Caswell Bay

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Caswell Bay is a sandy beach on the southeast coast of the Gower Peninsula in Swansea, Wales. It’s popular with families, holidaymakers and surfers and often earns Blue Flag status for cleanliness and safety. The beach is easy to reach by car or by First Cymru buses from Swansea Bus Station. There is a large pay‑and‑display car park, and buses go to the nearby village of Oystermouth and to the Mumbles.

From the bay you can walk east along a coastal path to Langland Bay, or go west along a more rural path to Brandy Cove and Pwlldu Bay. The area has a year‑round cafe and a beach shop. The Surfside Cafe was badly damaged in storms in early 2014 but reopened after repairs. Public toilets and outdoor public showers are available. Swansea City Council runs a lifeguard service seven days a week from early May to the start of September. The bay is a popular surfing spot and has a surf school offering lessons all year, as well as a fully adaptive and inclusive surf centre opened in 2020 next to the car park. Caswell Bay is also well known for rock pooling.

Behind the bay lies Bishop’s Wood, a rare limestone woodland nature reserve that is open to the public for unaccompanied visits, with educational tours available through the Bishop’s Wood countryside centre.

From 1 May to 30 September, dogs are not allowed on the beach.

History: In the 1800s much of the land around Caswell Bay was bought by John James for his daughter and son‑in‑law, the Morgans. The land on the eastern side was later sold to photographer John Dillwyn Llewelyn, who built Caswell Cottage nearby. The area has links to famous residents and visitors over the years, including poet Vernon Watkins and other residents who helped shape the bay. The Caswell Bay Hotel later became Caswell Bay Court apartments.

In 2006 Caswell Bay was named as one of the UK’s top 50 beaches by The Guardian. In 2020 the world’s first fully adaptive surf centre was built at Caswell Bay, created by volunteers for a BBC Children in Need project.