Old Castle (Rhossili)

Nearest town:
Burry Port (13km N)
OS reference:
SS409879
OS sheet:
159
Latitude:
51° 34' 1.09 N
Longitude:
4° 17' 44.93 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by A R Cane

Note the strange little hummock next to the track that the bank goes around. What’s that all about?

Image credit: A R Cane
A R Cane
A R Cane May 1, 2015
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Old Castle cliff fort (bottom left) with Worm’s Head beyond.

Image credit: A. Brookes (11.4.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 25, 2014
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Old Castle fort tops the cliff in the centre of the picture. Well, it is a cliff fort. Worm’s Head beyond.

Image credit: A. Brookes (29.4.2013)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jun 9, 2013
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Across Rhossili Bay from the fort. Burry Holms promontory fort can be seen centre left, joined to the shore at low tide.

Image credit: A. Brookes (27.4.2013)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 15, 2013
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Looking NE across the fort to Rhossili Down. The rampart arcs round the right hand side of the picture.

Image credit: A. Brookes (27.4.2013)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 15, 2013
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

The western arc of the earthwork, showing natural bedrock incorporated beneath.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.3.2012)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 26, 2012
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Looking across Rhossili Bay from the sheer cliffs that form the northern side of the fort. The small “island” on the left is Burry Holms (another Iron Age site), on the right is the northern end of Rhossili Down.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.3.2012)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 26, 2012
Image of Old Castle (Rhossili) (Cliff Fort) by thesweetcheat

Seen from the coast path from Rhossili. The small fort occupies the flat top of the headland.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.3.2012)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 26, 2012

Articles

Old Castle (Rhossili)

C
CARL Oct 2, 2013

Visited 30.9.13

Directions:
Park in the main visitor’s car park in Rhossili (£3.00 all day) and follow the road down past the N.T. shop towards the Coastguard station. Continue along the coastal path and this is the first of the several cliff/promontory forts you come to. Can’t miss it as it is right next to the path and has a N.T. sign giving its name and age.

As this fort is so close to the amenities Rhossili has to offer it is no surprise that it attracts the most visitors. Indeed, on my day out walking the coastal path this was the only site I visited where I saw anyone else. Due to the number of people visiting there were sections of the ramparts which has been repaired and had signs erected requesting people keep off the banking due to the erosion it was causing. Thankfully, at least when I visited, people were heeding the signs and observing the fort from the footpath.

This is a very easy site to access and one that shouldn’t be missed if you happen to be at this far end of the Gower peninsular.
It also has the added bonus of giving great views over to Worm’s Head.

** A short distance south I spotted a suspicious looking curved bank vanishing over the cliff edge. Clearly whatever it was has all but been eroded away by the sea. Was this all that is left of some sort of prehistoric enclosure? **

Old Castle (Rhossili)

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 25, 2012

Rhossili boasts some shops and a National Trust shop/info place (closed today), plus public toilets (handy). It also boasts a small cliff fort, a short, easy stroll from the village along the coast path leading to Worm’s Head.

Old Castle fort is a small, semi-circular earthwork perched above near vertical cliffs and occupying a small flat headland. The banks back onto the coastal path. At some point in the more recent past a building or structure was built inside the enclosure, all that’s left now is some rusting posts. Worm’s Head can be seen to the west, the wide sweep of Rhossili Bay to the north. The tide is out at present and in the distance the promontory fort of Burry Holms is currently attached to the shore, although it will sever its connection later as the tide comes in. As I walk along the cliff top inside the fort, a cloud of jackdaws explodes noisily from the cliff face below me, as wild and windswept a perch as you could find.

Along its western side, the rampart has been badly damaged by what appears to be quarrying, leaving a lumpy, bumpy area in place of the smooth banks surrounding the rest of the site.

Sites within 20km of Old Castle (Rhossili)

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