Rhossili Down - The Beacon

While technically a mountain only to the most optimistic of locals, Rhossili Down offers grander views than many peaks twice its height. It is a breezy ridge walk where Iron Age history meets modern-day paragliders, providing a front-row seat to the Atlantic’s relentless assault on the Gower coast.

• •The ridge is home to Sweyne's Howes, a pair of Neolithic chambered tombs named after the Viking founder of Swansea, though they actually predate the Vikings by millennia.
• •During World War II, the Down served as a Chain Home Low radar station site; you can still explore the crumbling concrete remains of the transmitter buildings today.
• •At 193 metres, the Beacon is the highest point on the Gower Peninsula, which was the very first place in the UK to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• •The slopes are a major hotspot for paragliders who use the coastal thermals to hover effortlessly above hikers who are doing significantly more work.
• •The wind here is legendary for its persistence; it doesn't just blow your hair about, it actively attempts to renegotiate the legal ownership of your hat and sandwich.