Oxwich Bay

The Area

The Beach

The bay itself is one of the largest on the Gower Peninsula second only to Rhossili. With easy access, plenty of parking, some shops and about two and half miles of golden sand backed by sand dunes, salt marshes and woodland, Oxwich Bay is reputed to be one of Gower's most popular beaches.

The slipway down to the beach makes this bay suitable and popular for all types of water sports including, diving, sailing, water-skiing and windsurfing and there were several speed boats skimming the waves whilst we were there.

You can walk across two and a half miles of sand towards Tor Bay and Three Cliffs Bay, on a low tide you can walk as far as Pobbles Bay further on around.

The village is small with a population of less than two hundred. It is picturesque and boasts a number of thatched cottages, two castles and a National Nature Reserve with a wide variety of bird and plant life.

On the approach to Oxwich Point is the partially hidden Church of St. Illtyd. The site has been recognised as a place of worship for the past 1500 years and is the subject of many myths and fairy tales. The existing building is a largely 13th century construction with a 14th century tower and marks the site of the original sixth century Celtic cell. The chancel is the oldest part of the church, and is the smallest in Gower, and there is some speculation but little evidence that this may in fact be the original cell.

Historical Events

There have been many shipwrecks, both accidental and deliberate, in the bays treacherous waters. This led to the bay having a reputation for 'wrecking' although it was used for smuggling too. At low water, the remains of one torpedoed World War Two wreck comes into view. Oxwich Castle, which is a fortified Tudor manor house, was constructed by the Mansel family and was funded by their plundering of local shipwrecks.

In 1911, a Bleriot Monoplane piloted by Mr E. Sutton, used Oxwich beach to do the first airplane flight in Wales because of the length and flatness of the sands.

The upper part of the St. Illtyd churchyard possesses a hidden well that has long since dried up. In the past, locals believed the well to be haunted. On one occasion a ghostly white horse called a 'ceffyl dwr', or 'water horse' in Welsh folklore, was seen in the churchyard before it reputedly vanished into the waters of the well.

At the rear of the churchyard lays the final resting place of a unknown Royal Navy soldier, whose body was discovered washed ashore on Oxwich Bay during the first World War.