Stn 01 · 340° · El 8 m

Branton Rock

Bendrick Rock stands alone on the sand of Three Cliffs Bay, Gower. Scroll to walk round it, or pick a station above.

The light follows your clock. Visit at dusk and the rock is lit from the west; after dark it stands in moonlight.

Draft · What Branton Rock does, in one sentence.

Stn 02 · 190° · El 8 m

South Face

The seaward face. Below the tide line, about 5 m up, the limestone is dark with weed; above it, pale grey, with orange lichen on the summit.

The sea leaves the rock on dry sand for a few hours either side of low tide.

Draft · The main claim.

Stn 03 · 100° · El 5 m

East Ridge

East of the summit the rock steps down as a jagged ridge of joint-cut pillars, ending in a low tail of broken blocks.

Strata

The limestone of the bay dips seaward at about 75°. The harder beds stand out as ribs.

Draft · The work, shown close.

Stn 04 · 25° · El 26 m

The Summit

From above, the beds read as ribs running east to west, and crossing joints cut the rock into its pyramid.

Draft · The wider view: who is behind Branton Rock.

Stn 05 · 272° · El 18 m

Tor Point

From the west side of the bay the rock sits in its setting of sand, reef and tide. This is the view in Paul Edwards's dawn photograph.

Draft · What to do next, and how to get in touch.

The rock is modelled from eight photographs taken round it at low tide, not a survey. Other sources: Aspects of Wales, South Wales Climbing Wiki, Geological Society.