The Jurassic cliffs of the Glamorgan coast, seen from Southerndown
It has been a stormy couple of weeks in the UK, but there have been beautifully fine days in between. Christmas Day was one of them, so we went for a walk at Southerndown on Glamorgan’s Jurassic Coast. This area is officially called Dunraven Bay and it has two main grey-pebble beaches, separated by a headland.
Looking back as we walked up to the headland…
At the top of the path we reach the old walled garden…
On the headland’s far end, which we didn’t visit on this occasion, once stood Dunraven Castle. Now only its stony footprint remains. It was the site of a home from at least the 16th century but the most recent castle was built in 1803 but demolished in 1963.
An old image of Dunraven Castle – what an amazing place it must have been on the end of the cliff…
The castle and its cliff-top setting seems to invite some kind of Gothic novel, or perhaps something by Daphne du Maurier?
Today the castle is gone, but the old walled garden still remains. But before we turn the corner into the garden, let’s look over at the view from the other side of the headland…
The Jurassic cliffs seen from the viewing point at the top of the Dunraven walk…
Down below the sea was lashing against the rocks…
Turning around again, we saw the entrance to the garden.
Down into the Dunraven garden…
Standing on the outside corner of the walled garden is this tower…
The tower bears a coat of arms and the motto “Quae sursum volo videre”
The motto Quae sursum volo videre means either “I wish to see what is beyond” or ” I wish to see heavenly things”.
This is the heraldic shield of Valentine-Richard Wyndham, who was created Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl in 1822 and was descended from the O’Quin family. This design seems to be a variation on the O’Quin (or Quinn) family arms.
As we entered the midwinter garden I was on the look-out for any sign of colour…
Ivy on a tree…
Red branches…
Blue sky through bare branches…
Hart’s tongue fern and ivy…
Evergreen oak…
A blackbird sang…
Yew needles (I think)…
Possibly a box bush (Buxus)?
Looking out of the walled garden into the wilds…
Swirls of yellow lichen on the wall…
We often sit in this shelter and eat our sandwiches…
A Bergenia flower survives inside the garden walls…
Hydrangea petiolaris buds prepare for next spring…
The strong garden walls…
A gnarled old tree trunk…
An internal wall in the garden…
Pulmonaria (lungwort) in the herbaceous borders…
Possibly hellebore leaves?
Seedheads…
Fatsia japonica…
Fatsia fruit – very scant…
Osmanthus…
A weathered stone…
…covered in white “chewing gum” lichen…
A stream runs down the slope beside the path…
…and finds its way down to the sea…
I think this building down by the beach must have been the lodge for Dunraven Castle…
I am always fascinated by this collection of plastic fishing-net floats in the garden of the lodge…
The wild sea seemed to hold the memory of recent storms…
This dog seemed to be enjoying it all…
The pebbles are grey but some big lumps have veins of quartz…
A last look at Dunraven Bay…
We moved on to nearby Ogmore-by-Sea…
The waves at Ogmore-by-Sea are much more subdued than at Southerndown…
Many people live in big houses overlooking the sea here…
Finally we ended up eating our sandwiches at Rest Bay, near Porthcawl…
Not much of a view from the car park at Rest Bay, apart from this winter-white black-headed gull…
We did wander here last year, so here are my Rest Bay pictures from that visit.
The Squirrelbasket 
Once again stunning pictures. I love Dunraven Castle and Oh ! for the sound of the Blackbird singing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your kind words.
Actually the other day I was kept awake at 5am, for hours, by a robin singing outside the bedroom window. Beautiful but untimely! I will also expect the “blackbird singing in the dead of night” as we move towards spring…
All the best 🙂
Hi, sorry but i think the pic u have of dunraven castle is actually dunraven hotel. Dunraven castle was another building. Search images or possibly history of southerndown. Found out in a roundabout way from lost country houses of wales site.
Doh! Silly me! I should have realised that, as I’m sure I have seen that hotel building.
Thank you so much for the correction – and I have now changed the image.
Best wishes 🙂