Gower was the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK and is rightly famous for its beaches, its surfing and its history. Real Gower joins the two halves of lordship of Gower, the tourism of the peninsula (Gower Anglicana) and the more remote ‘Gower of the Hills’ in the centre and north (Gower Wallicana), place of traditional work. Their differences are linked by a dramatically beautiful landscape. Here are the cliffs, bays and beaches of the south coast, including the iconic Worm’s Head and Rhossili, with their castles, disappearing industrial remains and literary links. And here too are the rugged moorlands stretching north to Castell Pennlle’r on Mynydd y Gwair, start of the Gower Way, with their farms, quiet ruins and slopes to the Loughor Estuary. Nigel Jenkins, Gower born and raised, and always a near neighbour in Swansea, brings a rich mix of history, personal memory and intimate insights as he walks the territory and writes about the place he loved best.
