Mumbles, Gower, South Wales, Autumn
A last burst of summer in autumn.
For our second full day in South Wales we decided to check somewhere we’d never been to before on our previous South Wales explorations: Mumbles.
Mumbles (or Mwmbwls in Welsh) is a headland on the western edge of the Swansea Bay, right on the southern coast of Wales. It has an unusual name, don’t you think? There are different thoughts of where the name comes from:
Exploring French sailors may have named the two rounded islands off the headland les mamelles, meaning “the breasts”, which became corrupted over time;
It could come from the Latin Mamucium, taken from an older Brythonic name, with the mamm- aspect meaning, yes, “breasts”.
We started our hike at Bracelet Bay and the day greeted us with clear skies and a very warm sun. After wandering around the bay and hiking up the limestone crag above the bay—nabbing photos along the way—we carried on the Wales Coast Path west towards Langland Bay.
The views along the way were fantastic. It did not feel like October.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs developed in Capture One for iPad, edited and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Mumbles, Gower, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Bracelet Bay, with Mumbles Head to the left, Middle Head dead centre, and Mumbles Lighthouse to the right. You can see why breasts are historically mentioned often in the etymology of Mumbles.
A 9mm ultra-wide composition made from two focus stacked frames of some gorgeous rock samphire with Middle Head and Mumbles Lighthouse in the distance.
Wave-sculpted crags and boulders provided a lovely frame of the Mumbles islands.
I shot a multitude of ultra-wide frames for this composition here, seeking to find the “optimum” way the sea crashed around this sea stack.
We climbed up Mumbles Head for more expansive views of Middle Head, Mumbles Lighthouse, and beyond. Two other guys already there were deep in solemn conversation.
My lovely Lisabet high above the crags of Mumbles Head. Middle Head and Mumbles Lighthouse were starting to catch the sun as it appeared behind the clouds.
An alternative composition as we climbed further up Mumbles Head, with Middle Head attracting the full attention of the sun from behind the clouds.
With the sun dipping behind the clouds again, softer light caressed the shoulders of Mumbles Head and Middle Head. Although breasts are often evoked when viewing these islands, to my mind they’re more like whales of some nature.
Beyond Bracelet Bay we followed the Wales Coast Path west towards Langland Bay. It was turning out to be a corker of a day, the sea glowing a deep aquamarine.
At Rams Tor, looking into the distance at Snaple Point, Whiteshell Point, Pwlldu Head, and Oxwich Point.
Glorious Langland Bay, lined with beach huts and seafront villas. Clearly a popular holiday spot.
The crags of Rothers Torr below the cliffs of Langland Bay.