South West Wales – A Sense of Place
How strong is it in South West Wales? That's an easy question to answer when you're up in the Preseli Hills touching its ancient stones, with the salty rocks of Pembrokeshire's coast at your feet. Artists, poets, writers, musicians and craftspeople can't help but be inspired by South West Wales. They immerse themselves in Carmarthenshire's placid, timeless landscapes, where the pulse of life is still dictated by the seasons. Or they take it to the limit on the wild 'Land's End' of Gower where Dylan Thomas, from his cliff top eyrie, watched the 'miles of yellow coldness going away into the distance of the sea'.
The region's landscapes and seascapes have touched the human spirit since the dawn of time. Celtic saints and pilgrims were drawn to its shores. Early folklore spins tales of Arthur, Merlin (Myrddin) and Carmarthen (Caerfyrddin, the 'Town of Myrddin'). Legends - some believable - surround the romantic beauty of Cilgerran Castle, Pembrokeshire's archipelago and Dinas Hill, the faraway spot where Twm Shôn Cati, the Welsh Robin Hood, hid from the Sheriff of Carmarthen.
South West Wales's capacity to beguile is nowhere better expressed than at Aberdulais Falls in the Vale of Neath, a rare meeting place of industrial heritage and intense natural beauty. The great landscape artist JWM Turner was certainly impressed, capturing it on canvas in the early 19th century. Graham Sutherland, one of the 20th century's towering artistic talents, lived and breathed Pembrokeshire's vivid colours.
Musicians John Cale and Karl Jenkins were rooted in the traditions of the chapel and Welsh language. Both went on to achieve worldwide fame - Cale as founder of the seminal rock band, The Velvet Underground, Jenkins as a prolific modern classical composer. Actors like Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones bring a passion to their work that is easily traced to their home communities of Swansea and its neighbouring valleys.
And so it goes on. Today, South West Wales's seductive 'Sense of Place' is as strong as ever.