Worms Head to Mewslade

 Another glorious day and another glorious walk! 

The view from Worms Head towards Llangenith Burrows and Burry Holme.

Worms Head.

Kestrels, raven and the first wheatear of the year. 

The beach at Fall Bay and the raised 'Patella' beach from the Ipswichian interglacial period 125,000 years ago. 

The 'Patella' beach. 

Looking back to Worms Head. 

Mewslade Bay - where we foundyellow whitlow grass...another blog .

Choughs. 

A dotted bee-fly. In Wales it is mostly restricted to the stretch of coast between Port Eynon and Penmaen Burrows.  

Looking across the wave cut platform to Worms Head as the tide dropped - perfect for rock pooling! 

Whiteford Burrows.

A good walk out around Whiteford Burrows. Plenty of different habitats: along the edge of the saltmarsh and pine woodlands; along the beach and back thrugh dune slacks. Lovely to see the blackthorn and willow in flower and a brimstone moth too. 

Willow and blackthorn.

A cockle midden in the peat layers on the beach....close to a mussel midden. 

Evidence of past cockling and current harvesting.

Submerged forest.

Tree stump.

Built in 1865 Whiteford lighthouse is the only remaining cast iron lighthouse in the UK. 

Brimstone moths; mussels; seaball and mining bees. 

Goose barnacles. 

Paviland Cave

What a stunning site this is! A good scramble down and then up into the cave and a rapid retreat as the sea was coming in across the rock platform that you go back down across. Must go back! 

Paviland cave is famous as the site where,in 1823, the Reverend William Buckland discovered a skeleton, now known to be a male, that was buried with ivory bracelets and wands, and perforated seashells covered with ochre that stained the bones red. Over 5000 finds have been made inclusing flints and antler. The burial is believed to be 28, 000 yrs old, from just before the final advance of the ice sheets in the early upper Palaoelithic (New Naturalist: Gower: J Mullard).

The path down. 

The shore.

Looking back the way we had come down.

Looking up to the cave - just above center in the photo.

It's quite a thought that people lived here 28,000 years ago.

From inside the cave looking out...

Spring flowers on Gower

 As I said in my previous post, I was delighted to find spring squill out in fower, just! It's a favourite of mine...

Spring squill.

Spring squill.

Scurvy grass in flower amongs rock samphire leaves.

Bloody Crane's-bill.

Thrift.

Sea campion.

Port Eynon to Paviland Cave

Splendid weather and a splendid walk on the first full day of our Gower holiday. We walked along a dramatic and very interesting coast to the nationally important qauternary site of Paviland Cave (separate blog). We took the path that was below the cliff top and closest to the sea, with plenty of ups and downs.  So pleased to see and hear choughs and find spring squill just out. 

Port Eynon bay.

Footprints in the intertidal peats.

Port Eynon bay...

Tree stumps in the intertidal peats, forming part of a submerged forest.

Ruins of Port Eynon saltworks.

Dramatic coastal scenery! (Towards Worm's Head) 

Stone chat; spring squill, oil beetle and an old Wildlife Trust sign. 

The raised 'Patella' beach that is found across the south Gower peninsula, formed during the last interglacial (Ipswichian) around 125, 000 years ago. 

Closer to Worms Head ...

The view from Paviland Cave.

Port Eynon: Culver hole - a dove cott built into the cliff - with tales of smuggling etc. 

Oxwich bay - mining bees

It was lovely to see these mining bees (potentially sand pit mining bee) in the sunshine and great fun to try and photograph them. 

Oxwich Bay

After a long journey down, a good walk out at Oxwich on the Gower....a few photos to start with, we don't have access to decent internet where we are, so I think I'll just have to play catch up when I get back....

Through the dune slacks towards Nicholaston and Three Cliffs Bay.

Different willows ...

Thrushes anvil.

Windswept...

Blackthorn.

Just before a snow shower!