Gower

The Gower peninsula is a clearly defined geographical area containing a variety of landscapes from steep limestone cliffs and secluded sandy bays on the south coast, long and magnificent sands and spectacular headlands to the west, and sand dunes and saltwater marshes along the north coast.

Summary

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Ref number: HLW (WGI) 1

OS map: Landranger 159

Unitary authority: Swansea

Inland, the gently rolling coastal plateau gives way to higher hills and ridges such as the dominant Cefn Bryn which cuts the peninsula neatly into two, though these features seldom rise beyond 180m above OD.

Within this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first in Britain (1956), there are archaeological sites of most periods, representing an unrivalled microcosm of Wales's historic wealth. The two best surviving and most complete, close but topographically discrete, archaeologically rich areas of the peninsula have been identified here.

A full published description for this landscape area is available as a pdf download within the Related Articles section below.

Principal area designations:

Both areas within the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The West Gower area includes: Whiteford Burrows and Gower Coast National Nature Reserves; Rhossili Down Site of Special Scientific Interest; Hardings Down camps Scheduled Ancient Monument; Cheriton, Llangennith, Llanmadoc, Port-Eynon and Rhossili Conservation Areas. Cefn Bryn is almost entirely within the Cefn Bryn Common Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Criteria: 2, 3

Contents and significance:

The two best surviving and most complete, close but topographically discrete, historic areas on the Gower peninsula, containing a rich and unrivalled evidence for a long sequence of land use and occupation from the prehistoric to the industrial periods.

The areas include:

Upper Palaeolithic caves; Neolithic chambered tombs; Bronze Age funerary and ritual sites; Iron Age hill and promontory forts; medieval religious and secular settlements, including Rhossili deserted medieval village and the Vile open field system; Port-Eynon 16th century salthouse and other recent industrial remains.