Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire (Welsh: Sir Gaerfyrddin or Sir Gâr) is a county in south west Wales. It is bounded to the north west by Ceredigion, the west by Pembrokeshire, the east by Glamorgan and to the north east by Powys

Towns and villages

Towns

• 1 Carmarthen (Welsh: Caerfyrddin) – the county town of Carmarthenshire, bustling market
• 2 Ammanford (Rhydaman) — a former coal mining town
• 3 Burry Port (Porth Tywyn) — a harbour town and is famous for being the landing site of Amelia Earheart in her successful attempt at being the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean
• 4 Kidwelly (Cydweli) – it has a well-kept 12th-century castle
• 5 Laugharne (Talacharn) – coastal town with castle and Dylan Thomas connection
• 6 Llandeilo – picturesque market town.
• 7 Llandovery (Llanymddyfri) – picturesque market town
• 8 Llanelli – the largest town in the county is a base for visiting scenic areas such as the Millennium Coastal Path and Pembrey Country Park
• 9 St. Clears (Sanclêr) – market town

Villages

• 10 Ferryside (Glan-y-fferi) — a fishing village that has become holiday and retirement area
• 11 Llanfynydd
• 12 Pendine (Pentywyn) — home of the Pendine Museum of Speed
• 13 Pumsaint — a village near the Dolaucothi Gold Mines, where the Roman mined gold ore
• 14 Llansteffan and Llanybri are neighbouring idyllic coastal villages
• 15 Llandysul — popular for fishing and canoeing

Understand

Carmarthenshire is a largely rural county and has rich farmland and a large agricultural industry. It has some of the most fertile land in Wales and is known as the Garden of Wales. Carmarthenshire is an ancient county and historically the largest traditional county of Wales, which modern Carmarthenshire shares roughly the same boundaries.

The Prince of Wales's Welsh home is located near the village of Myddfai in Carmarthenshire.

Tourist information

• Discover Carmarthenshire

Get in

By car

• The M4 Motorway connects Carmarthenshire with Swansea and destinations to the East, eventually reaching London. The M4 terminates at the Pont Abraham Roundabout, approximately 15 miles south east of Carmarthen and serves Llanelli.
• The A48 connects Carmarthen to the M4 at Pont Abraham. The A48 then continues along a route similar to the M4 heading eastwards.
• The A483 connects towns in eastern Carmarthenshire to places in mid and north Wales and Chester.
• The A40 is a major east–west route beginning from London and ending at Fishguard which passes through Carmarthen. East of Carmarthen, the A40 skirts the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons and passes the town of Brecon.

By train

Arriva Trains Wales run the vast majority of Services in the area, with First Great Western running a small number of through trains to London.

Train services from Shrewsbury, via central Wales on the scenic Heart of Wales Line call at Ammanford and Llanelli.

The only east–west line through Carmarthenshire is the West Wales line on which direct Arriva Trains Wales services from Manchester, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea call at Llanelli and Carmarthen as well as many other smaller stations. First Great Western trains from London only run directly to Llanelli and Carmarthen during the summer months. At other times, a change at Swansea or Newport is required.

By bus

National Express operate coach services to Carmarthen from Blackpool, Birmingham and London (Victoria). The TrawsCambria service from Cardiff Bay to Aberystwyth calls at Carmarthen. To Llanelli, National Express operate regular coach services from London (Victoria).

See Carmarthenshire government bus page

By plane

• Pembrey Airport (ICAO:EGFP) in the south of Carmarthenshire handles private light aircraft. Charter company South Western Airlines operate out of Pembrey Airport.

By boat

The ferry ports at Pembroke Dock and Fishguart are approximately an hour away from Carmarthenshire, offering ferry services between south Wales and Ireland.

Get around

The best way to travel around Carmarthenshire is by private car.

See also Carmarthenshire government bus page

See

Castles

• Carmarthen Castle
• Carreg Cennen Castle, near Llandeilo
• Dinefwr Castle, near Llandeilo
• Dryslwyn Castle, near Llandeilo
• Kidwelly Castle
• Laugharne Castle
• Llandovery Castle
• Llansteffan Castle

Coastline

• Cefn Sidan beach near Burry Port
• Gwendraeth estuary near Kidwelly
• Llansteffan beach
• Pendine Sands

Parks and gardens

• Aberglasney near Llandeilo
• Black Mountain, the range of mountains on the far western part of the Brecon Beacons National Park falls within Carmarthenshire. This part of the Brecon Beacons is far less visited than the central and western parts but is no less spectacular.

• 1 National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, ☏ +44 1558 667149. This garden was created in the new millennium and features over 100,000 plants set in a 568 acre regency park. Includes the world's largest single span glass house.  

Do

Aviation

• Pembrey Airport, Burry Port

Motor Racing

• Pembrey Circuit , Burry Port
• Pendine Museum of Speed

Skiing

• Pembrey Country Park, Burry Port

Spectator Sports

• Ffos Las Racecourse, Mixed (flat and jumps) horse racing, near Kidwelly.
• Scarlets, Rugby Union, Llanelli.

Cycling

• Millenium Coastal Path (part of NCR 4) This route follows the Carmarthenshire coast south of Llanelli.

Eat

Carmarthen and Llanelli offer the best opportunities in Carmarthenshire. Carmarthen contains chain restaurants such as Pizza Express, Frankie and Benny's, Harvester and the Real China as well as fast food eateries McDonalds and KFC. Outside of the town are a number of independent restaurants including Y Polyn (AA restaurant of the year for Wales 2010), The Cors in Laugharne (located in a bog garden) and Hurst House (previously owned by Neil Morrissey).

Drink

Llanelli has the best collection of pubs and bars in Carmarthenshire.

Sleep

• 1 Ty Mawr, Brechfa SA32 7RA, ☏ +44 1267 202332. Excellent small hotel, not plush, but great welcome and dining. No children under 10. B&B double £110. (updated May 2020)

Talk

The area is by and large bi-lingual. Welsh and English are both widely used.

Go next

• Brecon Beacons National Park - a short drive from Carmarthenshire will take you into this land of lakes, mountain peaks and Celtic mystery.
• Cardiff - Wales' capital city - castle - shopping - between 1 - 1 1/2 hours by car. There timetabled train services to Cardiff from Carmarthen and Llanelli as well as other smaller village stations. Direct bus services to Cardiff are available at Carmarthen and Llanelli.
• Pembrokeshire Coast National Park the only coastal national park in the UK, found just to the West of Carmarthenshire.
• Swansea and Gower peninsula - Wales second largest city lies just to the south east of Carmarthenshire for shopping, leisure, nightlife and restaurants. There are frequent bus and train connections from Llanelli and Carmarthen.