Forgotten UK coastal village where fields and farms have disappeared into the sea
- UK Hidden Gems
- Oct 30
- 2 min read
The Greeks have their famous story of Atlantis, and here in the UK, there’s the legend beneath Cardiff Bay.
Both tell of once-great places lost beneath the sea, but for people living in South Wales, there’s another, lesser-known story that hits a little closer to home.
Long ago, the Bristol Channel was a huge stretch of woodland, and when the tide is at its lowest, you can still spot the remains of ancient trees buried in the sand.
The first people to live in this area settled on land that later disappeared as the ice-age glaciers melted. However, some evidence shows that land may have stretched beyond Mumbles Head as recently as 400 years ago.
Old records even speak of a pathway from Penrice Castle to Margam Abbey that once continued far out past Mumbles Head itself.
Many believe that Grove Island, also called Green Grounds, was destroyed by a massive flood that struck one January morning in 1607, killing around two thousand people.
Stories of this disaster describe a terrifying wave, over seven metres tall, crashing into the River Severn and flooding parts of South Wales, Gloucestershire, Somerset and North Devon.
Seventeenth-century accounts describe “huge and mighty hills of water” that moved “faster than a greyhound can run.”
Some experts now think this might have been Britain’s first recorded tsunami, while others say it was likely a powerful storm surge caused by high tides and strong winds.
Evidence that Green Grounds once existed came to light in the 1890s, during a court case involving Sir John Morris, who had started quarrying on Mumbles Hill.
He was surprised to receive a bill for wayleave from two sisters who claimed to own all the land stretching from All Saints Church to the headland.
The sisters, known as the Miss Angels, won their case after producing an old map showing a farmhouse on Green Grounds, sitting out in the bay, along with a large meadow crossed by a simple wooden stile.
Remember - LeaveNoTrace!
As with anywhere outdoors, kindly keep these areas pristine and wild by taking all trash with you. The amount of complaints we have seen since the pandemic is crazy. It's really not that hard to take your rubbish with you!
Litter tends to spread, so if you see any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the hidden gem, it will help keep the area tidy.
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