The Council has received a share of a 1.5 million pound grant which the Welsh Assembly has divided up among the 16 coastal authorities in Wales to develop a continuous footpath along the entire Welsh coastline.

In Swansea, the money will be used as part of the council coastal access improvement programme, a scheme to improve public access to many of Gower's coastal hot spots.

Chris Dale, the Council Countryside Access Officer, said, "The money will be spent improving access for walkers, horse riders and people with mobility difficulties. We hope to do this by providing better signage, more information. We will also carry out some works to make access easier for everyone."

One of the ways to improve access will be to remove many of the stiles found across Gower. These will be replaced with gates for easier access.

The Council wants more people to walk the route between Crofty and Mumbles.

Chris said, "One of the main aspects of the programme is the Gower coast path. It's already possible to walk around Gower but there's no official route. We intend to improve this and develop a better route that we can promote."

The council hopes the finished route will form a visitor attraction similar to other popular walking destinations in other parts of the country.

The improvements have been welcomed by Geoff Haden, Vice Chairman of Tourism Swansea Bay. He said, "Anything that broadens access for everyone is beneficial, epecially for those with mobility problems.

"It's vital that we continue to raise the overall standard of destinations such as Gower to meet the expectations of visitors."