During the time I ran my business I was a member of BNI (Business Networking International) for more than five years. We met every Friday morning at the Norton House hotel in beautiful Mumbles for a business meeting to pass referrals and learn more about how to promote our businesses and get more customers. For a few years during my time with them I was the only woman in the group so used to call myself one of the boys, which stuck over the years.
Every year we have a get together to enjoy our local culture and scenery and have a social drink or two. We have been going to the Gower peninsula for the last few years as it is such a beautiful place. We hire a mini bus and travel throughout the whole of the Gower admiring the views from various watering holes along the way.
As part of my travels I intend visiting as many beautiful places as is possible but it’s not always just about the scenery, it’s about the people you share it with, I love the company of my friends from the BNI, they are such a friendly bunch who have become firm friends over the years and I will miss them when I am off on my travels so I wanted to spend one last trip with them over the Gower so I could marvel at the wonderful places on our doorstep.
One of my favourite places in the world is Rhossili, it has been voted in the top ten beaches all over the world in the last few years and it is truly astounding, as you park your car in the huge carpark close to the end of Worms Head you can’t see the sight that awaits you, but once out of the car and walking towards the beach it hits you, the sheer beauty that is Rhossili, miles of beach where surfers love to enjoy their sport, hills high enough for the brilliant brightly coloured paragliders to meet and fly.
A haven for all kinds of sporting activities, including hill climbing, horse riding, hiking and general strolling as well as the already mentioned paragliding, surfing, swimming etc. There are wonderful cliffside walks, and a scenic walk over to the Worms Head which is a peninsula in itself filled with many species of birdlife and sea life animals such as seals and I think a dolphin or two have been spotted just off the coast at some point. You have to be very careful with your timings as you need to walk over just as the tide goes out to uncover the walkway and you need to make it back before the tide comes back in and cuts you off. (I secretly always wanted to be cut off with my tent so I could sleep on the Worm and enjoy the peace and tranquility for one night but it’s not really allowed). As you approach the point where you cross over there is a sign which clearly tells you what time you need to come back to make it before the cut-off.
Near the path down to the beach there is a lovely little seaside café with the best views over the beach towards Llangennith and the mainland and also a traditional hotel called the Worms Head hotel where you can stay a few nights or just call in for food and wine and sit in the beer garden and watch the sun go down marveling at the most wonderful sunsets ever. In summer it is busy with lots of tourists mingling with all the locals but in the winter the weather casts a different light over Rhossili and the winds and rain make it a wildly wonderful walking place, after your walk you can return to the hotel where they have a roaring log fire and you can enjoy the food, wine and hospitality, not forgetting to chat to the local friendly characters.
Every year that we have organised our tour of the Gower the weather has been kind to us and this year was no different, the sun was shining which always makes for a more enjoyable time. We had many laughs and visited many pubs but my favourite will always be the Worms Head hotel. We laughed and drank in the beer garden while enjoying the wonderful views, with maybe a little too much wine.
Rhossili will always hold a special place in my heart because of the time I have spent there over the years. I have paraglided there with the paragliding club, hiked from Port Eynon to Rhossili along the cliff tops with my eldest daughter, hiked over to the worm with my boys when we were camping there one summer, we also went swimming in the lovely beaches around the coastline and body boarded at Rhossili beach. I have cycled there on my own on many occasions and with my friends from the best cycling club in Bynea. When I was ill last year my youngest daughter took me there for a visit and we had a short walk along the cliffs admiring the scenery and watching the sheep graze so close to the cliff edge.
I am lucky I live in such a wonderful place where my adventures started a long time ago, even though I am now off on the adventure of a lifetime, leading up to this point the adventures I have had have been many, which I will talk about during my travels.