Saturday, 8 March 2014

Worms Head at Rhossili, Gower - More Rocks and Water

The Gower, and Rhossili in particular, is a special place for me.  Visiting for the weekend, even during iffy weather was a joy.  And for once, our visit to Worm's Head was perfectly timed with the tide.  We danced slowly across the causeways at a particularly low tide.  I say 'dance' because you end up making strange shapes with your body and flapping your arms around whilst crossing the jagged rocks.  Not cool.

More interesting rocks and water.  Yay!

Just to set the scene then, here's Worm's Head on a sunny day, back in the days when the UK had sunny days:

Worms Head from Rhossili Down

The geology of the headland is essentially carboniferous limestone strata, sharply inclined.

Worm's Head Causeway

Here is the view from the main ridge of the headland looking back towards the mainland.

Further along, you come across 'Devils Bridge'.  It looks like a poorly thought out lego bridge.

Devils Bridge at Worm's Head, Rhossili


Worm's Head cliffs and 'Devil's Bridge'

This is the arch from behind, as far along the headland as we could go without disturbing the nesting birds.


Worm's Head north side
It's called 'Worm's Head' from the Norse word for dragon or serpent, as it's undulating shape implies.


Finally, back along the wave cut platform towards the mainland, the limestone is riddled with holes, fissures, calcite veins and interesting colours where you wouldn't expect them.



Limestone looks amazing when it's constantly abraded by water and stones in its nether regions - smooth, pale, interesting:

Carboniferous limestone at Worm's Head Causeway

1 comment:

  1. Great images! They really convey the drama of the place.

    ReplyDelete

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