ROBIN and Pepper the spaniel played host to seven walkers who made their way to Penmaen on Gower and set out in bright sunshine to walk a circular eight miles with the promise of a pub lunch en route.

The gradual climb up Cefn Bryn or the backbone of Gower rewarded them with views that stretched towards Rhossili Down, across the River Lougher and the Burry estuary to Burry Port and Llanelli on the coastline of west Wales, whilst on the hillside below them pregnant ponies grazed.

As there was no wind on the top which is the second highest point on Gower they paused and drank in the views whilst morning coffee was enjoyed during which low cloud made for hazy sunshine.

The route led them downhill and through boggy paths, mostly due to underground springs in the area that were worsened by heavy overnight rainfall to the small hamlet of Perriswood, from where they followed a lane and crossed the main coast road and a stile onto the Penrice Estate, which was formed after a Norman knight was given land as a reward for his part in the conquest and he took the name de Penrice.

They passed the tall stony ruins of the 13th century Penrice castle perched on a hilltop overlooking Oxwich Bay and what remains of the Georgian mansion family home, which after the Penrice family died out passed by marriage firstly to the Mansel family, who later owned Oxwich and Margam, then the Talbot family when the parkland that can be seen today was landscaped.

They journeyed on by lane and reached St Andrew’s Church in Penrice village where during a huge storm in 1720 the building lost its entire roof and had to be restored. In the churchyard stands a murder stone to the memory of Mary, wife of James Kavanagh, who was murdered on October 3, 1829 with space left for the name of the perpetrator that was never filled in!

As sunshine returned once more they admired a large patch of snowdrops and made their way through the Millwood, which is ancient woodland and was once part of the Penrice estate where a circular stew pond was used to raise and hold fish for the consumption of the family.

They tramped near the reconstructed millpond that gives the wood its name and climbed gradually up to Reynoldston which derived its name from an early 12th century Norman lord, Reginald de Braose.

As they approached their planned lunch stop The King Arthur Hotel, they were struck by the large number of cars parked outside and all along the road and discovered most of the occupants were attending a large wedding party, however there was no delay in obtaining a delightful lunch in the public bar, but there were queues for the toilets!

They continued their climb back up onto Cefn Bryn where they deviated to Arthur’s Stone, a Neolithic chambered tomb with a capstone weighing around 25 tons which was originally covered with earth that has since been washed away or completely removed.

There are many legends associated with the tomb including one that says King Arthur threw a large stone from Llanelli across the Lougher estuary which landed at that point. Lying beside the tomb is another huge piece of stone which allegedly broke off the capstone but the reason why is unknown.

One legend has it that it was struck by lightning in a fierce storm, whilst another stated St David split the stone with his mighty sword to defy the Druids who used it as a place of worship.

They returned eastwards along the ridgeway of Cefn Bryn past the highest point of 188 metres and enjoyed uninterrupted views down across Three Cliff Bay before descending from the hilltop and making their way back to Penmaen.

There are no planned walks for next weekend but this may change so please log onto www.penarthramblers.wordpress.com for any updates.

Programmes and membership advice can be obtained from Pam on 029 2025 5102.