Rhosili and Worms Head, Gower, Glamorgan

Description

Image 1:

A party of walkers take the clifftop route towards the Worms Head promontory. The name Worms Head is from the Old English word wurm, meaning dragon. Known locally as the Worm, it is a one-mile-long serpent-like promontory at the westernmost tip of the Gower Peninsula.

Image 2:

Worms Head. Note the tiny figures perched precariously on the clifftop on the far left.

Image 3:

The grass on the clifftops is cropped short by the grazing of sheep and rabbits.

Image 4:

Worms Head.The promontory is connected to the mainland by a rocky causeway revealed by the ebbing tide. Known as the Shipway, it is exposed 2½ to 3 hours after High Water. It is possible for the adventurous and fairly nimble to walk or scramble across and have five or six hours to explore the promontory. Before setting out, one should always check the time of the tides, and leave Worm for the mainland not later than 3½ hours before the next High Water.

As my daughter and I neared the end of the clifftop walk, we sensed a change in the weather. Clouds began to obscure the sun, and the shadows became softer (Image 5). We watched as a rainstorm approached from over the ocean to the southwest (Image 6), and we eventually had to run for shelter as the heavy shower reached us. The shower lasted less than 15 minutes, but for the remainder of the afternoon we saw only occasional glimpses of the sun.

Image 7:

Rhosili Bay after the change in the weather.

Over the centuries, a number of vessels have been driven by storms onto Rhosili beach.
The bare ribs of the Helvetia, wrecked in 1887, still protrude above the sand near Rhosili village (see below).
At Low Water, part of the hulk of the City of Bristol, a passenger ship which ran ashore in 1840, can be seen at the Burry Holm side of Rhosili Bay.
Most famous of all was the "Dollar Ship". In 1807 and again in 1833, quantities of silver coins were uncovered by the tide and found by villagers. Many fortunes—and enemies—were made by the find. The coins were identified as Peruvian dollars of the reign of Phillip IV and were thought to be part of the cargo of a South American ship carrying the dowry of a Portuguese princess, possibly Catharine of Braganza. None have been uncovered by the sea since 1833, but there is little doubt that treasure still lies buried in Rhosili sands. One of the Mansel family of Henllys is said to have seized the bulk of the cargo and fled the country. Some claim one can still hear his coach and four grey horses thundering over the sands at midnight!

Image 8:

The wreck of the Helvetia on Rhosili beach.

• http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/archive/040822-2.htm (link opens in new window)