Gower Peninsula 2017 Pictures Day 3

We decided that as the weather was still expected to improve, we would drive to the Gower Heritage Centre from where we could walk to Three Cliffs Bay. It looked spectacular online. We departed at 1:15PM just as the clearance finally arrived and the sun came out. We had a pleasant drive down via the M4 and arrived at 1:55PM after being held up by cows on the road on the Gower Peninsula. I felt better again by the time we arrived.

After paying for parking and getting some very useful leaflets that showed the layout of the paths we started to walk at 2:05PM. After crossing the road we ascended a muddy slope through some woods and emerged onto a sandy path down the valley which followed the river Pennard Pill downstream. It really was as spectacular as expected especially as the weather was now glorious. Up above the valley the ruins of Pennard Castle stood in a prominent position while cows grazed on the river bank.

After crossing two sets of stepping stones over the river we emerged onto the beach which was a lovely clean fine sand. We had a nice time on the beach. We wandered to the water's edge which wasn't far as it was close to high tide. We went as far as where the river entered the sea next to the three conical cliffs that give the bay its name. An arch in the cliffs just added to the beauty of the scenery. The we walked across to the other side of the bay and sat on rocks at the high tide line and soaked in the scenery and sound of the waves. I couldn't resist climbing up the rocks which were laid out like a stair case. About 20 feet up on a grassy ledge the view was even more spectacular.

After a while we started to head back. I couldn't resist exploring a sand dune. It adjoined a hill which I tried to climb up but it was steep and very slippery with wet mud. After slipping and getting muddy I decided to retreat. I returned to Renée who was waiting below and we doubled back over the stepping stones and set off back up the valley. We then found a fairly shallow ascent up to Pennard Castle above the valley. Renée wasn't keen at first but I persuaded her that it would be ok. So we set off up the slope and indeed it was worth it as the view from the castle was sublime! After soaking in the views for a while we carried on past a golf course and down a muddy slope through the woods back to the road. We got back to the car at 4:30PM.

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After a nice drive back we got back to the King's Head at 4:50PM. Back in the room a cup of tea was very welcome after a tired day. We had a rest and pondered what to do for dinner. Renée fancied an Indian meal so at 5:30PM we headed out to an Indian restaurant picked out on google maps.

At 5:50PM we arrived at Bonophool in Gowerton. We found a nice set menu so we decided to eat here. It was a nice meal. I had a Vegetable Biryani while Renée had a Chicken Tikka Masala.

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We left about 7PM feeling nice and full and were back at the King's Head at 7:25PM via a nice pretty route over the moors.

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Then we rested some more, went through the day's photos, planned tomorrow's cave visit and retired by 9:30PM.