Coastal Wales is full of fun and unique features, so we dedicated a couple of days to explore the beautiful and seemingly endless coastline. Our first stop was Worm’s Head, a tidal island at the westernmost point of the Gower Peninsula. The name Worm’s Head refers to the serpent-like shape but unfortunately was mistranslated to the less than flattering worm. We thought it looked more like a snail.
The relatively easy six mile out-and-back hike began in a small carpark next to a temporary art display. A Welsh artist had sculpted mythical creatures out of plants, and we had the short opportunity to talk with some locals that were volunteering at the park. They were incredibly friendly, and we began the hike in high spirits, excited to be in a new country exploring some fascinating terrain.
This hike offers a unique challenge. You must be on the mainland within two hours of high tide, otherwise you’ll be stranded on the island until the causeway appears again.
We checked with all the warning signs, set our timers, then walked down onto the rocky path. The footing was a little challenging. Every step we had to make sure was on a dry, stable rock so we wouldn’t slip and fall. There was no trail, we just walked in the direction that looked the least treacherous and slowly made our way across the causeway.
This must have been one of our slowest paces ever on a hike. We were filming a video and there were so many fun little details. The countless tidepools, tiny plants, beautiful rock formations, even the occasional seal bathing in the sun down near the ocean kept us distracted from our race against the tide. While it was fun, there was a bit of relief as we finished the rocky section.
The steep, rocky cliffs rising straight out of the ocean on one side and the grass covered slope on the other reminded us of the Hornstrandir Nature Preserve in northwest Iceland. This was a dry year so the grass was a bit yellow, we could just imagine how beautiful this would have been had the island been covered in vibrant green grass.
Our pace quickened once we were past the rocky causeway, and after about two and a half miles we reached the “head” of Worm’s Head. We timed it right so there were only a few people there with us, but they quickly left and we had the entire summit all to ourselves. The view from this perspective was so unusual and unique, showcasing Wales’ beautiful and rugged coastline. We noticed that the sky was starting to darken with clouds and our alarm went off signaling that we had reached our turn around time, so we took some pictures, shot some video, had a quick snack, admired the view of the coast, then began our hike back to the mainland.
Even though we were in a race against the high tide, we couldn’t help ourselves but to slow down and admire our surroundings. We took a short detour to view the Devil’s Bridge formation from down below and stopped to enjoy the tidepools some more on the causeway. Surprisingly, there were still a few people headed out, which seemed like a questionable decision.
The causeway was beginning to fill in as we crossed, but we made it safely with plenty of time to spare. At one of the overlooks we talked to a park ranger who’s job it was to scan the island and make sure people were safe from the tides, especially at this time when people could easily become stranded or encounter serious danger with no escape but to be rescued by boat. He was a fellow Tour du Mont Blancer so we shared some stories but because we were distracting him from his important duty we decided to cut the conversation short and continue on.
After passing by a herd of wild horses including a few adorable babies, we walked through some past-peak sunflower fields and into the small village of Rhossili where we began our search for lunch. There were several choices, we decided on one of the larger restaurants which had an incredible view north along the coast. For such a small village, the restaurants were buzzing with activity, many people come here for a day hike and to enjoy the scenery and good food.
Not knowing what to expect, I ordered the fish and chips, probably the most popular dish in Wales. Being used to Midwestern fish fries, I was a little surprised at how enormous the portion of fish was. As much as I love a good piece of breaded fish, this was my one and only time eating fish and chips while we were in Wales, it’s just not something you can eat over and over again. Thu decided to have some salad...boring!