Rhossili

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Rhossili
Rhosilli village from the air.jpg
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Rhossili
Location within Swansea
Population278 
Community
  • Rhossili
Principal area
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Swansea
Postcode district SA3
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Swansea
51°34′07″N4°17′13″W / 51.56856°N 4.28690°W / 51.56856; -4.28690

Rhossili (Welsh : Rhosili; Welsh pronunciation ) is both a small village and a community on the southwestern tip of the Gower Peninsula [1] in Wales. It is within the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom. The village has a community council and is part of the Gower parliamentary constituency, and the Gower electoral ward. At the 2011 census, the population was 278. The community includes the hamlet of Middleton.

Contents

The name derives from the Welsh word rhos meaning a moor and the personal name Sulein, hence "Sulein's moorland promontory".[ clarification needed ] [2] Rhossili is a popular tourist destination: the views from the headland and the Down are panoramic; several pleasant walks begin, end, or pass through the village; Iron Age remains are found on Rhossili Down. The 2.8-mile (4.5 km) wide sandy beach is backed with sand dunes and attracts surfers at the Llangennith end as well as along the entire stretch of beach.

Church

The present Norman church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Inside there is a memorial to Edgar Evans, who was the first to perish on the Terra Nova Expedition with Captain Scott on the return from the South Pole.

Rhossili Bay

Rhossili Bay curves along an arc running northwards from the village. The 2.8-mile (4.5 km) wide sandy beach is backed with sand dunes. Some locals refer to the beach as Llangennith Sands. Behind the beach just north of the village is Rhossili Down with the highest point on the Gower Peninsula, the Beacon (193 metres), and a number of prehistoric remains. It is between Rhossili Down and the beach that the Warren is found. In some of the fields on "The Vile" in Rhossili, the National Trust plant every year around 400,000 sunflowers. This is an extremely popular attraction for visitors to take selfies at during late July and early August, however there have been issues with some visitors picking the flowers. [3] [4]

At the southern end of the Bay is Worm's Head, consisting of two tidal islands: Outer Head184 feet (56 m) and Inner Head154 feet (47 m). At the north is Burry Holms. These islands are accessible only at low tide.

Rhossili Bay featured in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, a youth choir began a cappella performances of "Bread of Heaven" live on the beach which was broadcast at the Olympic Stadium. [5] The bay has been used as the setting of New Earth in the sci-fi show Doctor Who and the bay including the Old Rectory was used in Torchwood: Miracle Day . In 2014, it was voted the UK's number one beach, third best in Europe, and 9th best in the world, by TripAdvisor users. [6] [7]

Fall Bay

Fall Bay is one of the most remote and hardest to reach beaches on Gower. The beach is never crowded due to its remoteness. There is no beach visible at high tide. The beach is very popular with surfers. At very low tide, it is possible to walk over from the beach to Mewslade Bay. The beach is reachable via a path which passes Rhossili village hall. It continues over fields and many stiles and has a steep final descent. The cliff path leads east to Mewslade Bay [8] or westwards towards the Worm's Head and Rhossili Bay.[ citation needed ]

Notable residents

National Trust

The National Trust owns and protects much land on the Gower Peninsula. The Trust operates a visitor centre in Rhossili near the Warren, Rhossili Down, Worm's Head, Rhossili beach and coastal cliffs. Scenes from Torchwood: Miracle Day were filmed at the National Trust's Old Rectory cottage in Rhossili Bay. [11] [12]

Skinny dipping

On 19 June 2011, almost four hundred people attempted to break the world record for the largest number of people skinny dipping at one time in the sea at Rhossili. [13]

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gower Peninsula</span> Peninsula in Wales

Gower or the Gower Peninsula is in South West Wales and is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales. It projects towards the Bristol Channel. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gower (electoral ward)</span> Human settlement in Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Channel</span> Large inlet to the river Severn in southwest Great Britain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burry Holms</span> Small tidal island at the northern end of the Gower Peninsula, Wales

Burry Holms, a tidal island with the height of is at the northern end of Rhossili Bay in the Gower Peninsula, Wales. During spring and summer, Burry Holms is covered by flowers such as thrift and sea campion.

Llangennith is a village in the City and County of Swansea, South Wales. It is located in the Gower. Moor Lane leads westwards to a caravan park near Rhossili Bay and Burrows Lane leads northwards to a caravan park overlooking Broughton Bay. The village has a scattering of houses, centred on St Cenydd's church, and the King's Head pub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishopston, Swansea</span> Human settlement in Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cenydd</span> 6th-century Welsh saint

Saint Cenydd, sometimes anglicised as Saint Kenneth, was a Christian hermit on the Gower Peninsula in Wales, where he is credited with the foundation of the church at Llangennith.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mewslade Bay</span>

Mewslade Bay is a small sandy beach facing SSW in the west of the Gower Peninsula, Wales. It lies south of Middleton and southwest of Pitton, from which footpaths lead to the beach.

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Blue Pool Bay is a small cove near the village of Llangennith in Gower, Wales. The cove is bordered by cliffs, and is accessible via a clifftop path and a steep, unstable path down to the beach. The beach is covered fully at high tide and takes its name from a large, natural rockpool. Rhossili Bay is nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worm's Head</span> Headland in Rhossili, Wales

Worm's Head is a headland, at Rhossili, part of the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It is the furthest westerly point of the Gower Peninsula. The name Worm's Head is derived from an Old English word 'wyrm' for 'sea serpent'. The headland of carboniferous limestone comprises three islands: the Inner Head, the Middle Head which features a collapsed sea cave which is known as the Devil's Bridge, and the Outer Head. In total, it is approximately one mile long. The Inner Head is up to 200 yards wide. Worm's Head is only accessible on foot for 2+12 hours either side of low tide, fatal to attempt to wade or swim to when the causeway from the mainland is flooded.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gower and Swansea Bay Coast Path</span> A section of the Wales Coast Path

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The geology of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales is central to the area's character and to its appeal to visitors. The peninsula is formed almost entirely from a faulted and folded sequence of Carboniferous rocks though both the earlier Old Red Sandstone and later New Red Sandstone are also present. Gower lay on the southern margin of the last ice sheet and has been a focus of interest for researchers and students in that respect too. Cave development and the use of some for early human occupation is a further significant aspect of the peninsula's scientific and cultural interest.

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References

  1. A Guide to Gower, published by the Gower Society, ISBN   0-902767-23-2
  2. Owen, Hywel Wyn; Morgan, Richard (2007). Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales (First ed.). Llandysul, Ceredigion: Gomer. p. 415. ISBN   9781843239017.
  3. Williams, Nino (29 July 2019). "The sunflowers are back at Rhossili and they are looking stunning". walesonline. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  4. "Call for people to stop picking beauty spot flowers". 4 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  5. "London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony live". National Post. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. "Wales beats Hawaii and Caribbean in beach poll". Travelmole.com. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  7. "BBC News - Rhossili Bay, Gower, third best in Europe says TripAdvisor survey". Bbc.co.uk. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  8. "Rhossili to Mewslade Bay". Wales Coast Path. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  9. Evans Collection
  10. Rhossili Parish Church and the old Church in the Warren by Robert Lucas, published by Rhossili Parochial Church Council, 2000.
  11. Wright, Ben. "Swansea-born Torchwood writer 'can't wait' to show off hometown in new BBC series". This Is South Wales. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  12. Foster, Chuck. "Torchwood: Week Three Filming". The Doctor Who News Page. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  13. "Rhossili midsummer skinny dip organisers claim record". BBC News. 19 June 2011.

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