Leaving the Mumbles, we passed along the seafront, a reminder that the Mumbles is a seaside resort with a promenade that has the usual ice cream parlours, etc. While we were quite taken with the decorated bollards, we were more excited about what lay to the front of us and, after having walked through built up areas pretty much since we reached Ogmore-by-Sea, at last we had the open road in front of us. We headed along the promenade in the direction of Mumbles Head where we turned right to cross over the back of Bracelet and Limeslade Bays.
Continuing round the hillside to Caswell Bay we had our first really clear view of Pwlldu Head jutting out in to the sea at the end of Pwlldu Bay. On Caswell beach a number of sea-based activities were underway with lots of people clothed in cold water suits. Leaving Caswell Bay to begin the long climb up to the headland, you lose the posh footpath and move on to a rougher grassy path.
Brandy Cove is an interesting, isolated stony beach with a sandy section visible and accessible only at low tide. It lies at the bottom of the Hareslade Valley, the valley slowly rising from from the beachhead up to the village of the same name. The cove is well known locally with a history of smuggling (tobacco & alcohol) and folk tales of the supernatural attached to it. The remains of a female murder victim were found in a lead / silver mining cave in the cove in modern times.
It was not long before we reached the next beach (generally stony with sand only at low tide) at Pwlldu Bay, where walked along the back of the beach to access a small bridge across the river that bisects the sand and rocks on the beach. On up the wooded hill , it is a steady climb up on to Pwlldu Head. Just to the west of the summit is the location of another Iron Age Fort, known as High Pennard Fort, which archaeological finds have indicated was occupied about 1-2C AD.
Below the cliffs on this section there are a number of caves, including the large Minchin Hole, known colloqially as the bone caves, lived in during the Upper Palaeolithic period (50,000 and 10,000 years ago) and in which the remains of numerous animals have been found including straight-tusked elephant, bison, rhinoceros, cave bear, reindeer, wolf and hyena. In addition to the animal remains, evidence of human occupation has also been found in the cave from the Roman period and the Middle Ages. Nearby, is another cave known as Bacon Hole which was also inhabited during the same periods. A series of red bands in this cave was initially thought to have been evidence for very early cave art but further research concluded that it was a natural expression of red oxides in the rock.
After lunch we continued along the clifftop before dropping down on to Threecliffs beach where we went through a cave archway on the sands to access a set of stepping stones that assist you in crossing the Pill. As you cross the beach, on top of the twenty-foot limestone cliffs the 12C Pennard Castle shows starkly against the skyline. It is thought that the castle was built by Henry de Beaumont, first earl of Warwick. The castle was abandoned in the 14C when it began to disappear below wind-blown sand. Nearby are the remains of St Mary's Church which served the small community that was established here, before all fell victim to the sands.