The importance of swell direction

Every surf spot in the world that picks up swell has a swell window in which to catch prevailing storms which create the swell. The Gower Peninsula has a swell region of approximately 215 deg to 260 or SSW to SWW. This is depicted in the diagram below:

When swell approaching Wales and the Gower Peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean does so within this swell window the result is a more powerful better quality wave. This does not mean that if the swell direction is not within this window that we will not get any swell, but it does usually mean that the resulting waves produced will be less powerful. The WAM map illustrates this and shows the direction in which the high and low pressures are moving in time. For more information on how these high and low pressures affect swell conditions see our quick help guide.

The swell depiction on the home page illustrates the direction of this approaching swell in relation to Llangennith or Caswell and Langland. Using this visual approach we can also now see why Llangennith holds more consistent swell all year round that the other beaches of the Gower Peninsula.

Due to Llangennith facing Westerly which contrasts Langland and Caswell that face Southerly this reduces the already small swell window even further. This also helps explain why on some occasions Langland and Caswell will be flat and Llangennith 2ft but on other occasions (dependent on the swell direction) Langland can hold virtually the same size swell as Llangennith.

The newly updated Llangennith surf report takes into consideration this swell direction as well as providing you with an illustration of wind direction in relation to the beach direction.