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WALK 3

Bishopston Valley

Start/Finish	St Teilo’s Church, Bishopston (SS 5774 8937)
Distance	6.5km (4 miles)
Total ascent	180m
Time	2hrs
Refreshments	Joiners Arms and The Valley pub in Bishopston.

This route explores the beautiful and interesting Bishopston Valley which culminates in the remote cove of Pwlldu Bay. Good food and beer can be enjoyed at the Joiners Arms and The Valley pub near the end of the walk, the former having its own micro-brewery. Another four pubs were thriving at Pwlldu when the quarry here was active. The route follows the valley where the stream disappears and reappears depending on water levels as it crosses the Carboniferous limestone.

Start at St Teilo’s Church where there is plenty of space for car parking. Part of the route to the swallow hole is along the stream-bed; after periods of heavy rain the stream may be flowing and you will have to make a detour. If the stream-bed is dry or there is only a small flow, take the footpath on the opposite side and follow the path; this uses the stream-bed at first, after which there is a path on the other bank to the swallow hole.

Detour to avoid the stream

If the stream is flowing significantly, cross the bridge by the side of the ford, climb Old Kittle Road and turn left opposite the Beaufort Arms onto the track by the side of the green. Pass between the houses and, leaving the National Trust sign on your left, follow the track to Great Kittle Farm. Take the path to the left of the entrance and follow this to where it divides and take the one that drops down the middle of the gully.

Pass a fenced-off area where you will find a large limestone cavern. Once you’ve reached the bottom of the Bishopston Valley, which is surprisingly dry with no stream, turn right, signposted Pwlldu. If you wish to see the impressive swallow hole, turn left and walk for 250m.

The swallow hole is an impressive feature. The stream leading to it is only active during or after heavy rain, and even then the water often disappears just before it reaches the cliff edge where it would form a waterfall. Under exceptional circumstances this enormous hole fills with water and the stream overflows down the valley.

BISHOPSTON VALLEY

Entering the Bishopston Valley from Pwlldu

The underlying geology is Carboniferous limestone, resulting in classic karst features at the surface. The Bishopston Pill disappears and reappears a number of times along the length of the valley, creating caves with magical names such as Guzzle Hole.

The stream disappears underground near Barlands Quarry, leaving the stream-bed and ford below St. Teilo’s Church dry except in periods of high rainfall. There is a rock exposure of the Namurian limestone here. Just south of this is a vast pit with sheer walls and a sink hole in its bottom. A little way along from this, the stream-bed is obviously only infrequently flooded and the valley itself is narrow and gorge-like.

On the opposite side of the valley from Guzzle Hole is Long Ash Mine, an adit around 60m in length, which was abandoned in 1854. This produced lead and silver from a lode formed by mineralisation along a fault. It was never extensively worked, probably due to its tendency to flood. A short distance further up the dry floor of the valley from the mine is the entrance to Guzzle Hole where you can see the stream running underground.

Walking down the steep-sided valley, the stream-bed is very uneven, and after periods of heavy rain you will see water gradually starting to flow in the bed. When this changes character to being smoother you will see another dry stream course on your right, at the head of which is a cave called Guzzle Hole where you will be able to hear and see the underground stream. About 60m further down the valley, the path rises a little and there is a gated entrance to a mine adit, the Long Ash Mine.

The gated entrance to Long Ash Mine

Continue down the valley, cross the dry stream-bed and just further along you will discover the resurgence where the water emerges from three underground passageways called sumps. Follow the path to Pwlldu Bay, ignoring two bridges that cross the stream and a side valley on the right. When the route comes to a National Trust sign at Pwlldu Bay there is a bridge down to your left and a path climbing up the right. To explore the Bay, take the path that drops down to the bridge; do not cross, but head for the houses ahead. Pwlldu is full of interest for its shingle beach, smuggling and quarrying.

PWLLDU BAY SMUGGLING

The smugglers’ lane leading to Highway Farm

Smuggling was commonplace during the 18th and early 19th centuries; of the two secluded houses at Pwlldu, the Beaufort Inn is reputed to have had dealings with smugglers who used its cellar for free storage. The arrangement the landlord had was that fewer barrels left than entered.

One local historian claims that more contraband was landed here than anywhere else in the Bristol Channel. The sheltered bay offered an ideal location for these illegal activities, with the wooded Bishopston valley providing plenty of cover for transporting contraband to the farms at Highway; these were used as staging posts and as headquarters for the smuggling company.

Cross the bridge and take the track up the side of the valley. Leave this by taking a footpath on the left through the wood to where it meets another path at Knapp Farm. Turn left and pass through a number of swing gates until you come to where the path enters a field with the rugby posts of South Gower RFC on your right. Keep to the hedge on your left to a road. Turn left here, pass Backingstone Farm on your right and shortly afterwards take the bridleway on your right.

Turn right when you meet the gate and take the footpath on your right which follows the edge of the valley. Do not take the path that drops down the valley side. At the head of a gully there is a white house. Continue along the path following the valley edge. This brings you into a field where you keep to the left hedge and to a gully. Cross over a fence and a low stone wall and turn right, cross a stile and follow the footpath across the field. At the dwellings take the track straight ahead which brings you to the Joiners Arms and The Valley pub.

Take the path with Prospect Barn on your left down the slope to a road and a house, turn left and take the footpath to the left of the house. This skirts around the graveyard and drops down back to the start at St Teilo’s Church.