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PWLLDU BAY SMUGGLING

The smugglers’ lane leading to Highway Farm

Smuggling was commonplace during the 18th and early 19th centuries; of the two secluded houses at Pwlldu, the Beaufort Inn is reputed to have had dealings with smugglers who used its cellar for free storage. The arrangement the landlord had was that fewer barrels left than entered.

One local historian claims that more contraband was landed here than anywhere else in the Bristol Channel. The sheltered bay offered an ideal location for these illegal activities, with the wooded Bishopston valley providing plenty of cover for transporting contraband to the farms at Highway; these were used as staging posts and as headquarters for the smuggling company.

Cross the bridge and take the track up the side of the valley. Leave this by taking a footpath on the left through the wood to where it meets another path at Knapp Farm. Turn left and pass through a number of swing gates until you come to where the path enters a field with the rugby posts of South Gower RFC on your right. Keep to the hedge on your left to a road. Turn left here, pass Backingstone Farm on your right and shortly afterwards take the bridleway on your right.