I was offered a day out anywhere I liked — there was only 1 place I wanted to be

When it’s my birthday I am indulged every year by my family and given complete control of the day. From where we are going to what we are doing, I have in the past demanded we visit castles and country pubs, museums and art galleries.

This year was different. Even though my birthday is in July, it is surprising how often it has coincided with terrible weather. But with a bit of sunshine forecast this year, there was only one choice: a beach.

We are blessed in the UK to have so many beaches with so many differfent characteristics, from cosy coves to sweeping sandy beaches and utterly breathtaking bays. So you might think that choosing a specific beach would be tough. But, for me, there’s one that will always be my favourite.

I’m so lucky to have travelled to some of the most famous beaches in the world. From Byron Bay and Bondi Beach to Waikiki and Surfrider beach in California, they have all been memorable in their own way. But in my heart there’s one beach that stands above them all, and it’s right here in the UK.

Meandering through the lanes of the Gower peninsula west of Swansea on my birthday, there were a number of unique and gorgeous beaches that could have tempted us from our final destination. But we stuck the course to the very end, where the beach at Rhossili was waiting for us.

Rhossili itself is just a small village with a sprinkling of homes, a church and a few local places to eat. The lane to it comes to an end at a National Trust car park and then you are hit with beauty at all sides: first, to the south, you see Worm’s Head, a headland that juts out into the Atlantic ocean with the most distinctive of rock formations. Turn to the north and the vast beach of Rhossili stretches out ahead of you.

It’s heartening to know that, according to website Visit Swansea Bay, the National Trust own much of the land in this area, including the beach, Worm’s Head and also Rhossili Down, so the future of this largely unspoilt corner of Wales is assured.

The conservation charity’s website states that the area called ‘The Worm’ comes from the Norse word ‘Wurme’, meaning dragon or serpent. Vikings believed the island was a sleeping dragon because of its shape, rising from the sea like a mythical beast.

We parked the car for the day for £8 (it’s free to Trust members) and made our way to the coastal path, which leads all the way to Worm’s Head (it would take up to an hour going one way). You can even cross to the tip of the worm at low tide but beware: the cliffs are steep and when the tide comes in you could get stranded (and people do, every year).

On this trip, the waves beat the worm and we headed towards the beach, first stopping at the sloping footpath’s head to become completely immersed in the staggering, panoramic view.

The three mile stretch of sand is so vast it’s only when you see people on the beach looking like tiny ants you realise just how colossal it is. It’s also unspoilt.

I love this captivating welcome to the beach – it’s burned into my soul and brings me so much pleasure. If I’m feeling homesick for Wales, I just close my eyes and recall the fresh sea breeze on my face, flavoured with ocean droplets and sountracked by the roar of waves as they gallop up the beach to meet the mountains.

It’s not a surprise to anyone who has ever visited Rhossili to see it regularly on the list of best beaches in the UK, Europe and the world. In 2024, it was named among Lonely Planet’s 100 best beaches in the world, while TripAdvisor users voted it the world’s 10th best beach in the world in 2013.

The one reminder of the existence of humans when looking down at the beach is an unbelievably well-placed cottage perched on a hillside above the beach. It’s the National Trust-owned Old Rectory, built in the 1800s. It has been used as a base for radar workers during the Second World War as well as appearing in the hit TV series Torchwood. You can now stay in the four-bedroom house but booking early is recommended as you can imagine it is very popular, and it has even welcomed some famous guests, including The One Show presenter Alex Jones.

But we were here just for the day and after visiting the National Trust shop and relaxing on a bench with the best view in Wales, we went in search of lunch and found a lovely one at The View (there are a number of choices in the village including The Worms Head Hotel, The Lookout and The Causeway).

The view from the table was enough to distract from the food and the sun shone so strongly we needed to open the table parasol. The owner told us that the meal might not be the cheapest – we had the Chef’s Gower Beer Battered Fish and Chips at £17.95 each – but they strived to serve the best quality and we certainly thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then it was beach time, so we trekked down the sometimes steep, sometimes tarmacked path down to the immense sandy beach. It’s a route that takes some time, especially if you are a bit nervous about tripping, but there’s no rush – just enjoy the journey.

It’s not until you get onto the beach you can truly take onboard just how vast it is, how far away your nearest beach visitor is, even on a busy July day in the school summer holidays. We weren’t prepared for how frosty the sea was that day but the white foam-crowned waves happily provided entertainment with a good swell that had us jumping and laughing and completely forgetting to check that maybe one of our frozen toes had actually fallen off.

There were other people enjoying the water but such is the size and scale of the bay that there was no issue with being mowed down by a child on an out of control body board, unlike so many beaches. The bay is popular for surfing too, as it offers consistent waves all year round, although the larger swell is found at the far end of the bay which is known as Llangennith.

As if the beach couldn’t get more enchanting it also reveals the remains of a shipwreck when the tide goes out – the spine of the Helvetia that ran aground on the beach in 1887 and now protrudes from the soft sand like a fallen and ancient dinosaur skeleton. The surprise find for new visitors to the beach was a source of intrigue and consistently being visited by children and adults.

We played games on the beach and wished we had brought our kite because the wind was perfect, which is why we saw at least three people paragliding.

With a warming cup of tea calling, we slowly climbed the path back up to the cliff-top. I stopped multiple times to admire the view of the beach and Worm’s Head from different angles.

Gower is understandably designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, now renamed Gower National Landscape, and an additional part of its uniqueness and attraction to visitors is its eight acres of sunflower and lavender fields which you can visit during the summer.

But we had run out of time so, as evening began to rush up to greet us, we headed into the Worm’s Head Hotel’s bar for a drink and enjoyed the view from a different angle that included the sun slowly setting over the water and the whole of the family agreeing that we are all in love with Rhossili.