The general form of the castle, which
must once have been very strong, is nearly a square, with a projecting
gatehouse to the S.E. which is almost perfect. The keep on the eastern
side commands a lovely view. About half a mile further is the village of
Oystermouth, clustering with its whitewashed roofs along the foot and
declivity of a high mass of rock, which juts boldly out into the sea
for half a mile, forming the south-eastern extremity of Gower, and
terminating Swansea Bay. The village is celebrated as a bathing place,
and for its extensive fishery for oysters, with which it supplies
Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, &c. This trade gives
occupation to a considerable number of fishermen who are the chief
inhabitants of the place; but in the spring and summer, Oystermouth,
in consequence of the great beauty of the situation, and its extreme
salubrity, is completely filled with strangers, and high rates are
obtained for lodgings; the accommodations are mostly indifferent, though
the place is improving fast. The prospect from the summit of the rocks
is truly exhilarating and beautiful. On one side, the spectator beholds
just below him, the Atlantic rushing with all its majesty up the Bristol
Channel--rising over the mixon sands into a really mountainous
swell--while on the other, Swansea Bay, glittering with the white sails
and varied combinations of a crowd of shipping, seems spread out like a
vast and beautiful lake; its eastern shores bounded in the distance by
the mountainous and woody scenery of Britton-Ferry, Aberavon, Margam,
gradually diminishing towards Pyle.
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