A Wild Walk on Whiteford Beach ~ Gower Peninsula, South Wales

Living on the Gower peninsula in south Wales feels a little like living on an island.

The coast is never more than a 15-20 minute drive away, with unspoilt sands you can often explore all to yourself – especially if there’s a bit of a wind blowing!

Whiteford beach is accessed via the village of Llanmadoc, which is home to one of my favourite pubs in Gower, The Britannia Inn (or “The Brit” as it’s better known locally), where you can enjoy one of the area’s best Sunday roasts.

Just a short walk from here you’ll find the path down to the pine-carpeted Llanmadoc Hills, where sandy tracks lead you through forests that look out over the Landimore and Cwm Ivy marshes.

Llanmadoc Beach - Whitford Point Gower Peninsula Ben Holbrook

It’s a bizarre landscape, a wild and beautiful sort of desolation with leaf-stripped trees that look like they’ve just survived a hurricane, or a tsunami perhaps.

It looks so different to the rest of the Gower peninsula, almost Jurassic. You half expect a rhino or giraffe or zebra to come galloping out of the distance – maybe a T-Rex or a pterodactyl!

The wind whipped at us as we zig-zagged our way across the lumpy sand dunes onto the beach, gusting slipstreams of sand that would have needled our feet raw if not wearing our boots.

You see the iconic Whiteford Point Lighthouse in the distance and you feel that you are disconnected from the rest of the world. Apparently it’s the last remaining cast-iron lighthouse of its kind still standing in the UK.

Somehow it has withstood the constant thrashing it has received from the relentless Welsh waves since it was built back in 1865.

You can actually walk out to the lighthouse, but beware that you only have an hour or so either side of low-tide – oh, and be sure to keep an eye out for quicksand too!

A walk out to Whiteford Point, whether along the beach or through the woods, feels like a proper adventure. It’s the perfect walk for dogs, though perhaps a little challenging for families with small babies/children.

I’d suggest going on a sunny day and stretching out on the pristine sands. Just keep in mind that there’s not much here in the way of shops or amenities, so you’ll need your own supplies.

As you can see by my images (from a different summer), it’s quite a different story on a sunny day!

Make it Happen

If you’d like to see the most beautiful beaches in Gower, then I’d highly recommend heading to Llandmadoc and hiking over the dunes to Whiteford beach and lighthouse.

Park in the small farmer’s field (there’s an honesty box where you can pop a pound in) and off you go!