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We travel to the southerest, westerest bits of Wales in search of fresh trails. And we find them, nestled among the gales.
Those concrete hard standings are the remains of a World War 2 radar station that was decommissioned and blown up in 1945.
They give a great view over the bay and make a good camping spot when bikepacking on The Gower.
If you ride it anti-clockwise then the descents are better. I remember when this was in the mag, years ago, and being surprised that you travelled all that way for such a short ride although was that because there are plenty of good pubs on your route for refreshment? 😀 There are plenty of options online to extend the ride and all of Gower is a stunning place to ride. The last time I rode that route was from Swansea and was 45 miles, 72km, and 1100m of climbing, with a nice return along the coast towards Mumbles. Most of it was even 'legal'!
dove1 is right - that's the radar station. There's plenty of history here. If you drop down to the bay you might find Spanish doubloons, rumoured to be from an Armada shipwreck. Medieval hermits lived on Burry Holm on the right of the bay. On landward side of Rhossili Down there are Neolithic burial chambers... I've never camped on Rhossili Down but have done in other places on Gower - there are plenty of places. I've been tempted to camp in the hill fort on Llanmadoc Hill a few times - it's on your route, with a conveniently situated pub at the base of the climb. It would be a great place to see the sun come up.
I camped on Rhossili down last weekend and woke to a stunning view of Worms Head. There is lots of good riding on the Gower with many route options to be found on line but never far from civilisation should yo need it.
