Port Eynon

Port Eynon is a village and community in the city and county of Swansea, Wales. The community has its own elected community council. The village is located in the remote south western corner of the Gower peninsula which is a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

Port Eynon Bay

Port Eynon Bay is a very popular beach resort beside the village of Port Eynon. Port Eynon Point, to the south west of the bay, is the most southerly point of the Gower peninsula. The bay is also in the area of outstanding natural beauty.

Port Eynon Village

The village itself is fairly small and extends from the beach to the top of the hill. Port Eynon village has two fish and chip shops at the sea front, a Youth Hostel, a pub, a coffee shop and a restaurant.

A neighbouring village, Overton, is to the north west of Port Eynon and footpaths from Overton lead to Overton Mere, a stony and rocky beach. Also, the village of Horton is at the east end of the main beach, approximately half a mile from Port Eynon.

History

Port Eynon is thought to be named after an 11th century Welsh Prince named Eynon. Eynon is a surname in Wales and the church graveyard in the village shows gravestones with this surname. It is believed that the Prince built Port Eynon castle which no longer exists.

Smuggling is thought to have been a common engagement of the local residents in the 17th century to 19th century.

A derelict "salt house" used for extracting salt from sea water is located a quarter of a mile from the village, just off Port Eynon Point.

In the second half of the 18th century, through to 1919, a lifeboat was operated from Port Eynon. On several occasions, the lives of lifeboatmen were lost at sea on rescues. On the 1st January 1916 the lives of three young men were lost in the Port Eynon Lifeboat Disaster when the lifeboat went to the assistance of SS Dunvegan which was shipwrecked off Oxwich point. A memorial to these men exists in the village churchyard. Copies of news articles on the Disaster can be seen on the wall of the local fish and chip shop in Port Eynon - The Captain's Table.

Overview for Visitors

*The villages of Port Eynon and Horton have numerous camp sites.
*Footpaths exist for walking to Rhossili in the west and Oxwich towards the east.
*Children often use the rock pools at Port Eynon point for crab and lobster fishing etc.
*The Gower Holiday Village is a few miles inland from Port Eynon and offers indoor facilities such as swimming and Sauna.
*Windsurfers and Kitesurfing enthusiasts use the east end of the beach at Horton as a launch point. In rough southwest to westerly conditions expert Windsurfers sail out to Port Eynon Point where excellent wave sailing can be found. Near high tide the wave breaks can make launching difficult. Surfers also use the beach near high tide for the same reason, but the quality of surf is not as good as can be found a Llangennith/Rhossili.

External links

* [http://www.enjoygower.com/communities/porteynoncom.cfm Information on Port Eynon village]
* [http://www.enjoygower.com/beaches/beaches01.cfm Gower Beaches]
* [http://www.swansea-gower.co.uk/villages/porteynon.htm Port Eynon village]
* [http://www.swansea-gower.co.uk/beaches/porteynonbay.htm Information on Port Eynon Bay]
* [http://www.the-gower.com/villages/Porteynon/porteynon.htm Information on Port Eynon]
* [http://www.thegowercoast.com/villages/port_eynon Port Eynon ]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2730690 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Port Eynon and surrounding area]