Middle Head is a grass covered rocky tidal island located 100 metres to south east of Mumbles Pierhead. It is separated from the mainland by a tidal channel called Inner Sound. It is accessible for just over 2.5 hours either side of low tide. I found the easiest access on to it to be on the Mumbles Lighthouse side, although you do have to scramble over a few large boulders to access it whichever route you choose. The tide clears from Middle Head about an hour before it clears from Mumbles Head. The island had a geocache at the time of my visit in 2012 and is covered in wildflowers e.g. thrift, birds foot trefoil, kidney vetch, thrift, buttercups and salad burnet. There are a few scrubby trees on the more sheltered eastern side.
There is a notice at the pier telling you not to walk out to the islands because of the tidal currents, which I could see were very strong, as I arrived 2 hours early and had to wait for the tide to recede.
Highest point on Middle Head
Mainland from Middle Head
Middle Head and Mumbles Head
Mumbles Pier from Middle Head
Is it possible to swim around the island...?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't know. I would imagine that the currents are very strong around both Middle Head and Mumbles Head and that therefore swimming around them wouldn't be advisable.
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