Why not take inspiration for a day out from
one of Wales’ greatest poet’s.

Dylan Thomas loved the county of Carmarthenshire and has presented millions of people with wonderful glimpses of it in his poems and short stories. 'A Prospect of the Sea' describes an Amman Valley boy's delight in foam-flecked waves, sun-spangled sands and a girl as brown as berries.

For Dylan, Carmarthenshire was a land of white farms, green whinnying pastures, apple boughs and cider. The other side of the coin was "pale rain over the dwindling harbour, the sea-wet church the size of a snail with its horns through mist and the castle brown as owls". A visit to Laugharne will reveal two sources of inspiration - Brown's Hotel and the boathouse overlooking the estuary. He also liked visiting the towns of Ammanford, Llandovery, Llandeilo and Newcastle Emlyn.

The county town, Caerfyrddin, is named after King Arthur's wizard. Legend has it that while Merlin's oak still stand, no harm from flood, fire or any other enemy will befall the town. A few years back, the local worthies decided to take no chance and removed the tree's remains into the safekeeping of the local museum. Carmarthen is a thriving market town with a good shopping centre and an excellent base from which to explore the surrounding countryside. One novel way to start is to take a steam train of yesteryear on the Gwili Railway.

The county is still everything he wrote about it and much more, such is its The lush Tywi and Teifi valleys, market towns, hills and rural countryside lie alongside a sweeping coastline with award-winning beaches and urban busy shopping centres.

Llanelli's award-winning Millennium Coastal Park, the Discovery Centre at North Dock; then there's the National Wetlands Centre, lovely walks and first-class fishing and cycle paths. Plus Pembrey Country Park with the Blue Flag Cefn Sidan beach, Pendine Sands, Burry Port Harbour and numerous other destinations are attracting people from far and wide. . Burry Port offers sailing facilities and Pembrey is home to a motor-racing circuit.

Known as the Garden of Wales Carmarthenshire is home to the National Botanical Gardens based in the Vale of Tywi and features the Great Glasshouse, the Japanese Garden or the Double Wall. Just across the valley at Llangathen there’s the intimate Aberglasney with its Elizabethan and Jacobean cloister. Dinefwr Park in contrast, offers a bold landscape by 18th-century landscape artist ‘Capability’ Brown.

Ruined castles like Kidwelly and Carreg Cennen near Llandeilo or the haunting remains of Talley Abbey are vital relics of our nation’s turbulent history and the source of numerous stores and myths.

Activities in Carmarthenshire include horse riding, the skislope and toboggan at Pembrey Country Park, watersports, guided walks and numerous other things.
Cinemas, theatres, leisure centres, museums, art galleries, country parks, woodlands, hills and vales all offer something for residents and visitors.

The National Wool Museum in Dre-Fach Felindre, near Newcastle Emlyn is a very special place to visit. Housed in the former Cambrian Mills, the Museum, which is still a working mill, tells the story of the woollen industry in Wales and of the rural community that depended on it. With various activities and events taking place during the summer why not come along and find out more about this fascinating industry and story.

Why not decorate a slate or two in one of our craft workshops throughout August at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis. Why not draw inspiration for the museum’s new ART Cart and get creative. Also not to be missed are the stunning introductory film To Steal A Mountain, daily slate splitting demonstrations by our Quarry Craftsmen, and the terrace of Quarrymen’s Houses and much more!

Finally Carmarthenshire is the ‘Garden of Wales’ in more ways than one. Its floral beauty is matched by rich farmlands and natural resources that produce a bountiful larder of fresh food. In its markets and many restaurants you can savour the true taste of Welsh Black beef and succulent Welsh lamb, Carmarthen Bay cockles and seafood, Tywil Salmon and sea-trout of the tastiest farmhouse cheeses on the planet.

From morning to late-night bistro, in boutique hotels and cosy country inns, you’ll enjoy what we call the True Taste in Carmarthenshire.