Saturday 17th July The Gower area

Pat fancied a longer run out for a change, so we made the journey to Swansea and our old favourite, the Gower Peninsula. We hadn't been back for 39 years so were looking forward to seeing it again.
The journey was quite pleasant, we stopped first for our usual coffee and then for a loo and an ice cream and arrived about 10:45 leaving the M4 at junction 47 to drop down to the top side of the Gower.
We were immediately impressed with how much busier is was than how we remembered it, and somehow it seemed a much bigger place too.

We stopped to photograph Weobley Castle, which is one of the smallest we have seen!

Then continued through back roads to Port Einon, where we had a very nice Fish and Chips lunch in "The Captain's Table" near the beach. Needless to say it had changed a great deal since our last visit, about the only things we could recognise were the beach and a thatched cottage we passed in the village, and of course the pub, now there are camp sites above the harbour, and static vans on the hillside behind the pub, though I'm sure it is a great place for families and they have lifeguards these days!
Heres a view looking east, at least this was familiar and didn't seem to have changed
Looking to the west you can see the caravans I mentioned, they don't improve the view much!
Then our final destination for the day, Rhossilli and the worms head, and here there have been big changes too (though not in the bay itself of course)
Isn't that a wonderful beach? way back there were more people surfing, and less up here on the top of the cliff in the packed car parks!
I walked far enough to get a view of the worms head and then it struck me what was missing.

Back then all the paths were covered in cockle shells inches deep, they were everywhere, and now not a single one to be seen anywhere!

Sad for us, but no doubt excellent news if you happen to be a cockle!

There were the usual aerial nutters defying gravity, here's one who was having a high old time riding backwards and forwards across the bay, riding the strong up-draught on the cliff face Then it was time to make the return journey and pick up some shopping on the way home, with luck we will go back over the next few days as there's lots more places to visit on the Gower!