Gower Peninsula: Mistaken identity at Langland

I originally thought this pretty little flower was borage, when I spotted it growing at the roadside on the way down to Langland Bay. I've since discovered it's called Green Alkanet, but it is a member of the Borage family.

Gower Peninsula: Kitchen Corner, Rhossili

These two shots, taken on the Gower Peninsula, show the old Rhossili Boathouse, at a location known as Kitchen Corner. I love the almost tropical look to the water in these shots, as seaweed floats near the surface, in shallow waters.

For those not familiar with the Gower Peninsula, the island in this next shot is called Worm's Head. It's a tidal island, which is connected to the mainland by a rocky, seaweed strewn causeway, for about two and a half hours either side of low tide. Once the tide comes in, it is VERY DANGEROUS to try to swim back to the shore, and many people have died doing so. If you ever get stuck on Worm's Head, just stand facing the little hut on the cliffs on the mainland. The Coastwatch people in the hut will see you and send someone to rescue you.

Gower Peninsula: Scarlet Pimpernel near Caswell

A stunning sight along the coast path between Caswell and Langland bays, during late spring and early summer, is the beautiful, warm hue of the scarlet pimpernel. It's a tiny little little flower, found on many cliff tops on the Gower Peninsula, which can be very hard to photograph, especially on a narrow path with heavy foot traffic. It grows in huge swathes, like tiny little scarlet, yellow and purple gemstones. It's one of my favourite wild flowers, and can be seen on cliffs, grassland, wasteland and roadsides all over Swansea and Gower, during its flowering season.

Gower Peninsula: Pink thrift near Caswell

I spotted this clump of pink thrift, Armeria maritima, growing on the cliffs near Caswell Bay. The cliffs of the Gower Peninsula are carpeted with this pretty little flower in late spring and early summer. It's also a popular garden plant, most commonly seen in rockery gardens and at the edge of borders. It grows wild on much of the coast of Britain and Europe.

Gower Peninsula: Foxglove at Rotherslade

The Gower Peninsula is home to a wealth of flora, including this beautiful, but highly toxic digitalis, or foxglove. I found it growing on a grass verge, near Rotherslade Bay.

Valerian and campanula at Langland

Red valerian on a wall on Langland Bay Road.

White valerian at Langland

This white valerian was growing on a wall alongside the tennis courts at Langland Bay.

Honeysuckle near Caswell

Honeysuckle produces one of my favourite natural scents. I hate synthetic honeysuckle fragrances, but you can't beat the real thing.

The coastal path between Caswell and Langland

Looking west across Caswell Bay, from the coastal path.



Looking east, as hardy pink sea thrift, Armeria maritima, clings to the cliff face.

Springtime on Gower

One of my favourite sights every year - little lambs. I met this pair on Rhossili cliffs.


Pennard cliffs provided the location for the next two pics. These lovely wild primroses appear in abundance all over Gower from March to May.


These violets are a little harder to find, simply because they're so tiny. Their size also makes them very hard to photograph, without special lenses, etc.

Thrifty Worm's Head

Although technically not the best shot in the world, this view of the Worm, with pink sea thrift in the foreground, is still one of my favourites from my personal Gower collection. I remember prostrating myself on a small hillock, near the cliff edge overlooking Kitchen Corner, in acute, arthritic agony, to get this shot. But it was worth it. I submitted it to the BBC Wales weekly photo gallery, and the BBC News site still uses it from time to time, especially when they publish an article about tourism in Gower.

Rhossili Vile

The Vile, Rhossili's rare, medieval open field strip system. The bright yellow, flowering plant, is ragwort.