Best things to do in Oxwich Bay

One of the best things to do in Oxwich Bay is head for the beach.  With its 2.5 miles of golden sand, it’s not surprising that Oxwich Bay has been twice awarded UK Beach of the Year.

Oxwich Bay has a car park directly next to the beach, which makes it a popular choice.  However, it is worth walking along for a bit, as the stretch in front of the beach can get very busy on a warm day.

If you want a more isolated beach experience, Nicholaston Burrows is about 15 minutes’ walk from the car park.  Here, you’ll get the luxury of less people, but won’t have the advantage of the beachfront facilities.

Oxwich Castle stands on the hill looking down on Oxwich Bay.  However, despite its name, it is not actually a castle, but a fortified Tudor manor house.  Oxwich Castle was built around 1558 and is on the site of a former castle.

Although now in ruins, the castle was once a lavish home.  It was built by the Mansel family to impress, rather than defend.  A large portion of the Tudor dovecote remains and can be seen today, though the roof is missing.

We walked to Oxwich Castle from the village, by following a steep uphill road.  Alternatively, you can visit if you do a detour on the Oxwich Point circular walk.

This circular walk is part of the Wales Coastal Path and will take you to the headland at Oxwich Point.  Here you will get spectacular views from the cliffs across the Gower coastline. The walk follows a footpath through Oxwich Wood and across several fields.  There are some very steep steps and it can get muddy when wet.

We did the walk on the way down from Oxwich Castle, but you can access it from some steep steps by St Illtyd’s Church in the village.

Oxwich Bay is a National Nature Reserve.  Just inland from the beach are sand dunes, lakes, and marshland, which are all accessible to the public.

This wide variety of habitat is a haven for wildlife and nature.  Apparently, it is one of the only places in the UK to have both salt and freshwater marshes together and has been recognised as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI).

We followed a circular walk around the reserve, which involved climbing lots of sand dunes and running down them too.  However, there is an easier option of walking up the beach and returning via the nature reserve.

Whether you are a keen bird watcher or not, it is worth a visit to the bird hide, which is just across the road from Oxwich beach.  Follow the boardwalk to the sheltered bird hide.  Here, you can look out on the marshes and lake to see birds (and cows).  We were lucky enough to see a heron on the lake and 2 swallows nesting inside the bird hide.

We enjoyed seeing the swallows, but actually think we were more excited by the adder we spotted on the boardwalk.  Keep your eyes peeled!

One morning, we dragged outselves out of bed at 5.00am to watch the sun rise over the bay.  It was an awesome experience.  The colours were a lovely mix of orange and the beach was far more tranquil than during the daytime.  Definitely worth the early start!

The sun rises over Three Cliffs and is best seen from the right side of the beach, though you do need to clamber over the rock pools to get there.

Oxwich Bay is very centrally located and is a great base for making the most of all the things to do on the Gower Peninsula.

Our favourites were a visit to Mumbles, a walk to Worms Head at Rhossili Bay and a climb up to Culver Hole at Port Eynon.  Of course, no visit to the Gower Peninsula would be complete without a visit to the stunning Three Cliffs Bay.

Other attractions in the area include the Gower Heritage Centre and the Perriswood Archery & Falconry Centre.