Famous for its golden sands and pounding surf, one of Gower’s most picturesque beaches is also its finest bouldering spot. Caswell has seven sectors, each with its own individual style; all replete with excellent problems. The rock is surprisingly varied, with quartz slabs, pocketed overhangs and slippery water-washed walls all lying within a 5 minute walk of each other. The result is an excellent circuit of around 50 problems on one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

Caswell is ideally situated as one of the closest beaches to Swansea, and only a five minute drive from Mumbles. This has its downside however, as during the summer months the beach is invariably crowded, and it will not be possible to climb on many of the more accessible sectors - Crystal Wall and The Wave are two areas where only a mid-week winter visit can truly eliminate the possibility of falling on a sandcastle/small child/surf school. Fortunately many of the other areas tend to stay quiet, so it should be possible to get some problems done on any day of the year.

All sectors are accessible three hours either side of high tide, though it is possible to reach the majority of them outside of these times. On neap tides, climbing is possible on Crystal Wall and the Wave even at high tide. The recently opened Surfside Café provides tea, proper coffee, cakes, toasties and sandwiches.

1: the scoop and the block

The scoop may not look like much when you first approach it, but for the V4-6 boulderer it is a real gem, with three powerful problems. The landings are okay and it's all over once you reach the jug line, but take care when topping out as the rock quality diminishes. From left to right:
V6 - using the obvious side pull for the right hand and finishing on jugs out to the left.
V4 - starting off a flat hold, use a thin crescent crimp to reach several sharp, deep pockets (finger tape advised!), and then to the top. One of Gower's best problems.
V3/4 - slight eliminate on more pockets.

The block is an obvious draw for boulderers, but the problems are high and the landings are populated by large uneven boulders - even if you move them out of the way the sea shifts them back twice a day. A big stack of mats and some burly spotters recommended! The climbing is generally harder than the rest of the bay, with the pick of the problems traversing the obvious rail of the seaward face before tackling the arete (V3 on the right, V4 on the left).

2: crystal wall and the wave

These two areas are usually the first area encountered at Caswell, and its combination of excellent slab climbing and soft sandy landings is a perfect introduction to the bouldering in the bay, or a good warm up for other areas. Crystal wall has several fine slabby problems around the V0-V1 range. Pick of the bunch is the sit start out of the cave, which is worth about V3, highball and brilliant. The wave is not very high but slightly steeper and has plenty of interesting problems up to around V2, with lots of eliminate possible.

3: the gulley

No real strong lines but there are a couple of fingery problems that start on the steep seaward wall and rock-over on the slab above, around V1/2ish. The slab opposite is good for beginners/kids.

4: the grotto

Dank, dark, difficult to find and smelling slightly of fish, the grotto is not everybody's cup of tea. However there are some decent hard, highball lines which make it worth a visit if you've climbed everything else. Sandy landings but spotters and mats are recommended.

5: split towers

A couple of excellent crack problems around V1/2, and some very highball problem/routes nearer E4/5.

6: the square

One of the best spots for bouldering on the peninsula, the square has a nice variety of problems on slick, dark limestone. The best area is the slightly overhanging east-facing wall, which has a good variety of straight-ups up to around V2, and a great traverse weighing in around V3. Loads of eliminates possible.

7: the far east

A bit of a trek but worth it just to do one of the best problems on Gower - the superb and obvious arete on the south-west facing wall. Not using the ledge on the right it is a cracking V5. Just to the left is are a couple of good face climbs. The rest of the area is hit-or-miss, there are some fine problems up to around V3 but the landings are generally poor. Don't forget to squirm through the blow-hole for a bit of fun!