Langland Bay

Langland Bay is a popular coastal holiday resort near Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. In the right conditions, it is one of the best surf beaches in Wales and the West Country. Langland is one of the best beaches in Wales and annually wins the prestigious European Blue Flag award for water/sand quality.

History

Langland Bay, together with Caswell Bay, Rotherslade, Limeslade Bay, Bracelet Bay and Port Eynon, is managed by the City and County of Swansea council. Because of their relative proximity to Swansea, as well as to the South Wales Valleys, Langland Bay and Caswell Bay in particular were extremely popular in the 1950s and 60s with coach daytrippers, as well as being serviced by the South Wales Transport bus route 85, which operated in the summer months. At other times of the year, a walk was necessary from Langland Corner, at the top of Langland Bay Road.

Langland, and the adjacent Rotherslade, or 'Little Langland' as it is sometimes known, were once the location for three hotels: the Langland Bay Hotel, the Ael-y-Don, and the Osborne Hotel. Three further hotels - the Brynfield Hotel, the Langland Court, and the Wittemberg - were located in the immediate hinterland. All, bar one, have closed over the past forty years, and have either been demolished and replaced with luxury apartments (Langland Bay & Osborne), converted to a Nursing Home (Brynfield), converted to flats (Ael-y-Don), closed and been subjected to arson attacks (Langland Court and, previously, the Osborne), or partially demolished and re-opened in its original Victorian core as the Little Langland Hotel (Wittemberg).

By far the most dominant building, built in the mid-nineteenth century and backing on to the Newton Cliffs, was originally known as Llan-y-Llan. Built in the Scottish Baronial style by the Crawshay family, the Merthyr Tydfil Ironmasters, it was used as their summer residence. In the first part of the 20th century it later became part of the Langland Bay Hotel, and later again the Club Union Convalescent Home for coal miners. After a period of closure it has been renamed Langland Bay Manor and been converted into 27 luxury apartments.

As well as the beach huts that still exist, Langland Bay was famous for its 'community' of green canvas beach tents. These were erected annually, usually between April and early September, on the stoney storm beach in front of the promenade. A popular local spectacle was the early September 'spring tide watch' when rough seas would occasionally cause the loss of one or two. Somewhat safer and more sheltered on the higher ground of the Langland Bay Golf Club, [ [http://www.langlandbaygolfclub.com Langland Bay Golf Club] ] a further two rows of tents were permitted. All finally succumbed to increasing levels of vandalism in the 1970s.

Langland Bay has always been the site of sports innovation. Every year in the early 1960s saw local teenagers becoming amongst the first in the country to take up American innovations such as skateboarding, surfing, and fibreglass canoes, which followed on from their parents` use of canvas sea-going canoes earlier in the century.

Access and Facilities

A coastal path links Caswell Bay to the west and Rotherslade and Bracelet Bay to the east. The bay is accessible by road and is serviced by public transport for a short period during the school summer holidays; there are also two large Pay & Display car-parks. Hot and cold snacks are available from two small shops, though these tend to operate limited opening times during the winter and focus on ice-creams and gifts for children. Public showers are available near the beach and a St John's Ambulance Hut and Information Office operate at peak times.

Swansea City Council operate a Surf Lifeguard service at the beach from the end of May to the beginning of September.

The beach hosts 80 Council-owned holiday beach huts, the newest 12 of which at the western end of the Bay were built in the early 1960s. Over the years some of the others have been refurbished, but numbers 40 -72 in particular have been gradually falling in to a sorry state of repair. On July 7th 2007 Planning Applications were posted for the demolition and rebuilding of all 80 huts. Work on this began in October 2007. Whether these will be available for outright sale or on a periodic rental basis is currently unknown.

At the eastern end of the Bay are a number of privately owned beach huts within their own grounds and gated car park. Located at the western end of the beach promenade is The Langland Brasserie, a cafe and restaurant which opened in the summer of 2007.

Sports in Langland

Tennis

Langland Bay features six tennis courts that can be hired by the public. These have been the location in recent years for the extremely popular Swansea Junior Tennis Championships supported by Swansea City Council. In the 1960s the courts hosted a similar tournament but covered a wider age range.

Golf

Langland Bay Golf Club overlooks the bay from the west. The 18-hole course is relatively short, with a standard scratch score of 69. However, the exposed headland can be subject to unpredictable winds that can often affect the game.

Surfing

Langland is popular with the local surfing community due to its convenient location near residential Mumbles and the variety of different waves that can be ridden at different tide levels. At low tide, Crab Island provides what is arguably one of the best shaped and most powerful right hand waves in the country; however, many are put off by the fact that the wave breaks onto the exposed reef, so it is considered far too dangerous for novice surfers. The sandbar which is situated offshore between Langland Point and Crab Island is actually a reef which creates a very powerful and dangerous wave breaking in shallow water. Langland Point offers a more gentle wave on days when the swell is large. At mid-tide, the reef (which is more secluded from the main swell) provides a smaller but crowded wave. At very high tide, the shore-break deposits unwary surfers directly onto stones. Several local surfers have competed on an International level, most notably Carwyn Williams, whose parents ran a small hotel in the resort. Carwyn Williams once beat Australian Damien Hardman, the World champion at the time, in Hossegor, France. Shortly after this, he endured a horrific car crash, doctors telling him he would not walk again. He is now living and surfing in France after making a full recovery.

Fishing

Fishing is not commonly practised in Langland these days, either from the beach or from the rocky shore. A strikingly marked large rock on the western side of the bay called Cross Rock used to be a popular spot to fish at high tide in the summer months with float and soft crab as bait. Catches included bass, black bream and dogfish. Langland Point held similar promise, but the use of spinners or feathers here sometimes delivered mackerel as well as bass. Occasional Common dab and European plaice were caught with lugworm or ragworm fom the beach, although the worm population of the beach has always been small.

External links

* [http://www.goweruk.com/Beach.aspx?id=6 An interactive, social networking and tourism web site based on the Gower Peninsula.]
* [http://www.enjoygower.com/mumblestic/mumtic.htm Mumbles Tourist Information Centre]
* [http://www.gowerlive.co.uk Live Images of Langland Bay]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/swansea_surf_school__gower_surf_school_and_fistral_surf_school/sets/72157603860859742/ Surfing pictures of gower and swansea surfing beaches]
* [http://www.mumbles.co.uk Mumbles.co.uk a commercial site providing information about nearby amenities]
* [http://langlandsurf.com/gallery/index.php?cat=25 Langland Surf Division website with hundreds of photos of surfing on Gower and across South West Wales]
* [http://www.thegowercoast.com/beaches/langland_bay Langland Bay]
* [http://www.gowerlive.co.uk Langland Web Cam]
* [http://www.bloggsd.com surf blog for Gower surfing, surfing information and surfing pictures]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2730778 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Langland Bay and surrounding area]