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Number 2

Exploring the Karst and Caves of the Gower Peninsula
by John S. COOPER (ed.)

COOPER, John S. (ed.) (2023). Exploring the Karst and Caves of the Gower Peninsula [A walking guide to Gower's caves]. Buxton: British Cave Research Association. £12.50 plus postage. ISBN 978-0-900265-53-2. 86pp, Royal (156 x 234mm), full colour, 88 photos, 6 maps, 6 drawings.

The Gower Peninsula is located in south-west Wales, surrounded by water on three sides, with Mumbles Head as its most easterly point. The peninsula has possibly some of the most beautiful karst landscapes in the British Isles, and its cliffs and valleys contain almost 200 caves, with a high proportion of them considered to be of historic importance. The peninsula has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Of the 100 or so known caves in the coastal cliffs, many are of national or international archaeological importance. Paviland Cave has revealed a record of almost 40,000 years of human occupation, ritual, and burial, along with the bones of animals that lived during those earlier cold times.

Many of the caves in the limestone valleys of Gower are easily accessed and can be explored by following the six walks outlined in this guidebook, which is illustrated in full-colour, with over 60 location photos. There are chapters on geology, glacial activity, cave formation, and cave archaeology.

Sample pages: This book is only available on paper, although some individual low-res sample pages can be downloaded below.

samples written here by JS we hope

item: Front cover only (JPG 210KB)     

This is medium-resolution JPG image of the front cover only, suitable for using in a review or posting on social media. (Height 1000 px, moderate jpg compression).
Date: Published online 01-Dec-2022.

 

Ch. 1: Introduction

by John S. COOPER.

 

Ch. 2: The Bedrock Geology of the Gower Peninsula

by Geraint OWEN.

 

Ch. 3: Glacial Activity on Gower

by Richard A. SHAKESBY and John F. HIEMSTRA.

 

Ch. 4: The Caves of Gower

by Rhian KENDALL.

 

Ch. 5: The Archaeology of Gower Caves

by Konstantinos P. TRIMMIS.

 

Ch. 6: Exploring the Caves and Karst of Gower

by John S. COOPER.
Walk 1. Bishopston Valley to Pwlldu Bay.
Walk 2. Llethryd Cwm and Green Cwm.
Walk 3. Mumbles to Caswell Bay.
Walk 4. Caswell Bay to Three Cliffs Bay.
Walk 5. Port Eynon to Rhossili Village.
Walk 6. North Gower, Broughton Bay to Llanrhidian.

 

Ch. 7: Appendix: Some geomorphological aspects of Gower’s karst

by John S. COOPER.

 

item: References

 

item: Further Reading

 

item: List of figures