quality and are prized for their natural, unspoiled environment.” The beaches that have this award on the Gower Peninsula are [3]:
- Rhossili Bay
- Mewslade Bay
- Tor Bay
- Pwll Du Bay
- Limeslade Bay
Seaside Awards 2006
Only the beaches that have good water quality, that are clean and well-managed, receive the Seaside Award. The Gower beaches that have received this award are [4]:
- Bracelet Bay
- Caswell Bay
- Port Eynon Bay
- Langland Bay
- Limeslade Bay
See also
External links
- The official tourism website for Swansea, Mumbles and Gower
- List of Blue Flag awards in England and Wales
- Awards for beaches in Wales
- The Essential Guide to the Gower Peninsula
- Information on Gower and its Businesses
- Daily Postings Celebrating the Beauty of the Gower Peninsula
- Template:Dmoz
- Large Database of Gower Information
- Website Dedicated to Mumbles and the Gower Peninsula
- Surf Guide to Gower
- Langland (Mumbles) Web Cam
- Rhossili/Llangennith Web Cam
- Gower surf reports
- Guide to surfing in the Gower and South West Wales
- Gower Holidays Cottages, holiday accommodation and Tourist Information on The Gower Peninsula
- Langland Surf Division website with hundreds of photos of surfing on Gower and across South West Wales
- A pub guide for the Gower Peninsula
- BBC Gower website
- Gower Golf Club
- Gower by Richard Binns
- Food Passion unique insight into the local food scene
- Gower peninsula Information from Wales, One Big Garden
- Map location for Gower Beaches plus beach details
- The Gower Coast Beach/Village and Holiday information
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