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Second car driven along Gower coast path at Mumbles

Walkers heading out along the Gower coast path on Saturday morning found a brand new Kia jammed across…
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https://www.europesays.com/britain/122980/ Second car driven along Gower coast path at Mumbles #CllrWillThomas #featured #GowerCoastPath #Limeslade #Mumbles #Rotherslade #SwanseaCouncil #UK #UnitedKingdom #WalesCoastPath

MUMBLES: Car driven along Gower coast path months after £80,000 accessibility upgrade

A car was driven along the Gower coast path between Limeslade and Rotherslade on Monday — a walking route upgraded for wheelchair users and families at a cost of £80,000 less than a year ago.

The white hatchback was seen on the narrow clifftop path on Monday afternoon, with witnesses reporting the driver appeared lost and was travelling on a burst front tyre.

A photograph shared in a local Facebook group showed the car part-way along the path, which runs above the rocks between the two bays, with the sea below.

According to an account posted by one walker, the driver was later helped by others to change the tyre and turn the car around, making it back to Limeslade in a damaged vehicle.

South Wales Police confirmed the incident after being contacted by Swansea Bay News.

A force spokesperson said a PCSO was sent to the area and found the picture to be legitimate, with witnesses having seen the car on the path — though it had been removed before the officer arrived.

The path is a pedestrian route and is not open to vehicles.

The stretch between Rotherslade and Limeslade completed an £80,000 upgrade in November, the final phase of a multi-year project to make the route between the bays accessible for wheelchair users, families with pushchairs and less mobile walkers.

Swansea Council said its countryside access team visited the path the following day and found no car and no damage to the surface.

Asked whether any barriers or signage were in place to stop vehicles reaching the path, the council indicated it would now review the question.

A spokesperson for Swansea Council said: “The path was built to make it accessible for walkers and the emergency services. In the light of what’s happened, we’re going to see if any changes are needed.”

The route is among the most popular short coastal walks in Swansea, linking Limeslade Bay with Rotherslade and Langland, and had previously been diverted and rebuilt following coastal erosion.

It forms part of the wider Wales Coast Path and the network of walking routes around Gower, the first area in the UK to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has information about it, can contact South Wales Police on 101.

The council did not say when its review of access measures would conclude, or what physical changes might be considered.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

£80,000 upgrade completed on Gower coast path between Rotherslade and Limeslade
The accessibility improvements finished last November.

ACTIVE TRAVEL: The big redraw of Swansea’s walking and cycling map
What’s changing across the city’s paths and routes.

GOWER: The UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty turns 70
Why the peninsula remains one of Britain’s most special places.

RICS AWARDS: Y Storfa named Wales’ Project of the Year — as Llanelli’s Pentre Awel and Porthcawl’s Sker House complete a near clean sweep

A former department store reborn as the front door to Swansea’s public services has been named Wales’ Project of the Year — headlining an awards night where three of the four Welsh winners came from Swansea, Llanelli and Porthcawl.

Y Storfa took the top honour at the RICS Awards Wales ceremony, held at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff on Wednesday, as well as winning the public sector project category outright.

The community hub was created through the refurbishment of the former BHS building in Swansea city centre, delivered as part of the council’s £1bn regeneration programme.

It brings the city’s public services together under one roof — the central library, archives, employment support, learning spaces and community facilities — and has quickly become one of the busiest buildings in the city centre.

The awards, run by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, recognise the most impressive recent projects in land, property, construction and infrastructure — and this year’s Welsh winners had a distinctly local flavour.

Canolfan Pentre Awel in Llanelli won the community benefit category — recognition for the 20,000 square metre health and wellbeing campus that opened last year as the first phase of the Swansea Bay City Deal-funded Pentre Awel development.

Led by Carmarthenshire County Council in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board, Cardiff University, Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Coleg Sir Gâr, the Canolfan combines leisure facilities with community health services, business space and education — designed to help people lead active, healthier lives for longer.

The heritage award went to Sker House, the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor that rises from the dunes outside Porthcawl, gazing out over the coastline.

Ruinous and almost lost, the house was rescued by a building preservation trust and restored in 1999 — with its collapsed ruin finally rebuilt in 2024, completing a restoration spanning more than thirty years. The awards described it as now one of the finest Elizabethan houses in Wales.

The house carries a fame of its own beyond its architecture: it is the setting of the Maid of Sker legend, which gave R.D. Blackmore’s Victorian novel its name.

The fourth Welsh winner was Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, which took the refurbishment category for a redevelopment delivered inside a live hospital — an approach the judges heard cuts embodied carbon by around 40% compared with building new. Caerphilly Castle’s regeneration project was highly commended in the heritage category.

All the Welsh winners now go forward to represent Wales at the RICS UK Grand Final on Thursday 22 October.

Kerry Gibbs, the RICS UK national awards chair, said the awards shone a spotlight on “the most inspiring people, projects and innovations shaping the built and natural environment”, with more than 300 entries received across the twelve UK regions this year.

She said the awards helped demonstrate “the positive impact that surveyors, as well as buildings, have on individuals and communities”.

For Swansea, the national nod caps a run of milestones for the city centre’s transformation — and with the Civic Centre’s proposed seafront successor now out to public consultation, the next chapter is already being written.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

LLANELLI: More NHS services moving to Pentre Awel — here’s what’s relocating and when
The flagship health and leisure campus keeps filling up.

SWANSEA: First look inside the Civic Centre’s aquarium
The most detailed view yet of the seafront site’s proposed transformation.

COPR BAY: Opening day named for long-delayed car park
628 spaces and £1-an-hour parking in the next phase of the city centre’s regeneration.

https://www.europesays.com/britain/25880/ GOWER: The UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty turns 70 – here’s why it’s still one of Britain’s most special places #AONB #AreaOfOutstandingNaturalBeauty #Britain #Gower #GowerNationalLandscape #GowerPeninsula #Rhossili #RhossiliBay #SwanseaCouncil #WalesCoastPath

GOWER: The UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty turns 70 – here’s why it’s still one of Britain’s most special places

The Gower Peninsula is celebrating a landmark birthday this month – turning 70 as the UK’s very first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a designation that transformed how Britain thinks about protecting its most treasured landscapes.

On 9 May 1956, Gower became the first place in the UK to be officially recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), setting a precedent that has since led to 46 National Landscapes being protected across the country. Seventy years on, it remains one of Wales’s most visited and most loved destinations.

The peninsula’s appeal is easy to understand. From the award-winning sands of Rhossili and the dramatic limestone cliffs of the south coast to rolling green commons, saltmarshes, hidden coves and charming villages, Gower has been stopping people in their tracks for generations. It is possible to surf in the morning, walk along the Wales Coast Path in the afternoon, and watch the sun set over one of the UK’s most photographed coastlines in the evening.

Gower is also steeped in extraordinary history. The peninsula is home to Europe’s oldest known ceremonial human burial site – the Red Lady of Paviland, dating back around 34,000 years – as well as standing stones, shipwrecks, caves, castles and the famous Arthur’s Stone. Few places in Britain pack so much natural and cultural heritage into such a compact area.

More recently, Gower was also designated as one of 46 National Landscapes across the UK, reflecting a modernisation of the way protected landscapes are described. The legal status as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty remains unchanged, but the new name signals a broader ambition to connect people with the land and promote sustainable use alongside conservation.

Gower has also become South Wales’s first International Dark Sky Community – a recognition of the quality of its night skies and a sign of how protected landscapes are adapting to modern challenges beyond simply preserving what is there.

Tracey McNulty, Swansea Council‘s head of service for cultural services, said the anniversary was a chance to celebrate not just the landscape but the people who make it special. “The anniversary is a chance to celebrate not just Gower’s landscapes, but also the people, communities and businesses that help make it such a welcoming place,” she said.

She added that Gower continued to pioneer new approaches to land management. “Gower continues to be a pioneer, becoming South Wales’ first International Dark Sky Community, showing how protected landscapes adapt to modern challenges.”

Swansea Council is encouraging everyone to get involved in the celebrations, whether visiting for the first time or returning to a favourite spot. “We’re welcoming everyone to be part of the celebrations whether you’re discovering Gower for the first time, or coming back to your favourite happy place,” McNulty said. “Explore responsibly, support local businesses and help keep this beautiful corner of South West Wales special for years to come.”

Gower’s designation in 1956 came at a time when rapid post-war development was threatening some of Britain’s most significant natural areas. The new AONB status gave the peninsula legal protection and established a framework that has since been applied across the UK, from the Cotswolds to the Causeway Coast.

Today the peninsula attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, contributing significantly to Swansea’s tourism economy. The challenge for the next 70 years will be balancing that popularity with the conservation of the very qualities that make Gower so special.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Gower named one of the best places on Earth to stargaze as Dark Sky status confirmed
How Gower earned its place among the world’s finest stargazing destinations.

Rhossili named among world’s best beaches
The iconic Gower bay earns global recognition once again.

Three Cliffs, Whitesands and Saundersfoot shine in UK’s best beaches list
More of our stunning local coastline makes national headlines.

Pembrokeshire and Gower both rank in top 5 underrated UK staycation spots
Two of our patch’s finest destinations earn well-deserved national recognition.

Rhossili Bay named in list of best places to go sunset spotting
Another accolade for one of Wales’s most photogenic beaches.

80,000 pound upgrade completed on Gower Coast Path between Rotherslade and Limeslade
Investment in one of Wales’s most popular coastal walking routes.

Rhossili cliff horses win reprieve after National Trust meeting
The much-loved horses on Rhossili cliffs get to stay put.

Bright future for felled forest as Wildlife Trust creates new nature reserve on Gower
Conservation work transforms a former forest into a thriving new habitat.

Huw Stephens brings the legend of Pennard Castle’s faeries to life in Trackanory series
Gower’s rich folklore gets the Radio Wales treatment.

£80,000 upgrade completed on Gower coast path between Rotherslade and Limeslade

Swansea Council has completed the final two sections of the coast path between Rotherslade and Limeslade, installing a 310‑metre concrete path that is 1.5 metres wide.

The full route stretches for 1.7km and has been subject to repeated works in recent years due to coastal erosion. In March, a new 450‑metre section was added, following a 270‑metre stretch completed in 2022.

The latest upgrade forms part of an £80,000 investment funded through the council’s highways maintenance programme.

Path strengthened against erosion

Andrew Stevens, Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure, said thousands of people use the Gower coast path each year and the council has acted to protect it.

“The section between Limeslade and Rotherslade has unfortunately been a victim of coastal erosion in recent years, and we have done all we can to create new sections and divert it away from the affected area. This has also given us the opportunity to create a more accessible walking route that everyone can access.”

Accessible for all

Cllr Stevens added:

“We have now completed the final two short sections that have not been upgraded. While they were not impacted by coastal erosion, they now provide improved access for families with pushchairs and also wheelchair users. We’ve chosen to invest some of our highways and transport budget to enable the upgrade to take place.”

Part of wider All Wales Coast Path

Swansea’s section of the All Wales Coast Path was officially opened in 2012, linking 61km of coastline around the peninsula. Walkers can trek from Swansea’s SA1 waterfront through Caswell Bay, Port Eynon, Rhossili and Llanmadoc, right through to Loughor.

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