Description
Gower was designated Britain’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956 to preserve the landscape, flora and fauna, to control development and to ensure the area was protected for future generations. The history of Gower stretches back millions of years, from the creation of the rocks themselves. The oldest human skeleton in Britain, The Red Lady of Paviland, was discovered on the peninsula and remains of mammoths and bears have also been found. There are Neolithic Burial Chambers and standing stones, buried churches and even buried villages. Shipwrecks can still be seen on the beaches and occasionally unexploded ordnance washed up. Gower is an extremely popular tourist destination, with no less than fourteen caravan and campsites. It has a very high proportion of Blue Flag beaches and a few with seasonal lifeguard support. Surfers, beach combers, walkers, sun bathers, rock climbers and bird watchers are all at home on Gower. Some of the place names on Gower owe themselves to the Viking invasion – for example, Worms Head or Wurm which is old English or Viking for serpent. It is possible that Swansea derived its name from the Viking Sweyne, whose burial chamber is on Rhossili Down.
