It's a Monday afternoon and I'm standing at the old coastguard station in Rhossili, Gower looking out at the usually-beautiful Worm's Head. I say usually-beautiful because as luck would have it, my trip to this gorgeous part of the country has unfortunately fallen on a very wet, windy and foggy day. Typical. The poor weather means there's no visitors to the Worm today - but this does mean the kind volunteer watchkeepers have more time to talk to me than they normally would - silver linings!
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) has 37 active members in its Worm's Head branch and today members Brian and Graham are on duty. Ernie, who I spoke to last week after a video of a NCI Worm's Head watchkeeper using a foghorn to warn people that they could get cut-off by the tide went viral, has kindly given up his afternoon off to meet with me too - and the four of us are peering out to sea to look for any boats, kayaks, dinghies or any walkers on the coast that may need assistance.
Unlike many coastal paths in Gower, the path to Worm's Head is only accessible at set times, due to the tides. Walkers have to cross a causeway and, unlike some other causeways in the UK, the seabed here is neither flat nor staggered - it's very irregular and at times there's steep drops, so it's dangerous to try and walk or swim across the causeway when the tide is in.
