Rhossili Bay is three miles of sand on the western tip of the Gower Peninsula in south…

Rhossili Bay is three miles of sand on the western tip of the Gower Peninsula in south Wales — TripAdvisor named it Britain’s best beach, third best in Europe. Gower was the first place in the UK designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, back in 1956. At low tide you can see the skeleton of the Helvetia, a Norwegian timber ship wrecked here in a storm in 1887. At the southern end, Worm’s Head juts into the Atlantic like a stone serpent — the name comes from the Old English wyrm, meaning dragon. Behind the beach, Rhossili Down has Iron Age and prehistoric remains, and below the village sits “The Vile,” a Norman strip-field system from the 12th century that’s barely changed since. The bay has a long history of smuggling — customs officers once found 101 casks of brandy, rum and wine abandoned on the sand. Edgar Evans, who died on Scott’s Antarctic expedition, was born in the village.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​