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With stunning green countryside, gorgeous coastline, and top restaurants serving delicious food, Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales, is the perfect spot to spend a weekend. It’s also very dog-friendly, with miles of fantastic walking routes and lots of places where you can take your pooch.
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We recently visited Swansea Bay for a weekend with our dog, Alfie. We spent lots of time doing outdoor activities, eating yummy seafood and cosying up in the beautiful holiday cottage we stayed in.
Read on for my Swansea Bay weekend itinerary.
Things to do in Swansea Bay
There are plenty of things to do in Swansea Bay and we wanted to spend most of our time there outside, as we were really lucky with the weather. Here are some of the best things to do in the area.
Explore Mumbles
Mumbles is a gorgeous little seaside village that’s full of quirky shops and independent places to eat. Take a trip to Gower Gallery where you’ll find lots of gorgeous art and ceramics from local artists.
My favourite spot in Mumbles was the Lovespoon Gallery, home to the largest collection of Welsh lovespoons in Wales. The owner of the shop was amazing and told us all the history of this famous Welsh tradition.
The spoons are hand-carved in wood and there are thousands of different designs. We bought a Christmas decoration lovespoon as a souvenir of our trip.
Grab a coffee and take a wander up to Oystermouth Castle which dates back to the 12th century. The castle wasn’t open when we visited but we still had a walk around it and admire the building. There are also great views from here over Mumbles and the coast.
Head further round the coast and you’ll find Mumbles Pier. Here, you can take a ride on the Swansea Big Wheel, a big wheel where you get fabulous views over the sea, have a go on the arcades, or grab some fish and chips.
Worm’s Head walk
Worm’s Head is a tidal island off the coast of Rhossili. For this walk, you can park at the National Trust car park at Rhossili (free for National Trust members) and then take the easy path to the left.
As you walk across the headland, you can enjoy the spectacular views back over Rhossili Bay and towards Worm’s Head. At low tide, you can walk all the way over and on to the island.
It is accessible for 2.5 hours before and after low tide and you can check the tide times at the Coastwatch house.
Unfortunately the weather was a bit wild (wind and hail!) on the morning when we were doing this walk so we didn’t make it all the way over to Worm’s Head but it’s definitely on my list to tick off next time.
Rhossili Beach
Rhossili Beach itself is also well worth a visit. It was named The Times’ Best Beach in Wales in 2023 and it is in the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Gower Peninsula.
You can take a walk along the three-mile long beach and bring your dog too – Rhossili Beach is dog-friendly all year round. It’s a great beach for picnics, sunbathing, and swimming in the warmer months.
Wild Swimming at Caswell Bay
A trip to the seaside wouldn’t be complete without a dip in the sea and people swim in the waves all year round at the beautiful Caswell Bay. Just bring your extra layers to pop on afterwards and you can grab a hot drink from the coffee here to warm up too.
Caswell Bay is also a popular surfing beach and you can take surfing lessons here too. During the summer there is a lifeguard on patrol so swimming here is very safe.
If you’re not brave enough to take a dip, then the beach itself is gorgeous and is perfect for an afternoon stroll.
Caswell Saunas
After a chilly dip in the sea, the best way to warm up is at Caswell Saunas, just up the hill from the bay. You can choose whether to book a private session here for up to eight people or join in a communal session.
We booked a private session and it was such a lovely chilled experience. As well as the wood-fired sauna, there are also cold showers and barrels to dip in so you can alternate between cold and hot.
The sauna itself has gorgeous views over Caswell Bay.
Walk along Pennard Cliffs
For another stunning coastal walk, head to Pennard Cliffs. You can park at the National Trust car park in the village of Southgate and then follow the path to the left.
You’ll be treated to some absolutely spectacular coastal views. This is a really gorgeous route and you can choose to make it as long or as short as you like.
Best Swansea Bay restaurants
Another thing that Swansea Bay does well is its restaurants. We were absolutely spoiled with all the amazing places we ate and lots of them had spectacular views over the gorgeous coastline.
Here are some of the best places to eat in Swansea Bay.
Langland’s Brasserie
Langland’s Brasserie is a lovely fine dining restaurant with gorgeous views overlooking Langland Bay. There is a terrace outside where you can sit if the weather is fine.
This was my absolute favourite meal of the weekend – the food was just so good! They do a set three course menu for a certain price and then there are daily specials to choose from too.
Being so close to the sea, they do offer plenty of seafood dishes and I tried the mussels for starters and then seabass for my main course, both of which were absolutely delicious. We also shared a raspberry and pistachio petit gateux which tasted amazing.
I loved the atmosphere here too. The staff were so welcoming and friendly, and couldn’t do enough for you.
The View, Rhossili
Another day, another spectacular view! We went here after our walk to Worm’s Head for lunch and it overlooks Rhossili Bay.
The sun had come out by this point and the view was just incredible. They offer fresh food with dishes created using local ingredients and they also serve great coffee.
I had the Korean loaded fries which not only looked amazing but were super tasty. There was plenty of topping (which I think can sometimes be a problem with loaded fries!) and they were just so colourful.
Dogs are welcome here too.
The Oyster House
The Oyster House is a bistro-style pub offering delicious food prepared using fresh, local ingredients. I had the featherblade of beef and Lee had steak and they were both really well cooked and yummy.
We visited on a Friday night and there was a lively atmosphere with lots of people enjoying food and drinks. Dogs can sit in the terrace area.
They also have a rooftop terrace with stunning views over the Swansea Bay coastline, a perfect place to enjoy a sundowner during summer. I didn’t realise but The Oyster House is also a boutique hotel with gorgeous rooms, so you could make this your base for exploring Swansea Bay.
The Secret Bar & Kitchen
The Secret Bar & Kitchen is a beach bar with a great vibe. We visited on a Sunday at lunchtime and it was busy with plenty of people enjoying the views over the Swansea Bay beach front.
The food here is a fusion of authentic Welsh and modern British cuisine and they serve breakfast, lunch, and evening meals. We had the tempura prawns and lamb koftas to start, followed by a chicken parmigiana burger and a fish burger, all of which was so delicious.
There is a dog-friendly section of the restaurant and dogs are also welcome to sit with their owners outside on the terrace.
Joe’s Ice Cream
Joe’s Ice Cream was recommended to me by one of my pals, Travel Dave. This cute ice cream parlour serves all different flavours of ice cream in tubs and cones to sit in or takeaway.
Apparently their vanilla flavour is their speciality but I got their Welsh cake flavour because – when in Wales! It was absolutely delicious and not too pricey either.
Mumbles Coffee
We grabbed a coffee from Mumbles Coffee to walk up to Oystermouth Castle as it is on the way up the hill. You can get takeaway coffees here, or sit in, and they serve food too.
Dogs are welcome.
Ninety Three Bakes
For breakfast, our lovely hosts at Oakland House bought us some yummy pastries and granola from Ninety Three Bakes. They also offer takeaway coffee and celebration cakes, perfect if you have a birthday while you’re in Swansea Bay.
Swansea Bay accommodation
While we were in Swansea Bay, we stayed in a beautiful holiday cottage called Oakland House in Mumbles. Well, I say holiday cottage, it’s actually a really spacious house sleeping up to six people, but it has all the character features that you would expect from a cottage.
The cottage has three bedrooms, a gorgeous kitchen with an island, a dining room, and a cosy living room with a log burner. It has a lovely feel to it and just feels like a home from home as soon as you walk in.
Oakland House is also dog-friendly. There’s an enclosed terrace area to the back so you can let your pooch run around here and there is also a stunning view over the sea – the perfect place to enjoy a morning coffee.
The location is perfect – it’s around a ten-minute walk into Mumbles town centre from the house and an easy drive to other locations in Swansea Bay.
