Culver Hole – Port Eynon, Wales - Atlas Obscura

Culver Hole

This tall stone wall with no door and ill-matched windows was built centuries ago, and used as a shelter for domesticated pigeons. 

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Hidden in the cliffs on the Gower peninsula in South Wales is a cave sealed behind an 18-meter stone wall with no door and ill-matched windows. Believed to have been built in the 13th or 14th century as a shelter for domesticated pigeons, the cave would have held hundreds of pigeons in the day. Pigeons were an important source of food, providing meat and fresh eggs.

According to legend, this site was also used as a storehouse by powerful local brigand John Lucas and once had a secret tunnel that was used to move illegal contraband connecting it to the nearby salt house in Port Eynon. The word “culver” derives from the Old English word “culfre,” meaning pigeon.

Know Before You Go

The structure is fairly easy to get to at low tide from Port Eynon beach.


 Walk along the coastal path towards Overton. Just past a small memorial, there is a path leading down toward the sea. Follow this until you come to a cleft in the cliff. A tricky climb down to sea level and you're there.

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