West Wales - West Glamorgan

Our final day of visits to Wales was another eventful one. We headed south to the county of Glamorgan and the beautiful Gower Peninsula and Swansea Bay. We enjoyed one last breakfast at our fabulous B&B before saying our farewells and heading off on a lovely clear warm morning.

Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station

As we left the M4 and headed into the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty we could see why it had received this designation. Passing through mixed landscapes with random Cows on the road, we headed to the westerly end and the small village of Horton. As we approached the roads became narrower and narrower and we were surprised to meet a coach coming in the opposite direction on a very tight corner.

We  eventually arrived at a beach carpark in the village and made our way along the sandy path to the Lifeboat Station. Port Eynon is the neighbouring village where the original Port Eynon Lifeboat Station was established by the RNLI in 1884.

On 27 January 1883, the steamship Agnes Jack ran aground at Port Eynon Point. Villagers were helpless to do anything but watch on, as eighteen men were drowned. On 7 February 1883, the schooner Surprise was wrecked just north of Port Eynon Point, with the loss of all seven hands. It was these tragedies that led to the construction of a lifeboat house at the western end of Port Eynon Bay. The building still exists and is used by the Youth Hostel Association. Further tragedy struck the area when, in January 1916, the Lifeboat, Janet, was capsized twice leading to the loss of three of the thirteen crew. The station was closed soon after.

In 1968 the station reopened with a new boathouse in the village of Horton and was renamed, Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station. It was designed for Inshore lifeboats and a larger boathouse was built in 1991 and extended again in 2016. The station has a D-Class, Barbara Jane (D-824) and is launched by a tractor along a gap in the sand dunes to the expansive beach.

Unfortunately, no one was at the station to meet us so we enjoyed the beach for a while before winding our way back through even narrower roads heading towards Mumbles.

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Mumbles Lifeboat Station

The busy seaside town of Mumbles lies on a small peninsula jutting into Swansea Bay on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula. We  had received contact from the Station and advised a time we would arrive. We were a little early so we first stopped at the RNLI shop in town. Probably one of the most unusual locations for a shop – in the local Church. We were met by the lovely ladies running the pop up shop in the back of the church. They showed us a stained glass window which depicted the 1947 lifeboat disaster, more on that shortly. We thanked the ladies for the lovely chat and purchased a pin badge before heading to the station.

After parking up nearby, we walked down to the ILB boathouse and were met by Adam and Coxswain Josh.  They welcomed us into the crew room and we enjoyed a good chat and a bit of banter  over a lovely cup of tea and some biscuits. The view from the crew room over the entire bay was fantastic. Mumbles is somewhat unique in that four stations can be seen in the location. The history and use of the stations seems complex and a little challenging due to land ownership.

The RNLI took over the station in 1865 but there has been a lifeboat service in Mumbles since 1835 although the boat was kept on the Swansea side of the bay. The RNLI built a boathouse under the cliff at Mumbles but was replaced in 1833 with a building that still exists right opposite the current ILB station.

The station has been plagued with tragedy over the years. During a gale in January 1883, the German barque Admiral Prinz Aldabert was driven on to rocks near the Mumbles Lighthouse. The lifeboat, Wolverhampton, went out to assist and was capsized multiple times, finally being washed on to rocks. The lifeboat was badly damaged, and four of the lifeboat crew drowned, with others being seriously injured. Coxswain Jenkin Jenkins was awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal, but had lost two sons in the incident.

On 31 January 1903, the steamship Christina of Waterford ran aground on Aberavon sands. The crew were able to walk ashore at low tide. The following day, Mumbles lifeboat, James Stevens No. 12, was launched into gale-force conditions, to stand by the vessel as she refloated. Deciding to take shelter in the mouth of the River Afan, the lifeboat was hit by huge waves, and capsized twice. Six of the ten men thrown into the water were lost, including Coxswain Thomas Rogers, and David Morgan, a survivor of the 1883 capsize.

A third disaster would strike the Mumbles lifeboat. In April 1947, the lifeboat Edward, Prince of Wales was launched to the aid of the Liberty ship Samtampa, which was had developed engine trouble in a violent gale and was reported drifting. The lifeboat was last seen just after 7pm. The Samtampa came ashore at Sker Point, and broke into three sections. All of the 39 crew of the Samtampa perished. At dawn, the upturned wrecked lifeboat could be seen. All eight lifeboatmen were also lost, including RNLI Gold medal holder Coxswain William John Gannon.

The two slipway stations

that dominate the Mumbles coastline were constructed in 1916 and 2014. In 2023, concerns were  raised over the safety of the pier and the station closed. The current pier owners do not have the funds to pay for the repairs and so the All-Weather Lifeboat, Roy Barker IV (16-27), remains afloat and is accessed by a Boarding Boat from the ILB Boathouse.

We listened intently as Josh and Adam recalled some of the history and challenges of the station. At the same time we were listening in on radio transmissions between various boats and HM Coastguard. We were listening to two separate incidents and the guys were kindly explaining what was happening and what could potentially lead to a shout. Suddenly, Josh’s pager went off and he headed down to the boathouse to prepare the boats for launching. Was this the second service launch we would experience in as many days?

When Adam’s pager sounded we knew it was time to leave and he kindly led us out of the station and showed us where best to stand to watch the launch whilst he went off to get kitted up. We stood and watched the launch of the D-Class, Hugh, Maureen and Heather Pope (D-895) from a safe distance. What a chilling experience yet again as we saw the boat head across the bay at speed.

Launch on Service at Mumbles Lifeboat Station

Following the launch we said goodbye to Josh, who had remained on shore, and headed back to the car for the last visit of this trip.

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Port Talbot Lifeboat Station

Around the bay in Aberavon lies Port Talbot lifeboat station. We  parked nearby and headed over to the station. The shop was open so we popped in a had a chat with the lovely shop volunteers, Pat and Sue. Unfortunately there were no crew available to meet with us. We never  take for granted that crew will be at unmanned stations and so we were not concerned about not being able to see inside the station.

The inshore station was established in 1966 with a boathouse on Aberavon Beach. This was used until 1977 when it was demolished and relocated to an area near the Coastguard station. Completed in 1988 the new station building has modern accommodation for the crew, a launch Land Rover and their D-Class lifeboat, Craig Morris (D-848). Whilst there is a slipway onto the beach adjacent to the boathouse, the Land Rover is able to transport the boat to various locations to launch if required.

Just across the road from the station was a Lifeguard hut and the lifeguards were able to use the crew facilities in the Lifeboat Station. We  popped our  heads in the door and said hello, took a photo of their Quad Bike and wished them a safe afternoon.

It was time to head for home and leave the fantastic coastline of Wales. It was a fabulous long weekend visiting 11 lifeboat stations. These visits meant that we had now completed all of the station in Wales.