The top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula, Wales

The Gower Peninsula is a beautiful part of the South Wales coastline. It has some beautiful huge beaches and so many great walks. Here are the top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula. 

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What time of year should I visit Gower Peninsula? 

The Gower Peninsula is beautiful throughout the spring, summer and autumn. You can enjoy the top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula, Wales at any time between roughly March and November. Even winter would be ok if you don’t mind cold weather, more rain and dark evenings. However, I prefer the slightly warmer months of the year. 

If you’re visiting with your dog, I’d recommend going in spring or autumn. Dogs are allowed on most beaches before 1st May, or after 30 September. So if you visit either side of these times, your dog will have a lot more freedom. 
Spring and autumn also bring slightly cooler weather than the summer, which again is perfect for long dog walks. 

What is the weather like on the Gower Peninsula? 

Whatever time of the year you’re visiting Wales, it’s best to be prepared for some rain. I visited the Gower Peninsula at the beginning of October, and while I had some beautiful sunny days, I also had some awful weather! Heavy rain with 48mph winds meant walking along the exposed beaches was…challenging! Even with full waterproofs, I got completely soaked. Hopefully your trip will have slightly better weather, but it’s best to be prepared for rain! And remember, the temperature on the coast can feel a few degrees cooler than inland. 

What should I pack for dog walks on the Gower Peninsula? 

I’d definitely recommend getting this walking guide ready for your trip to the Gower Peninsula (affiliate). It’s got some great walk ideas, and useful maps as well. 

As well as your walking guide and maps, other essential things to pack for the top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula are: 

• Walking boots – ideally waterproof boots with good ankle support 
• Waterproof coat and trousers – ready for the inevitable Welsh rain 
• Camera – for taking hundreds of photos of the beautiful scenery
• Fleece or warm clothing -depending on the time of year, but it’s best to be prepared 
• Water – take plenty, especially if it’s going to be a warm day 
• Picnic lunch – so you can spend the whole day out exploring 

For your dog, make sure you pack: 

• Water – again, take plenty if it’s going to be warm 
• Treats – if you let them off lead on the beach you might need to encourage them to come back! 
• Lead – some part of the walks require dogs to be on a lead 
• Ball – to play fetch on the wide open beaches 
• Towel – to dry them off after they’ve been in the sea, before they get in your car 
• Mud Daddy – this portable shower is great for getting the worst mud and sand off you dog before they get in the car. Check out this great product here (affiliate). 

The top 4 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula 

1. Rhossili Beach and Worms Head

For one of the best dog walks on the Gower Peninsula, head to Rhossili Beach. It’s definitely my favourite beach on the Gower Peninsula. The huge expanse of golden sand is beautiful, and I love watching the waves rolling in. I’d love to live in the house just behind the beach. 

There’s a National Trust car park at Rhossili Beach, at the end of the bay near Worms Head. It’s free for National Trust members, or £6 for all day parking. 

Start your walk enjoying the beautiful views over Rhossili Beach. Follow the well marked paths up to Worms Head, the rocky outcrop just at the end of the bay. 

It’s possible to walk out to Worms Head at low tide. However, it’s only possible a few hours either side of low tide. There’s a small hut near the end of Worms Head that tells you the tide times so you know if it’s safe to walk out. Even if you can’t walk out, you can still get beautiful views. 

The coast path continues, and as you walk you’re rewarded with magnificent views over the cliffs and the sea. It’s just beautiful on a sunny day. 

I loved the views down to Fall Bay beach as well. 

You can continue this walk for as long as you like. Just follow the signs for the Wales coast path, and enjoy the views that change around every corner. And when you’ve walked far enough, you can just turn back. Walking back the same way is still beautiful, as you get the sea views from a different angle. 

Back at Rhossili Beach, reward yourself after a long walk with tea and cake from the Bay Cafe. I’d recommend the carrot cake there.

You can sit outside the cafe and enjoy the beautiful views over Rhossili Bay. It’s just stunning. 

2. Three Cliffs Bay and Pennard Castle

For day 2 of the top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula, head over to my favourite beach in the area. Three Cliffs Bay is just beautiful, with some amazing cliffs and rock formations.

Park at the National Trust Car Park at Southgate, which is free for National Trust members. From the car park, keep the sea on your left and follow the coast path. After about 20-30 minutes walking, you’ll start to see the views over Oxwich Beach open up. Shortly afterwards, you’ll start to be able to see down to Three Cliffs Bay. The weather was really interesting on the day I did this walk – it could be sunny, then within 5 minutes there would be a torrential downpour. Then 5 minutes later it would be sunny again. The changeable weather really added to the views, as the lighting seemed to change every few minutes and there were some amazing rainbows.

There are often several options of different paths to choose from, all winding through the gorse bushes and ferns. Don’t worry about which one you pick – as long as you keep the sea on your left, the paths all join up again regularly. I tried to take the paths closest to the sea, so then I could get the best views across the sea possible.

Follow the sandy path down to Three Cliffs Beach. Then take your time exploring the beach. It’s a great place to let your dog off lead to have a good run around. And the views are just incredible.

I loved looking out to sea across the beautiful golden sand. The cliffs are really impressive as well, and you can really see where the Three Cliffs beach got its name from.

There’s also a really interesting cave in the rocks as well which you can walk through.

If you’re lucky enough to visit on a sunny day, the views across the beach to the sea are just beautiful. It’s a great place to stop for a picnic lunch.

When you’ve spent enough time on the beach, you can head back up the coast path to continue your walk. Keeping the sea on your left again, you can continue along the coast path. After a short time, the coast path starts to meander inland. From here, you can get views of Pennard Castle.

The path continues along Pennard Pill river towards Pennard Castle. It’s a bit of an uphill climb to get up to the castle, and walking on the soft sand can be difficult. But it’s worth it when you get to the top and can see the castle ruins. You can read more about the castle ruins here.

From this point, I decided to retrace my steps and walk back the way I came so I could spend some more time on the beach. Even walking back along the same coast path to the car park at Southgate, you still get beautiful sea views in the other direction. It’s such a lovely part of the Gower Peninsula.

3. Oxwich Bay beach and sand dunes

The last of the top 3 dog walks on the Gower Peninsula starts at Oxwich Bay. There’s plenty of parking right by the beach at Oxwich Bay Car Park, and it’s £5 for a full day parking. I visited on a very rainy, windy day, but the beach was still beautiful.

Start your day just walking along the beautiful huge beach. It really is beautiful. If you’re visiting outside of the peak summer months, there shouldn’t be too many people around. So it’s perfect to let your dog off lead to run around and have fun. 

The weather was very foggy and rainy when I was here, but the views of the cliffs through the clouds were still beautiful. I also really enjoyed the sand dunes that line the back of the beach. 

Make sure you keep an eye out for wildlife as well, as the sand dunes behind the beach are a nature reserve. I loved seeing these Sanderlings as they ran down to the sea, then scampered backwards to avoid the incoming waves. 

I walked the entire length of the beach to get to the rocks, past all the sand dunes. 

After getting to the end of the beach, I then turned back. Hopefully you’ll have better weather on your trip than I did! Walking back was challenging for me, with 48mph wind against me, and heavy rain as well as sand blowing into my face. Now I’m back in the warm, I can laugh at how bad the weather was! 

Oxwich Bay Sand Dunes

When you get to the stream that runs down the beach into the sea, you can take the path into the sand dunes. It’s easy to find, with a bridge over the river. The path through the sand dunes is well signposted. It’s also a lot more sheltered than being on the beach. 

The views across the sand dunes were lovely. I was surprised how green it was, when we were so close to the beach. Your dog can enjoy the variety of smells in the long grasses. Just remember to keep your dog on a lead on this part of the walk, as the path goes through the Oxwich Nature Reserve. 

When you get to the road, take the left hand path. This path takes you across the sand dunes and back towards the beach. Once you get to the beach, you can see back to the car park. It’s a beautiful walk with a great beach and great same dunes. 

Enjoy the top 3 walks on the Gower Peninsula, Wales! And remember to check out this walking guide ready for your trip (affiliate). South Wales has so much beautiful scenery, so make sure you visit some more places on your trip. Barry Island has a great beach, or you can visit the nearby Mumbles. There’s also beautiful scenery in the Brecon Beacons National Park and on the coast in Cardigan Bay, Wales.