Whiteford Burrows, Gower Peninsula

START Fork right at the junction by Llanmadoc church and walk downhill to the hamlet at Cwm Ivy. Fork left at the first houses and pass through a gate (with National Trust sign) next to the last house.

Continue downhill on a surfaced track and after 250m turn right through a gate by the edge of a pine plantation, with small cottage beyond. Follow the sandy track along the edge of the trees for 800m to the next gate at the end of the forestry plantation. The land on the right was an extensive freshwater marsh until 2014, when an old dyke was breached after heavy rain. Tides now flood the area and conservationists are monitoring the revival of the original salt marsh.

Keep ahead on the track for 2km, with dunes and then further pine plantations on the left, until the edge of the flat salt marsh bends left. Follow the sandy path beyond the last trees and walk alongside of the dunes to the tip of the peninsula. The cast-iron lighthouse beyond Whiteford Point, built in 1865, is no longer in service but still acts as a navigational landmark.

Now turn south along the great sweep of Whiteford Sands, backed by huge dunes topped with marram grass. Officially, the Wales Coast Path runs along the rear of the beach but when the tide is out the sands are more than 500m wide. Continue ahead for 2.5km (with the opportunity to explore some of the dunes) and then veer left over sandy grassland and head towards the far right of the forestry plantation.

A sandy track cuts inland, with the limestone rocks of Cwm Ivy Tor ahead. Go through a gate at the end of the plantation and turn right by the western end of the tor. Pass through a kissing gate and follow the path ahead through a wide sandy basin called The Conygaer. The path climbs through a small wood, passes a gate onto the cliffs and turns right to the top of Hill Tor, with good views over the sands to distant Pembrokeshire. Turn left to meet a walled bank and then veer right, downhill, to the dunes at the rear of Broughton Bay.

Turn left alongside the caravan site for 300m, go through a gate and turn right on the track, with caravans on right. Walk to a cattle grid and turn left on the lane to return to Llanmadoc in 800m.