Destination Guide to South West Wales
Dominated by hundreds of miles of glorious coastline the South West of Wales is a region of unbridled natural beauty and many hidden treasures.
Comprising of the counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire the South West of Wales covers an area reaching from the tiny coastal village of St Davids in the West to the traditionally welsh town of Llanelli in the East and as far as Cardigan in the north. Inland the rolling Preselli Hill offer rolling soothing landscapes however the regions is renowned for its stunning natural beauty along its vast coastlines; a region of 230 square kilometres is designated as a protected area at the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and is typified by towering cliff faces and intermittent golden bays.
The 186 mile coastal path, which can be enjoyed in bite-size stretches, is a pull for hikers and ramblers whilst coasteering, negotiating the rock faces and waters around the cliffs, has become a sport in its own right which the people of Pembroke lay claim to. The shorelines and tiny offshore islands provide a peaceful habitat for diverse seabirds whilst the surrounding waters are home to porpoises, seals, bottle-nosed dolphins and migrating minke whales.
Once inhabited by the Anglo Normans the region’s history is visibly stamped upon the hillsides in the form of more than 50 stunning 12th and 13th century castles most notably at Manorbier Castle, Pembroke Castle and the marvellously preserved Carreg Cennen Castle. The National Botanic Gardens of Wales near Carmarthen, at twice the size of London’s Kew Gardens, are a must visit for anyone who enjoys plant-life whilst literary buffs will not want to miss the sleepy village of Laugharne, home and resting place of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Thought to be the palce of quarry for the rocks at Stonehenge in England, perhaps most intriguing is the region’s Neolithic sites such as standing stones of Pentre Ifan.
Sparsely populated through the winter months, the South West of Wales comes alive in the summer season and is home to a host of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. There is just one “city” in the region at the tiny village of St David’s, namesake of the Welsh patron saint, which achieves city status due to its stunning cathedral and adjacent Bishop’s Palace.
The delicious, picture postcard town of Tenby is not to be missed combining a cobbled medieval old-town and castle with glowing pastel coloured Victorian town houses a sheltered fishing port and stunning sandy bay. Other resort towns such as Saundersfoot and the quaint villages of St Brides Bay are well worth a visit whilst the westerly ports of Pembroke and Fishguard provide onward links to Ireland via ferry.
A tour of Wales is incomplete without discovering the untouched coastlines of Pembrokeshire and hidden gems of the South West of this tiny nation.
