Day 11 - Worms Head with Mike Gambatesa

Gower Peninsula

Worms Head from the Boathouse at Kitchen Corner

A dull day weather wise, but dry. I went down to Worms Head again with my old friend Mike, so that he could video the seals. The tide was a lot lower this time, in fact one of the lowest of the month. The seals weren't in such an accessible position so we had to walk further along the very steep grassy slope to find some suitable viewpoints, which turned out to be very precarious with cliffs below. At least the grass wasn't wet.

I counted at least 22 seals out there, but there were mostly inactive, unlike last time. At one point a group of about 8 of them got spooked and all suddenly made a dash for the water, after which their bobbing heads just stared back up at us. Clearly not used to seeing humans on this part of Worms Head. As we continued to walk along the steep grassy edge many of them followed us, swimming along in the water below, seemingly very curious.

Mike after videoing the seals from the precipitous grassy slope in the background

Unfortunately the light was too naff for decent photos so there was no point continuing out to the end of the Worm. Also there was risk of rain so we headed back. At least we got some decent shots of the seals.

Quite a few people out there, including a number of foreigners. I thought the tourist season was over, but evidently not. They were still charging at the car park too (but Mike talked us in for free, flashing his video camera).

Distance: 5.5km - Ascent: 90m - Effort Rating: 6.4 - Duration: 2 hours 54 minutes