Gower
Burry Holms and Rhossili Bay
The northern end of the three-mile beach, with a tidal island at the tip carrying a ruined chapel and an Iron Age rampart.
- Distance
- 4.0 mi / 6.5 km
- Time
- 2 hr 15
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From Llangennith, cross the dunes to the beach and walk north to Burry Holms, crossing to the island at low tide. Return over Llanmadoc Hill or along the sand.
Worth knowing
- Burry Holms is cut off for several hours around high tide. Check before crossing.
- This end of Rhossili Bay is the surfing beach and is busy with boards year round.
- Llanmadoc Hill behind gives the view over the Loughor estuary and a Neolithic burial chamber.
What you’ll see
The tidal island and its chapel ruins, the length of Rhossili Bay, and Worms Head at the far end.
Background
A hermitage and later a small monastic cell stood on Burry Holms in the medieval period, on a site already fortified in the Iron Age.