Culver Hole is an 18 meters tall stone wall built centuries ago in order to shelter domesticated pigeons in Port Enyon, Wales. This 13th-century wall with no doors and three unmatching windows seals the cave that would shelter hundreds of pigeons which were significant sources of food for their meat and eggs. These medieval pigeons would make their nests in the nearly thirty tiers of boxes on the internal face of the wall.
Hidden in the cliffs of the Gower Peninsula, the Culver Hole is also the setting of several smuggling stories. It is not surprising as the entire coast was notorious for smuggling, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. For instance, according to a legend, a powerful brigand called John Lucas used the cave as a storehouse with a secret tunnel. It is believed that this tunnel was large enough to ride a horse through, and would connect the cave to another structure called “Salt House.” Some even claim that the structure functioned as a castle at some stage, although it seems groundless. Today it is an attraction site for rock climbers during mid to low tide.
