I walked from Rhossili Village to Llangennith along the beach on a clear autumn morning, when the air was crisp and the tide was pulling out fast. The drive down to Rhossili was quiet at that hour, though the National Trust car park was already beginning to fill with early walkers and surfers. I laced my boots, shouldered the pack, and dropped down the path toward the sweep of sand.
The beach stretched wide and empty, firm underfoot where the tide had only recently retreated. Worm’s Head stood out to the south, its silhouette clear against the horizon. The air was sharp with salt, and the only sound was the steady crash of waves. The openness was immediate — no cover, no shelter, just sand, sea, and sky.
I set a steady pace northward, the sand flat and easy to walk. The bay seemed endless, the headland at Llangennith far in the distance. My boots crunched on shells scattered along the high tide line, gulls lifting occasionally as I passed.
After about two miles, the rhythm of the walk settled in. The tide had pulled further out, leaving more flat sand to cross. A few surfers carried boards down from the dunes, their wetsuits half-zipped as they jogged toward the waves. Despite the size of the bay, it still felt quiet, each group spaced far apart. The cliffs behind Llangennith slowly grew larger as I pushed on.
I stopped briefly for water, leaning against a driftwood log washed up on the beach, before continuing north.
The final stretch into Llangennith felt longer than it looked. The car park above the dunes was visible well before I reached it, but the distance across the sand stretched out deceptively. The dunes loomed closer, and eventually I climbed through a sandy track cut by countless feet. The soft ground dragged at the boots, making the final climb more effort than the miles before.
At the top, the car park and village spread out, busy with surfers preparing to head down. I took a seat on the dune ridge, looking back across the full length of the bay I’d just walked. The view was as impressive as the effort it took to cover it.
The return was along the same route, this time with the tide further out and even more sand exposed. My legs felt the distance by the halfway point, but the flat footing kept the pace steady. The silhouette of Worm’s Head grew larger with each step until finally the slope back to Rhossili came into reach.
Back at the village, I stopped at the café near the car park for a coffee and a sandwich, legs tired but satisfied with the distance covered.
The walk from Rhossili Village to Llangennith is all about scale. The flat sand makes for straightforward walking, but the sheer distance and exposure test stamina. It’s a route where the horizon hardly seems to move, and the reward is standing at either end knowing you’ve covered the full sweep of one of the UK’s greatest beaches.
– **Distance**: Around 6 miles each way (12 miles return).
– **Weather**: Clear autumn skies, cool and breezy.
– **Terrain**: Firm flat beach sand, soft dunes at either end.
– **Parking**: National Trust car park at Rhossili; large pay field at Llangennith.
– **Gear**: Comfortable boots or trail shoes, water, snacks for the distance.
