Rich in industrial heritage, caves, ancient woodland and rare species
More than 135 gardens and parks are now open through advance booking, as well as hundreds of coast and countryside places. A number of houses are also open in England and Northern Ireland. Read this article to find out what's open and what to expect from your visit.
Spectacular cliffs, caves where mammoths once lived, rare birds, an underground river, bat roosts, silver lead mining, ancient woodland, smuggling and limestone quarrying are just a few of the wonders of this area.
There are also numerous archaeological features and two important caves – Bacon Hole and Minchin Hole. Long Ash Mine in Bishopston Valley was a silver lead mine and is now a roost for greater and lesser horseshoe bats.
Pwll Du Bay was once an extensive limestone quarry. The buildings that remain were once inns for the thirsty workers. The bay was also a popular smuggling cove with some of the contraband maybe being sold in the inns.
Pwll Du Head is the highest headland on Gower and offers fantastic views of Pennard Cliffs and the coastline towards Mumbles.
How about a walk from our car park along the flat, grassy cliff tops west towards Three Cliffs Bay or Pwll Du to the east. These cliffs are common land grazed by cattle and sheep. This grazing is important for the chough, a rare member of the crow family.
Most of our places run the Gift Aid on Entry scheme at their admission points.
Under this scheme, if you're not a member you have the choice of two entry tickets:
If the place runs Gift Aid on Entry, we'll offer you a clear choice between the Gift Aid Admission prices and the Standard Admission prices at the admission point. It's entirely up to you which ticket you choose.
Gift Aid Admission includes a 10 per cent or more voluntary donation. Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
An extra £1 paid under the scheme can be worth over £3 to the National Trust as shown below:
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount paid by visitor | £11.00 | £10.00 |
| Tax refund from Government* | £2.75 | £0.00 |
| Total received by the National Trust | £13.75 | £10.00 |
*Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.