Sunflower Field Open at Rhossili in Gower

The popular Instagram famous sunflower fields at Rhossili in the Gower will be opening from Friday 24^th July but with some changes and not being run by the National Trust this year.

In 2017 the National Trust started a five year project to restore the Vile in Rhossili and part of this project it included the planting of some 400,000 sunflowers to add value to our local wildlife.

However, with the stunning backdrop of Worm's Head stretching out to the sea, its no surprise that these impressive sunflower fields became a popular visitor’s destination for local families and visiting tourists.

The National Trust Rhossili Project

2017 marked the start of a five year project by the National Trust to restore the Vile. As an ancient landscape, treasured for its rich cultural heritage they plan on restoring the landscape and farming the land in a way that's productive and of value to wildlife.

As one of the UK’s few surviving medieval strip field farming systems, it’s crucial that we look after this landscape.

The National Trust are looking to do this by:

• Preserving and repairing historic boundaries, so to protect the Vile from being lost like many other similar strip field systems. Putting back the lost boundaries will also benefit wildlife, as it creates natural corridors, keeping wildlife flowing through the fields. They allow birds to nest in the hedges, insects to nest in the long grass and mammals to travel undetected by birds of prey.
• Create more banks, plant more wildlife friendly crops, this includes the sunflowers to transform this area into a haven for rare animals, birds and wild flowers.
• Create more meadows, the National Trust have re-seeded meadows with a rich grass and wildflower seed mix, that will provide instant food for the bees and butterflies and increase pollinators in the area. The plan is to establish more meadows to help increase the numbers of different plants across the whole of the Vile.
• Creating new hay meadows to restore this ancient landscape, as modern farming now favours silage fields as an alternative which often have no flowering plants and hay meadows provide the nectar source for pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths.
• Introduce beekeeping to the Vile.
• Develop a network of new walking routes through the Vile, so people can easily enjoy the improved surroundings.

 

This ancient style of farming, today, only found in a handful of places around the UK and we have it on our doorstep in West Wales

 

Who is Growing the Sunflower Fields in Gower this Year

With the help of Four rangers and eighty volunteers the National Trust has previously planted 400,000 towering yellow flowers in the Vile at the Gower. However, this year due to the coronavirus pandemic it was decided that they could not plant the crop in the springtime.

But we will have Sunflowers to see after all this year in the gower, because the owner of Gower Fresh Christmas Trees in Three Crosses, had bought an eight acre plot land adjacent to the sunflower fields before the coronavirus pandemic hit us.

And this year he decided to plant six different varieties and colours of sunflower to offer something a bit different for visitors, as well as add some little extras to the site.

The Gower Fresh Christmas Trees owner has created a massive sunflower ring, for photos additional to being able to take photos in the sunflower field and he has grown a second field of sunflowers so people can pick their own, at a cost of £1.50 per stem.

He has also added catering facilities here for food and drinks and reminds everyone on his facebook page to bring cash as the card facilities is a bit temperamental due to the poor Rhossili phone signal.

 

How to Get to the New Sunflower Fields in Gower

There is no need to book you can just turn up to visit the sunflower fields and you can park in the National Trust Car Park in Rhossili, which usually costs £5 full day, £2.50 half day or Free to National Trust members

It is easier to find the fields by putting the postcode SA3 1PR into your sat nav.

There will be directional signs from the National Trust Car Park and the Seafood shanti is mainly open for food and drink on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays as its only been given 28 days trading and will open for lunchtime food.

The fields will soft open on Friday 24^th July 2020, although not all sunflowers are open yet so might be best to leave it a week or so for full affect. They have confirmed unless blazing Sun they will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so you can walk around but no one will be staffing the catering or pick your own field.

Rough Idea of opening times although may vary is from around 9.30am until 7pm and well behaved dogs on leads are allowed.

Here is the directional map that the Gower Fresh Christmas Trees have shared on Facebook to explain exactly where they are. The green is the National Trust car park, pink the walking route and yellow the fields.

 

You can Still Explore the National Trust Lavender Fields and New Pathways

The National Trust has increased six fields, to now seventeen purposely planted fields full of specially selected flowering crops to include half a million sunflowers, poppies, lavender and lupins which punctuate the crops of millet, wheat, oats, buckwheat, spelt, linseed and barley with ribbons of vibrant colour.

The National Trust sunflowers usually bloom alongside 15 hectares of wildflower meadows, as well as a hectare of lavender and these wildflower meadows and lavender fields are all still open to be visited this year, even though their Sunflowers have not been planted.

Rhossili, had fantastic footpaths that allow families to take in the stunning views over Rhossili Bay, over the headland and out to the Worm

However as part of this restoration project the National Trust has also developed a network of circular walking routes through the Vile which actually take you through the flower rich meadows and past colourful crops.

With the first new paths opening in Spring of 2018 and more added since they vary in length from half an hour stroll to a longer pleasant tour around the headland, all within a short distance from the newly refurbished National Trust car park at Rhossili.

The footpaths are all open this year and can be accessed from the overflow car park or from the main path that heads to the Worm, just follow the signs for waymarkers.

 

Your Family can Donate to Restoring Rhossili’s Landscape

If this is a local project that you family would like to support then the National Trust is actually running a fundraising campaign where you can donate £5 to help plant more Lavender, £10 to help feed bees and butterflies through the summer and birds through the winter or £25 to help plant a sack of sunflowers.

You can read more about the work and Donate to the Rhosili Appeal on via the National Trust Website Here

 

 

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