Rhossili Down and Worms Head
Three miles of beach, a whaleback hill above it and a tidal island shaped like a sea serpent at the end. The most photographed view in south Wales and it earns it.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 30
- Ascent
- 180 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- There and back
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
Walk out along the headland to the Worms Head causeway, and separately climb Rhossili Down behind the village for the view over the bay. Both start from the same car park.
Worth knowing
- Worms Head is cut off for all but two and a half hours either side of low tide. The tide tables are posted at the coastguard hut and people get stranded every year.
- Dylan Thomas was famously caught out here as a young man and had to wait out the tide.
- Rhossili Down is a stiff climb but gives the whole three-mile sweep of the bay.
What you’ll see
Rhossili Bay, the Worm, the wreck of the Helvetia in the sand, and Bronze Age cairns on the Down.
Background
Gower was the first area in Britain designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 1956. The Helvetia was wrecked in 1887 and her ribs still show at low tide.