Whiteford Sands

A tentative plan was initially hatched on Friday evening, although the decision on the actual destination was not made until the morning.

We arrived in the village of Cheriton, a mile from Broughton Bay on the north-west of the Gower Peninsula at 12:30, parking opposite the local community hall.

Before we reached Whiteford Burrows we needed to walk across the top of the man-made dyke that separates the Llanrhidian salt-marshes from the freshwater river. The undulating sand dunes were negotiated with Steve complaining that it would have been easier to get to Dunkirk! Whiteford Burrows is owned by the National Trust and is classed as a national nature reserve.



We were able to leave the dunes descending down a 20 foot wall of sand, before reaching the two mile expanse of the most northerly beach on the Gower, sitting on the edge of the Loughor estuary.



The beach has no direct access by car and it's relative inaccessibility compared to many other beaches on the peninsular makes it very quiet.

The main target for the walk was Whiteford Lighhouse. Built in 1865, by the Llanelli Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners to mark the shoals of Whiteford Point, it is the only wave-swept cast-iron tower of this size in Britain. The tower is 44 feet high and stands just above low-water level. The base is about 24 feet in diameter and rises gracefully to a diameter of 11 feet six inches at lantern level. A pitched stone apron has been laid around the base of the Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse is listed by Cadw as Grade II*, as a rare survivor of a wave-swept cast-iron lighthouse in British coastal waters, and an important work of cast-iron architecture and nineteenth century lighthouse design and construction. It is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.



Operation of the lighthouse was discontinued in 1920, when responsibility for the light was transferred to Trinity House, who decided to establish a new beacon at Burry Holms. However, after pleas from local yachtsmen, the light was re-lit in the 1980s. This gave an additional point of reference when navigating the waters between the Gower Peninsula and Burry Port. On dark nights, boat crews often found themselves on top of Whiteford Point before realizing the fact. The new light was fully automatic and switched on when daylight faded to a pre-determined level.

After a failure of the solar unit, the light was removed and not replaced. However, the Lighthouse still has navigational value in daylight. The Lighthouse is now owned by Carmarthenshire County Council.

With the tide extremely low we were able to walk to the base of the lighthouse and enjoy a cup of tea, some cake and biscuits.



Returning across the huge expanse of open beach we only saw about half a dozen people all day.

The excellent meal in the Greyhound Inn at Oldwalls was throughly enjoyable after a day spent in the exhilarating sea air.

Photographs taken on this walk can be viewed here. Select 'slide-show' for automated viewing.