If you’re looking for things to do on the Gower Peninsula, you might have come across the unique and mysterious, Culver Hole. After a bit of research you might also be wondering, how to get to Culver Hole.
After being intrigued by this unique landmark with a fascinating history, we made it our mission to find the best way to get to Culver Hole on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
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What is Culver Hole, Wales?
Culver Hole is a large, natural cave in the cliffside of the Gower Peninsula, but the front of the cave is covered by a huge manmade stone wall between the two rock faces, with several windows (without glass in, obviously)
Believed to have been built in the Middle Ages, around the 13th century, this unique and mysterious feature on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula looks like something from a movie set! A true hidden gem in South Wales!
The cliff itself is around 100ft (so don’t stray too close to the edge!) and cave opening and wall covers around 60ft.
What was Culver Hole used for?
Originally built as a dovecote (a shelter for pigeons and small birds), the story of Culver Hole evolved into one of smuggling and secret storehouses of products.
Local history says that John Lucas, a local pirate constructed the unique structure to store his loot and booty. Some also say a passageway was built for him to move his booty from the cave to his salt house which you’ll walk past the ruins of on your way to Culver Hole.
Where is Culver Hole?
Culver Hole is located in a 100ft cliff just outside the village of Port Eynon on Wales’ Gower Peninsula, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Cardiff in the east and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Tenby on the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Located on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula, the area is serviced by many narrow country roads which can become incredibly busy in the summer as people flock to the beach at Port Eynon.
Where to park for Culver Hole?
You’ll want to park at Port Eynon Car Park which is primarily used for beach parking.
There are plenty of places and the car park is pay and display. Note, this is not an overnight car park.
How to get to Culver Hole?
If you’re planning how to get to Culver Hole from Port Eynon, there is a fairly straightforward, although unmarked walking route to reach Culver Hole.
Follow these directions to Culver Hole:
- Park at Port Eynon Car Park for the beach
- Instead of heading left to the beach, turn right into the caravan site (there’s a pedestrian gate) and follow the main tarmac road through the caravan site
- From here you’ll have two options:
- Option 1 – follow the road until you reach John Lucas’ Salt House ruins (marked “Port Eynon Salt House” on Google Maps) then follow the faint path/scramble up the hillside
- Option 2 – About halfway through the caravan site, the site is split in two by two hedgerows running close together – there is a path between these hedgerows and you’ll need to turn right, heading uphill
We did a loop, following option 1 past the Salt House and up the hill before coming back down between the two hedges. This was fine but the hill was a bit of a scramble in dry weather so I can image it gets slippy in anything other than dry summer weather! So we recommend option 2.
- If you follow option 2, follow the clearly marked path through the woods and shrubs until you come out in the grassy area at the cliffs, turn left and walk along the cliffs and Culver Hole will be right below you.
- If you want to go inside Culver Hole, please check Tide Times, and when you come out of the woods, there’s a path down towards the water and along the beach you’ll find Culver Hole
If you follow option 2, continue up the hill until you reach the standing stone monument, which is the Gower Society obelisk, then turn right and walk along the cliff top. Culver Hole will be in the cliffs below you. Walk along until the cliffs start to dip down and you’ll reach a path down to the beach, again, please check Culver Hole tide times.
Obviously this walk can be done as a circular walk if the path beyond the Salt House is clear enough to make it up the hill. Or you can do the route as an out-and-back.
I have marked the whole route in red on the satellite map below.
If you look on Google Maps satellite view you can see the side-by-side hedgerows in the caravan park. You can also see the worn route of the footpath on the whole route on satellite view.
Can you go inside Culver Hole?
Technically yes, there is a small entrance way at the bottom of the stone wall where you can go inside and look upwards in the cave.
However the high tide times may impede this. Also there are a lot of birds nesting inside so it’s not always the most pleasant experience.
I definitely don’t recommend trying to climb inside the cave as there is no secure or safe way to do so unless you have professional climbing gear and training.
Unfortunately we visited at high tide so were unable to go inside, but did manage to get a few drone shots of the coast and cave instead!
Summary: How to get to Culver Hole in Wales
Culver Hole is a fascinating and unique landmark on the Welsh coast and we do recommend visiting if you’re in the beautiful Gower Peninsula area or perhaps the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Of course, please do take proper precautions if you plan to venture down onto the beach area and into the cave.
Happy exploring!
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