I’m tucked into a snug writing nook overlooking the sea. It should be an idyllic corner in which to write notes, but it’s hard to write anything when the sea is whispering her gentle evensong and the sky melting to a delicate rosé before my eyes. The writing nook is in Pobbles, a sea-facing room in the Oxwich Bay Hotel, and it’s about as restful – and unproductive – as Gower gets.
Oxwich Bay lies on Gower’s busier south coast. Despite the people – and it is a bank holiday – the vibe is laid back and the noise levels hushed as swimmers, families and early evening wine sippers find their own little nooks on the beach and bistro patio below my window. Originally an 18th-century rectory, the hotel achieves the tricky balance of simultaneous cosiness and class. It’s sumptuously furnished yet homely, thick stonework complementing chunky poplar beams and an astonishing fireplace set into the trunk of a real tree in the Chestnut Room. Opening onto furrows of pale sand and the Wales Coast Path, the Oxwich Bay Hotel gives a unpretentious welcome to this hot, slightly dishevelled hiker – and, no doubt, countless others who come here to play along the Gower coastline.
The seafront rooms are named after those beaches, including Oxwich and Three Cliffs. Pobbles is not a huge double but it’s perfectly designed for rest, recovery and regarding that rosé sky. Fresh white bed linen is paired with heavy velvet cushions and curtains in deep tones of earth and forest, a colour scheme also surprisingly pulled off in the slender en-suite and making a welcome change from cliched sea blue and beige.
And then there’s that writing booth, its striped banquette and compact table surely designed with unproductive, dishevelled writers in mind. The tea tray is generously packed and it’s tempting to order room service and just sit here for 48 hours, pretending to write whilst breathing in the view. But with a table for one booked in the bistro and a good book to get through, I loosen my dishevelled limbs under a steaming shower and head downstairs.
Bistro by the Bay is just about as lovely a place as I’ve dined in for years. With a soothing background playlist and genuinely warm service, it’s open to hotel guests and non-residents alike. I order my favourite pan-roast sea bass, which is delivered enticingly draped over herby potatoes and delicate Mediterranean veg. The strawberry cheesecake is perfection, with a hefty dollop of south Wales-made Sidoli’s vanilla icecream in keeping with the hotel’s ethos of sourcing local produce wherever possible. Under an evening breeze drifting in through open patio doors and with a crisp glass of Pinot, I read my Tessa Hadley and wonder if she would be able to craft such impeccable short stories from Pobbles without being distracted by the view.
If you can manage to leave your seat, St Illtyd’s Church, a mere pebble’s throw from the hotel, is a charming place to stroll to. Tiny but beautifully furnished, it has a weighty font carved from Sutton stone and said to have been brought here by St Illtyd himself. Evening time also gives a peaceful chance to mooch amongst the headstones in the churchyard and absorb some fascinating local history, including a slab commemorating an unknown man found in Oxwich in 2013.
Gower has so much to explore, including some of the most beautiful beaches and smugglers’ coves in the UK. With gentle and generally clean waters for swimming, and miles of clifftop and inland trails to follow, it’s the perfect destination for families, groups and solo hikers – just not for aspiring novelists.
My stay at the Oxwich Bay Hotel was kindly gifted. Find out more and book your break at the Oxwich Bay Hotel here.
