Visit Gower Peninsula Places

Welcome to Visit Gower Peninsula Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Gower Peninsula

  

Gower Peninsula Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Gower Peninsula

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Gower Peninsula history

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Stone Age

Wales is known to have been inhabited since at least the Upper Paleolithic period. The Gower Peninsula has been the scene of several important archaeological discoveries. In 1823, the Red Lady of Paviland Cave was the first human fossil to be found anywhere in the world.

Bronze Age

Gower is also home to menhirs or standing stones from the Bronze Age. One of the most notable of the stones is Arthur’s stone near Cefn Bryn. Bronze Age evidence such as funeral urns, pottery and human remains has been found in Tooth Cave at Llethryd, Culver Hole (Port Eynon) and Cathole Cave.

Roman era

The Romans built Leucarum, a rectangular or trapezoidal fort at the mouth of the River Loughor, in the late 1st century AD to house a regiment of Roman auxiliary troops. Stone defences were added to the earthen ditch and rampart by AD 110 and the fort was occupied until the middle or end of that century. It was later abandoned for a time and in the early 3rd century the ditch naturally silted up.

Anglicisation

Following the Norman invasion of Wales the commote of Gŵyr passed into the hands of English-speaking barons. In 1203 King John granted the Lordship of Gower to William III de Braose for the service of one knight’s fee. It remained with the Braose family until 1326, when it passed from the family to the husband of one of his daughters and co-heiresses, Aline and Joan.

Glamorgan

In 1535, the Lordship of Gower became part of the historic county of Glamorgan with the southwest part becoming the hundred of Swansea.

Present day

The peninsula has a Championship status golf course at Fairwood Park just off Fairwood Common, which twice hosted the Welsh PGA Championships in the 1990s. Gower Golf Club at Three Crosses hosts the West Wales Open, a two-day tournament on Wales’ professional golf tour, the Dragon Tour.

Gower Peninsula landmarks

Four beaches have Blue Flag beach and Seaside (2006) awards for their high standards. There are six castles on the Gower Peninsula, including Landimore Castle and Oxwich Castle.

Llethryd Tooth Cave

The Llethryd Tooth Cave, or Tooth Hole cave, is a Bronze Age ossuary site in a limestone cave. It is located 1,500 yards (1.4 km) north north west of the Parc Cwm long cairn cromlech. In 1961 the cave was rediscovered by cavers, who found human bones. An excavation was carried out in 1962 revealing the disarticulated remains of six adults and two children.

Gower Peninsula geography / climate

About 70 square miles (180 km) in area, Gower is known for its coastline, popular with walkers and outdoor enthusiasts. The peninsula is bounded by the Loughor Estuary to the north and Swansea Bay to the east. Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 188 km, including most of the peninsula west of Crofty, Three Crosses, Upper Killay, Blackpill and Bishopston.

You can visit Gower Peninsula places with Walkfo Gower Peninsula to hear history at Gower Peninsula’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Gower Peninsula has 22 places to visit in our interactive Gower Peninsula map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Gower Peninsula, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Gower Peninsula places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Gower Peninsula & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 22 audio facts unique to Gower Peninsula places in an interactive Gower Peninsula map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Gower Peninsula Places Map
22 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Gower Peninsula historic spots	Gower Peninsula tourist destinations	Gower Peninsula plaques	Gower Peninsula geographic features
Walkfo Gower Peninsula tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Gower Peninsula

  

Best Gower Peninsula places to visit

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Gower Peninsula has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Gower Peninsula’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Gower Peninsula’s information audio spots:

Capel Y Crwys Capel y Crwys is the largest chapel on the Gower Peninsula. It is located in the village of Three Crosses, Swansea. The chapel is a member of the Union of Welsh Independents.

Fairwood Common Fairwood Common is a large area of barely populated common land in the heart of the Gower Peninsula, south Wales. Swansea Airport is located in the middle of the common.

Pennard Pennard (previously Llanarthbodu) is a village and community on the south of the Gower Peninsula, about 7 miles south-west of Swansea city centre. It falls within the Pennard electoral ward of Swansea, the population as of 2011 was 2,688.

Kilvrough Manor Kilvrough Manor is a large country house near Swansea, Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building and Grade II listed building.

Cefn Bryn Cefn Bryn is a 5-mile-long Old Red Sandstone ridge in south Wales. It is in the heart of the Gower Peninsula, in the City and County of Swansea. The highest point on the ridge is the second highest point in the peninsula, offering panoramic views of the surrounding country and seas.

Parc Cwm long cairn Parc Cwm long cairn, a megalithic burial chamber, was built around 5850 years before present (BP) It is about seven 1/2 miles (12 km) west south of Swansea, Wales. The cromlech was discovered in 1869 by workmen digging for road stone. An excavation later that year revealed human bones and animal remains.

Visit Gower Peninsula plaques