Walk 16: Llanrhidian to Loughor

I think it’s fair to say that, understandably, due to its geographical position, the walk from Llanrhidian to Loughor isn’t the most scenic section of the Gower. That said, it still made for a lovely finish to our second and final weekend discovering the Gower Peninsula.

The walk got off to a shaky start. After getting up and packing our bags, we left our accommodation and headed through a field towards the Wales Coast Path. We later discovered that we should have taken a left-hand turn through to a second field which would have taken us straight back to the end point of our previous walk, but we missed the turn and ended up getting lost before the walk had even begun.

You know how sometimes when you’re walking, ‘path’ can become ‘not path’ so gradually that by the time you realise you’re not on the path, you wonder how on earth you got so far off track? We were so sure we were going in the right direction, we ended up in the middle of a thorny bush complete with stinging nettles around our feet before finally admitting defeat. Thankfully, a few minutes later, we were back on track!

The first section of our walk was along the appropriately named Marsh Road – a long, single-track road which made for some nice, easy walking to start the day with pretty estuary views. We passed a few signs which explained that the area had previously been used as an MoD firing range, so to be aware of unexploded armaments, so we were careful to stick to the path!

After a while of walking, we passed a small, slightly eerie-looking settlement – with its empty playground, a few houses and marshy views, it felt like the setting of a murder mystery. We fancied a coffee, but there didn’t seem to be anywhere to stop, so we continued on.

The path took us along a gravel track which led to a B-road heading into Penclawdd. As we walked along the road, we were treated to some more marshy views to our left, where we could see across the estuary all the way to Llanelli. When we reached the village, we stopped for a coffee at Cariad Café and took a short break, before continuing along the B-road, which had a nice section of walkway which allowed us to get away from the traffic.

At this point, the end was, quite literally, in sight, as we had a lovely view of the final destination, Loughor Bridge. First, however, we needed to take to the hills. At Bryn-y-Mor we began our short ascent uphill, where we continued through fields towards Loughor. We did have to walk through a field with cows in – my least favourite thing about the Wales Coast Path – but, luckily, they were a good distance away and seemingly uninterested. We also passed a field with a couple of friendly donkeys, who came to say hello, before stopping to enjoy our picnic with a final view of the estuary.  

We descended into Gowerton through a wooded section, with a final bit of road walking taking us out of the Gower and into Loughor, where we finished our walk. We had planned to catch a bus back to Swansea, but our impatience led us to order a taxi instead. When we got back to Swansea, we stopped at a lovely café for some food before heading home. All in all, we really enjoyed our walk around the Gower, which offered the most scenic views we’d had up to that point – some of the best that the stunning Welsh coast has to offer!

🥾 Distance: 9½ miles.

⭐ Highlight: We enjoyed the estuary views, and the friendly donkeys!

👎 Less Good: No specific lowlight, but this wasn't the most interesting walk.

🚗 Transport: We walked to Llanrhidian the previous day, where we stayed. After we finished our walk, we got a taxi from Loughor back to our car in Swansea.

🛏️ Accommodation: We went home after this one!

🌱 Food: We enjoyed a tasty meal at Hoogah in Swansea before we headed home.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official Carmarthen Bay and Gower guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.