Dylan Thomas, when he wrote about Wales' 'fields of praise', was alluding to
the countryside he knew best: Carmarthenshire's timeless landscapes, a
greener-than-green oasis that distils the country's reputation for natural
beauty.
In the eastern corner you're in the Brecon Beacons National Park - the wild
Black Mountain, to be precise, a rough, tough terrain of high plateau and
hidden lakes enveloped by mist, myth and legend. But travel a few miles
westward and the mountains soon subside into rich, rolling farmlands - classic
Carmarthenshire countryside - dotted with whitewashed farms and welcoming
little market towns.
Nineteenth-century traveller George Borrow, whose book
Wild Wales is
still a popular read, reckoned that Llandovery was 'the pleasantest little town
in which I have halted'.
Llandovery lies, calm and content, in the lovely Vale of Tywi, a broad valley
that runs through Llandeilo and Carmarthen on its way to the sea. To the north
there's a second river, the Teifi, which carves an idyllic route through an
equally beautiful but more wooded vale. And between the two there's nothing but
countryside pure and simple, subtle and seductive - landscapes such as those of
Grongar Hill, captured in the famous poem of the same name by John Dyer in the
18th century.
But why the Garden of Wales? Carmarthenshire has hopelessly green fingers. It's
home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales, an ambitious garden cast on a
grand scale with, as its centrepiece, the teardrop-shaped Great Glasshouse that
almost melts into its gentle, Tywi-side setting. Then, across the valley,
there's Aberglasney, created on a much more intimate scale and revealing the
hallmarks of great antiquity. Other green spaces include Gelli Aur (the 'Golden
Grove) and Dinefwr (sculpted by the celebrated landscaper 'Capability' Brown).
There's coast too - the grand sweep of Carmarthen Bay where you'll find the
biggest beach in Wales (Cefn Sidan's seven miles of sand), the sleepiest,
quirkiest seatown (Laugharne, for many people the alter ego for Llareggub in
Dylan Thomas's
Under Milk Wood), and Britain's most successful stretch
of coastal regeneration at the Millennium Coastal Park, a hugely impressive
£30-million 14 mile transformation of the shores between Pembrey and Llanelli.
These are historic landscapes. Iron Age forts crown many hillsides. Britain's
early conquerors created Britain's only known Roman gold mine at Pumsaint.
Monks built an abbey beside Talley's tranquil twin lakes. But, best of all, the
troubled medieval period produced Carreg Cennen Castle, a fortress perched on a
sheer crag overlooking the Black Mountain.
Explore Carmarthenshire in more detail at
www.visitcarmarthenshire.com