Pwlldu BayPwlldu is one of the Gower Peninsula's more remote beaches - though it is no longer anywhere near as quiet as it was just a decade or so ago. I remember the first few times I ever walked out to Pwlldu I had the entire beach to myself! Now, even on rainy days, there always seems to be at least half a dozen other people wandering around the bay. Despite the increasing numbers who now frequent Pwlldu, however, the area still holds that distinct anachronistic quality which made me first fall in love with the place. And, at certain times and in certain conditions, it is very easy to believe the numerous ghost stories for which this locale has become quite (in)famous.
Pwdu - One of the Gower Peninsula's Most Haunted Locations
Of course, on bright Summer days it is all too easy for the sheer beauty of Pwlldu to blind the mind against giving credence to the supernatural apparitions which have been witnessed here. With the encroaching woodland alive with vibrant colour and birdsong and the sun ablaze on your skin, it would be difficult for even the most sensitive of souls to tune in to such presences. Such cheerful conditions are naturally times for the physical senses to dominate one's feelings. To those Summer visitors to Pwlldu who disbelieve in ghosts, however, I say this: Return to the beach in Winter, and at dusk - when the sky is heavy with brooding storm clouds and the wind whips at the spray of the thudding waves and creaks the branches of the deep, gloom-filled woodland. In such conditions of cold and discomfort, when the mind actively fights to lessen its attachment to the physical senses, then, I can assure you, it will be difficult for all, save those with most hardened, scientific of minds, to not even consider the truth of such phantoms. For, if any place in the world is trully haunted, then it is surely Pwlldu.
The Reptuedly Haunted Old Beaufort Inn, Pwlldu
Perhaps the most unsettling of Pwlldu's ghosts is that of a 'Lady in White' who is said to haunt both Pwlldu's old Beaufort Inn and the surrounding valley itself. The apparition is commonly thought to be that of a young woman who, unable to cope with the demands and stigma of early motherhood, drowned herself in Bishopston stream. The ghost is dressed in a long white dress and is seen clutching her tiny baby to her breast. Spotted fairly regularly since 1860, she has also been reported by tourists to the area unfamiliar to this particular legend.
The Reportedly Haunted Bridge at Pwlldu - Where the
'Lady in White' Has Been Spotted on Numerous Occassions
A different and more recent theory as to the identity of this ghost has been forwarded by the present day occupants of one of the cottages down on Pwlldu Bay. After some investigation into the matter, they believe that the ghost is that of an old lady named Rachel Tomothy. Rachel once occupied one of these cottages herself and is believed to have died in a small house fire incident there. Overnight visitors staying with the present day incumbents at Pwlldu (many of whom had no prior knowledge of the place's ghostly reputation) have often reported feeling very uneasy during the night whilst staying there.
The Old Beaufort Inn, Pwlldu - Scene to Many a Ghostly Incident
The 'Lady in White' is not Pwlldu's only ghost. Dark, spectral figures which scurry across the beach at dusk have also been reported here. These numerous apparitions never seem to possess much definition, however, but their skulking postulations, movements, and demeanours have led many to believe that they are the spirits of some of the many smugglers who used to regularly operate on this bay.
