How to get to Three Cliffs Bay beach

Three Cliffs Bay is one of the most gorgeous beaches on the Gower peninsula. Spending the day at three cliffs Bay should definitely be on your list of things to do on the Gower peninsula with kids. In this post, I’m going to tell you how to get to Three Cliffs Bay beach and why you need to visit with your kids. Find more Family walks here.

Three Cliff Bay Beach

If you are staying on the Gower there are certain beaches that you must visit and one of them is Three Cliffs Bay. This beach is dog friendly too as well as fantastic for families. It’s worth noting that there are no facilities or shops down here so bring everything you need and equally take all your rubbish home with you. Also, remember you have a 1-mile walk from the car park to the beach.

Where to park for Three Cliff Bay beach

We found 3 different options for parking at three cliffs Bay. Be warned, they’re all a mile away from the beach. I promise you it’s worth the walk. It’s also not particularly a difficult walk and definitely a child-friendly walk on the Gower.

You can either park at the Gower heritage centre, Shepherds (the smallest car park of the three) or in a field across the road from Sheperds (not shown on google maps). The walk to the beach is the same route for all 3.

Gower heritage centre parking

You can park all day at the heritage centre for £5. There is an honesty box for the fee some days and other days there is a parking attendant on site. Make sure you pick up some delicious picnic treats from little valley bakery before you head off on your walk, you won’t be disappointed.

Shepherd’s parking

You can park in this small car. Pay in the shop.

Three Cliffs Bay parking

This parking is across the road from Shepherds and is a field that is used for parking. You can pay to park in this field all day and there is an attendant at the gate.

Walking to three cliffs Bay from the car park

The walk is roughly 1 mile and took us 30 minutes by the lower path and 45 minutes by the higher path that takes in Pennard Castle (the extra time includes exploring the castle ruins). We had our 8 and 4 year old with us so you might be quicker if yours are older. I wouldn’t recommend taking a pram on this walk but it is definitely possible with little ones. Just make sure you pack light!

From Gower heritage centre, make your way to Shepards which is just past the bakery and turn right. From here cross over the main road to where the field car park is and you’ll find a bridge over the river.

Cross the bridge and turn right following the river through a small woodland.

Partway through the woods, you will see an option to climb up the hill on your left which will take you past Pennard Castle. We chose to return by this route. It is the more challenging route as the paths from the beachside to the castle are sand dunes which are a little harder to climb. Again our youngest managed so this is still a child-friendly walk.

If you choose to stick to the lower path you will continue following the river through the woods. As you emerge from the woodland you’ll find yourself in a field with sandy paths and the river that twists and turns through it. We kept to the left and only had to cross the river once by way of a small set of stepping stones. There were cows grazing in the field too.

Once you reach the beach you still have a bit of a walk across a rocky bit (not a particularly difficult rocky section) and then you realise the only way to get from this rocky part to the beautiful sandy beach is to wade through the shallow river!

Once across you’ll see the beautiful bay with the river that runs along the left-hand side of the beach to the three cliffs that the bay is named after. We chose to walk up to the cliffs and sea to view them but then we set up for the day back by the river we crossed.

By sitting in this area our kids happily played all day, alternating between paddling in the river (which is only about 10 cm deep at the most, although I imagine this can vary with the tides) and building sandcastles on the beautiful white sands.

We love beach days and this one was pretty perfect. I’ve written a blog post full of ideas for beach activities for children. I bet there are some ideas in there that you’ve not considered.

One thing worth noting is that lifeguards were patrolling the beach the day we were there advising only to go in the sea at the very far right hand side due to rip currents forming where the river meets the sea. This wasn’t a problem for us as our girls were more than happy with the very shallow river.

Pennard Castle

From the beach, you can see Pennard Castle perched high on the sand dunes. It’s well worth making the climb up to it on your way back. There are various paths of different gradients but just study the landscape and you’ll spot the easier paths.

Once you reach the castle you’ll want to have a little explore if the ruins and admire the stunning views of three cliffs Bay.

To get back to the car parks, keep walking past the castle and you’ll soon spot a small path signposted on the left. Follow this path around the edge of the golf course and back down through the woodland to rejoin the path alongside the river.

Follow this path back to the bridge and the car parks.

Camping at three cliffs Bay

The only option to get to the beach any easier is to camp at three cliffs Bay. From this campsite you can walk straight down to the beach, cutting out most of this walk. You’ll have to cross the river in an additional area by these stepping stones. We weren’t able to get a pitch at three cliffs Bay but you can read more about it here.

Top tips for families visiting Three cliffs bay

• Set off early and make a day of it. I imagine parking can fill up fast in August.
• Have change for parking. Prices in this post are correct as of May half term 2021.
• Pack light. The walk to the beach is one mile and you have a couple of streams to cross. The first isn’t very wide and there are stepping stones. The other is right on the beach and significantly wider so there is no option but to take your shoes off and wade across. I wouldn’t want to be carrying loads of beach chairs, cooler boxes etc.
• Don’t attempt to take a pushchair or pram for all the above reasons.
• Make sure you walk up to Pennard’s castle if you like castle ruins and stunning views of the bay.
• Bay attention to the lifeguards and the red flags that show you where it is safe to swim. The safest water for little ones to play in is the beach river that you have to cross right at the end of your walk.
• Pay attention to the tides as some areas of the beach can get cut off.

It’s one of the best UK family days out and holidays.

More things to do in the Gower with kids

• We also loved Rhossili bay and had a lovely walk around the coast here.
• You need to spend a day in the Mumbles for walks along the pier and the promenade, a great beach front playground, crazy golf and delicious ice creams and seafood.