Pennard
Three Cliffs Bay is one of the most photographed places on the peninsula, with great tracts of golden sand beneath towering cliffs culminating in three linked peaks. The heavily folded limestone strata of the cliffs is punctured by an archway leading to the quiet Pobbles Beach, which appears to be an extension of Three Cliffs Bay until the tide rises and the cliffs separate the two. The sandy Penmaen Burrows fringe the bay to the west, with traces of Norman earthworks and a prehistoric burial chamber. Pennard Burrows mirror them to the east, with the spectral, sand-eroded ruins of mysterious Pennard Castle and its neighbouring church perched high above the bay.

Pobbles and Three Cliffs Bay from Pennard Cliffs Copyright © 2003 Julian Herbert

Inland you will discover yet more history and atmosphere. In a wooded valley north of Parkmill is the Neolithic Parc le Breos burial chamber, also known as Giant’s Grave and dating from 4000 BC. Nearby to the north is Cathole Cave, where in 1968 flint tools were found that suggest human occupation in around 12000 BC.

From the dominating height of Cefn Bryn there are superlative views westwards to Rhossili Downs (the highest point in Gower), east towards Swansea, north to the Burry Estuary and beyond to Dyfed, and south over the Bristol Channel and the English coastline. Cefn Bryn was a focal point for prehistoric ceremonies, and the area still contains dozens of burial mounds, many of which disappear beneath summer gorse and bracken only to re-emerge in the winter.

Pennard Castle © Neil Collier Photography