Swansea CAM - 240101

Swansea .......Views of Port Eynon, Gower.

Wednesday 24th January 2001. am.
Weather: Showery, sunny intervals. Temp: 9C

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind
permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

This morning I am in Port Eynon on the south coast of the Gower Peninsular. Before going down to the beach
I decided to take a walk around the village.

St Cattwg Church. The present building dates from the 12th century. Restoration took place in 1861 and again in 1901.

Set in the churchyard wall is this marble statue commemorating three crew
members of the Port Eynon lifeboat who were lost when the lifeboat capsized
whilst giving assistance to the Glasgow steamship "Dunvegan" in January 1916.

Next to the church and in the heart of the village is another important building.

This old cottage has managed to keep its lovely thatch roof.

Leaving the village I set off over the sand dunes and along the beach to visit the Old Salt House.

The first Salt House was built in the reign of Henry VIII by David Lucas for his son John.who later fortified it and used it as a base for smuggling and piracy.In the late 17th century it was occupied by another John Lucas a decendant who made his living quarrying limestone and exporting stone to make paint. In the early years of the 18th century the Salt House was destroyed in a great storm.

Another view of the Salt House showing its position right on the edge of the beach. The building was also used for the production of salt.

I followed the path towards Port Eynon Point.

A fork in the path led up the side of the cliff so I climbed up to the top. It was hard going but the view was worth the effort.

View across Port Eynon Bay.

Looking into Overton Mere. I'm on my way to find Culver Hole.

After scrambling down the side of these steep rocks I arrived down on the pebbles at the base of Culver Hole. The deep cleft on the rock has been walled-in and has two rectangular openings at the bottom and two circular openings at the top. What it was used for is a mystery.Culver is an old English word for pigeon so it could have been a columbarium to breed pigeons for food. Or was it a retreat for smugglers?

Flotsam.