Saturday 16 June 2012

Island 165 - Worm's Head, Gower, Wales

Worms Head is a long thin tidal island located at the south end of Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula.  It has been owned by the National Trust since 1967.  It is accessible for 2.5 hours either side of low tide and the safe crossing times are displayed outside the National Coastwatch Institute Station at the top of the cliff.  It is about a mile level walk along a gravel path on top of the cliffs from the car park (charge) at Rhossili Bay and it takes 15-20 minutes to cross the rocky causeway.

I arrived too early and the causeway was only just beginning to clear, so I went and found a few geocaches and by the time I got back it was clear.  It isn't the easiest causeway to cross.  The hardest part is at the landward end where the rock strata is diagonal.  After that it is a question of picking a route around the rock pools.  Most of the rocks are free of seaweed and are covered in barnacles and small mussels.  The barnacles provide excellent grip, although it wouldn't be a soft landing if you fell on them.  As you approach the Inner Head it gets a bit harder once again.  The causeway is only about 500 metres long but depending on which route you take, you are likely to walk at least twice that to find a relatively dry crossing.  I was wearing walking boots and didn't get wet feet but if you were wearing trainers you would be lucky to get across with dry feet.

There were several people wandering about on the causeway but I had Worms Head to myself, which was surprising on a bank holiday weekend.  However it was wet and windy, so that might account for the lack of visitors!

Inner Head was covered with thrift, meadow cranesbill, kidney vetch, spring squill and birds foot trefoil, all of which were in flower.  

Low neck separates the Inner and Outer Heads.  Low neck is a causeway of very jagged rocks with no clear path through them.  I think it is above the level of high tide but I would think that in stormy conditions waves break over it, as it is devoid of vegetation.  From March to August - the bird breeding season - there is no access to the Outer Head to prevent disturbance to the birds.  There is a water spout on Outer Head.


 Outer Head and the Devil's Bridge - a natural arch


 Outer Head and the Devil's Bridge
 
 The rocky causeway is beginning to clear
 - just over 3 hours before low tide

Inner Head and notice warning of the dangers of getting cut off by the tide.

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