Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula of South Wales

Oxwich Bay (Welsh: Bae Oxwich) is a bay on the south of the Gower Peninsula, Wales.

Its landscape features sand dunes, salt marshes and woodland. Oxwich Bay includes a 2.5-mile long sandy beach, accessible from the village of Oxwich. It is a popular spot for swimming and watersports including diving, sailing, water skiing and windsurfing. There is a public footpath along the cliffs from Oxwich Bay, around Oxwich Point, and to Port Eynon Bay. Buses run every couple of hours between Oxwich and Port Eynon.

A wetland site at the rear of the dunes forms Oxwich Burrows National Nature Reserve^[1] The dunes are crossed by a small stream called Nicholaston Pill. The bay ends at the eastern end with the cliffs of High Tor; but at low tide, a continuous sandy beach connects with Three Cliffs Bay beyond.

Submarine cables leave the mainland of Britain from Oxwich. These include the SOLAS cable across the Irish Sea, and the TAT-11 and Gemini North transatlantic telephone cables. These latter two do not terminate here but instead continue on to France (TAT-11) and England (Gemini).

On 1 February 2007, The Travel Magazine named Oxwich beach the most beautiful in Britain.^[2]

References

1. ^ http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/gcrdb/GCRsiteaccount1988.pdf
2. ^ BBC News South West - Gower beach named Britain's best

External links

• grid reference SS513874
• Forces of Nature: Oxwich Bay: Beach information
• Oxwich
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Oxwich Bay and surrounding area
• Landslide at Oxwich Bay December 2009 British Geological Survey

Coordinates: 51°33′57″N 4°08′48″W / 51.56581°N 4.14679°W / 51.56581; -4.14679