Local area information

Newton is a small village (population 3,400). There are two shops; the convenience store, Newton Newsagents, also built by our great grandfather, on Southward Lane; and the butchers, Woollacotts of Mumbles, on Nottage Road, which has been trading for 75 years. The beef and free range eggs are supplied by the family run farm in the nearby village of Murton.

It is a 15 minute walk down to The Mumbles, a headland on the western edge of Swansea Bay. Mumbles Pier was opened in 1898 at the terminus of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, which was the world’s first horse-drawn public passenger train service. The Mumbles has a Marks and Spencers, Tesco and Co-operative Supermarkets, well stocked charity shops, fishmongers and butchers, independent bars and coffee houses, and a good choice of restaurants for eating out. There is a regular bus service from Swansea to The Mumbles and onwards to Newton. Swansea is the nearest train station.

There are three beaches in walking distance from our house in Newton - Langland, Rotherslade and Caswell, all lovely for swimming. You can walk to Caswell through Bishop's Wood (an ancient limestone woodland) from the end of Summerland Lane. The views from the coastal footpaths connecting the three beaches and those further afield are absolutely beautiful. The Gower is a great place to learn to surf.

The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom, in 1956, to be declared an Area of Outstanding Beauty. The area is ecologically diverse, from open wild moors and dramatic limestone cliffs to golden sandy beaches. Rhossili Bay has been voted the 9th best beach in the world. One of our favourites is Three Cliffs Bay, a spectacular shoreline of sand dunes, salt marsh and the three limestone cliffs.