Surfing on the Gower

Surf Spots Gower

The Gower is a special place to surf, with around 45 miles of coastline, beaches facing all directions, and a huge tidal range, there is an abundance of surf spots for all conditions and skills.

With over 50 surf spots to choose from it can be a tough call to know what spot to choose for the conditions and tides – but that makes exploring it all the more fun.

The Gower has beaches, reefs, points, sand banks and slabs to choose from.  Some are easy to access – some are not!

This list will not name them all (some have to stay secret!) you will have to discover some yourself – but as an area of natural beauty, it’s not a horrible task.

As you drive into Swansea along the south coast your first beach is the long and magnificent Swansea bay,  but apart from the stormiest of days there is no surfing here, its facing south east and is sheltered from nearly all swell by the beautiful mumbles head with its pier and lighthouse that can be seen for miles.

The first real surf spot you hit on the south coast is Langland.  And due to its proximity to most of the population of Swansea it can get very crowded.  It has a large tidal range and lots of rocks and reefs dotted around it, so it can be treacherous for beginners with its rocks and rips.  However, for intermediate surfers and up it’s a playground that catches a lot of the swells and works through all tides, with around 10 different waves to choose from through the tides. It’s offshore on any northerly wind – but mostly has swells accompanied by westerly and south westerly onshore winds – it’s a small bay surrounded by high hills so remains sheltered and clean even on the worst of days!

Next is Caswell, a short drive over the hill, this is less crowded and great for beginners as it’s all sand bottom.  It’s a beautiful bay and has easy to get on with soft waves and catches a similar swell to Langland – a great option to introduce yourself to Gower surfing. 

Both of these have car parking and are a short drive from the city.

Next is another south east facing bay that is the only real option for storm surf – Oxwich bay.  There are a few unmentionables in between, but you will have to discover those yourselves!  Oxwich is clean and offshore when it’s storm force west and south westerly wind – and you can get clean surf in the west corner on the stormiest of days.  This can get really crowded as it’s the only real option on those days – but the beach stretches out a long way so you can always find some uncrowded peaks.

Then the last South facing surf spot is Horton – which is the east side of Port Eynon Bay,  this is a fickle spot but it can be great – picks up more swell than Oxwich but is more exposed to the winds -  but a great option if you want less crowds.

Between Port Eynon and the Worm's head is where most of the famous Gower reefs are located – these are for you to find – the walk is amazing – good luck!

Then we come to Rhossili beach – a real jewel in the crown of Gower beaches – winner of numerous awards, this beach is a must for visitors to the Gower.   At the south end is Rhossili and this is slightly more sheltered and has softer slightly smaller waves than the middle and north end – ideal for beginners and those looking for some extra shelter.  It is a big walk down and especially back up though – bear that in mind.

In the middle is Llangennith – Gowers most popular and most surfed beach.  This catches all the swell that comes in and is often too big and wild to surf in winter – but is the only consistent spot all summer – with miles of sand and a big tide there are banks everywhere and while straight out from the car park can get busy – just a short walk north or south can yield empty peaks.  At high tide, right up in the north corner, is the best high-performance wave on the Gower – three peaks – at the right tide and conditions, there will be all the Gower's top surfers and photographers here to surf and snap this highly photogenic spot.  If you have surfed on the Gower or want to – Llangenith is the main place to head for with a large carpark that has camper vans al over it as surfers hang out all day cooking lunch and catching rays in between surfs.

Lastly, we have Broughton Bay. This is a long left point sand bottom break that mainly works in winter on big swells. Southerly winds are offshore, so it's not ideal for shortboards, although it can be—but it is always ideal for anything from mid length to mals. Strong rips here as it’s right in the Loughor estuary, which has the biggest tidal range in the UK—up to 13 metres!

So that is your basic guide to Gower surfing – but like I say with over 50 spots to discover there is so much more to it than written above.  The Gower surfers are a friendly, welcoming bunch. Although it can get quite competitive and intimidating on good days at crowded spots, be polite and mindful of positioning, and everyone will happily take you out for a beer after surfing.  Gower also has some great surf shops run by some household Gower surf names that will be happy to give advice and send you to the best spots.

Especially ours - Love waves Gower - in Killay !!