Three Cliffs Bay to Oxwich Bay (Wales Coast Path) Walk

This is a spectacular coastal walk past 2 stunningly beautiful beaches, and finishes with a headland. Three Cliffs Bay is a sandy beach backed by a valley that floods at high tide (still walkable). Oxwich is a long sandy beach backed by dunes. Both are great swimming beaches. Both the dunes, and the headlands between the beaches make great picnic spots. At low tide, you can walk along the sand between the beaches. At high tide, you have to walk inland at Three Cliffs to the stepping stones, and over the headland to Oxwich. The walk finishes with a loop of Oxwich Head past a ruined castle.

Take the bus from Swansea to Southgate (the last stop) to start the walk. There is an alternate start for drivers at Parkmill

Route finding is easy - just follow the coast to Three Cliffs. At low tide, follow the beach. At mid tide, paddle across Three Cliffs, and climb over the headland. At high tide, walk inland to the stepping stones.

Then just follow the beach to Oxwich, and walk around the headland (out along the coast, back along the top)

Take the bus back from Oxwich Cross (i.e. the croassraods near the hotel) to Swansea at the end. Driver's should alight at Parkmill (at the bottom of a steep hill by the Gower Inn pub)

Oxwich Castle - CADW - £3.50 - Tue-Sun + BH - a Tudor fortified manor house, i.e. a mock castle

Mumbles to Oxwich

This walk can be combined with walk #269 (Mummbles to Three Cliffs) to make a longer (12 mile) summer coast walk from Mummbles all the way to Oxwich. The walk was split in 2 to make it an easy winter walk, or to give you time linger in the summer, to swim, sunbathe, or explore

Car driver need to add on a 3 mile extension along a disused railway line path, from Kilay to the coast at Black Pill, then along the seafront to Mummbles to return to their car - making a 15 mile walk (or 18 miles with the Oxwich Head loop). Alternatively, you can circulate via Swansea (i.e. bus from Oxwich to Swansea, then Swansea to Mumbles)

There is an alternate start for drivers at Parkmill, on the Oxwich - Parkmill - Swansea bus route. It passes the ruins of Pennard Castle

There is a detour to the summit of Cefn Bryn (186m),the highest point in Gower, with a spectacular view

You could follow the coast on to Port Eynon, but that stretch of coast isn't as nice as Oxwich Beach

Southgate, at the start of the walk : Threecliff, threecliffs.co.uk, a cafe - deli.

Inland, Parkmill : The Gower Inn, thegowerinnswansea.co.uk, a great place to wait for your bus

Oxwich Beach (at the end) : The Oxwich Bay Hotel, oxwichbayhotel.co.uk, with a fine pub to await your bus. Near the car park and bus stop at the north end of the beach

The nearest train station is Swansea, but its a 10 min walk to the bus station. Some early morning / late evening buses start from it though.

London Paddington to Swansea : 2h 40m, £112 off peak return. 'Advance' tickets (no changes) are cheaper. A good compromise is "Advance" out, and an (Open) "Single" back - about £80.

London Waterloo via Salibury and Bath : 5hr, £85 off peak return. Cheaper advance tickets.

By coach: Flixbus, National Express coach

By car: Driving to Swansea takes about 3 hours from London. The M4 Severn bridge is now free

You must check the bus times beforehand - using traveline.cymru/ Why? Because times and routes vary on school days, not school days, weekdays, Saturday, Sunday, summer, winter... There are 2 bus companies, each with a different system of tickets and day/week/group passes. It might be efficient, but its confounding for visitors!

Partial update: Spring 2025

Since the previous update, almost everything has changed, operators, routes, fares, passes - this is why public transport is so hard to use

Swansea bus station is about 15 mins walk from the train station. From there, 2 companies run buses to Gower, with a bizarre obfuscated schedule.

• The Mumbles / Caswell / Pennard (Three Cliffs) routes, and the Oxwich / Rhossili / Llangenith routes don't overlap. This is fine if you're based in Swansea, but bad if you're based in Mumbles.
• Mumbles official name is Oystermouth (used on bus timetables), they are the same place. Swansea, Black Pill and Mumbles are on Swansea Bay.
• The 2 bus companies tickets and day passes are not interchageable.
• First Bus : use contactless, tap on and tap off, max fare is £3. Check their website for amazing value 3/5/7 day passes that cover all of south Wales from Cardiff to Pembrokeshire
• Adventure Travel : A return is cheaper than 2 singles, £5.60 return Swansea to Rhossili in 2023. £9.10 day pass with a mobile app
• 'PlusBus' on your rail ticket £3 (£2 railcard) is a daypass in the Swansea area, it cover Mumbles, Caswell and Pennard (Three Cliffs) but not west Gower

Current routes are ('bay' means on Swansea Bay)

Links

• First Bus - South & West Wales - via Mumbles routes
• Adventure Travel - Pennard and West Gower routes
• Swansea Bay Without a Car - rarely updated, little information, out of date broken links

Swansea is the best place for public transport users. The city doesn't have many tourist sites except for Wind Street (pronounced Wine Street, loads of mega pubs) and the marina. Many old seafront B&B's, and mega chain hotels.

Mumbles (Oystermouth) is a pretty seaside village, quieter at night and more upmarket nowadays as the 'Mumbles mile' pubs are no more. Old B&Bs and boutieque hotels. Swansea's 'latin' quarter.

There is a Youth Hostel in Port Eynon, and a large beach campsite on Rhossili beach near Llangennith. Also campsites at Three Cliffs. Rhossili itself would be a great place to stay for car travellers.

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Feb-17 Andrew