Surfing on Gower
The location of Gower and general aspect make it one of the best surf areas in the UK. The fact that it is a peninsula helps and means that there are plenty breaks to choose from depending upon the conditions . The main factors when deciding where to go are 1) Swell size and direction, 2) Wind speed and direction, 3) Tide timetables and height of the tide. LLangennith faces directy out to the atlantic and pics up swell before the other beaches. The prevailing wind direction for Gower is a westerly and this can push up the swell size. As a rough guide, Llangennith needs to be about 4-5ft for Langland and Caswell to get a 2-3ft wave.
If you are a beginner you need about 2-3ft waves. Both Llangennith and Caswell are beach breaks and generally regarded as a better option for the novice. If Llangennith is too big, you could always try the Rhossili end of the beach which tends to smaller and slower. (occasionally there is a rip current that can take you out to sea so keep an eye on your position in the line-up).
As your surfing improves you wil probably want to try some of the many reef breaks, if you want to build up some confidence before trying these, you could consider 'Peaks' sometimes referred to as 'Three Peaks' which is a break next to Burry Holms, the island at the end of Rhossili Bay. The swell hitting the island is re-directed in to the beach at an angle and where it meets the beach swell a peak is created. These tend to be right handers with only the occasional lefts coming through. Peaks works at mid to high tide and is generally a foot or so bigger than the bay. |