So you want to get away from it all for a few days? somewhere peaceful tucked away in the woods where your alarm call is the birds twittering and the sun shining through the trees. Do I know of such a place? indeed I do and just a couple of miles north of St Clears in Carmarthenshire you can find Woodland Lodges.
A friendly family run site with log cabins that sleep from two up to groups of eight people, all the cabins have their own sauna which is a nice addition to what is essentially a base to explore South West Wales. Each cabin has all you need to self cater during your stay, shower or whirlpool bath, a fridge freezer an oven with grill, microwave, toaster and a television it's all there, everything is run on electricity so make sure you have a supply of pound coins, one warning the electric meter will whizz round like a whirling dervish if you spark up the sauna.
St Clears is split in two by the busy A40 which hurries the traffic westward to Pembroke Dock and by-passing the quiet little town which has some nice pubs and a couple of excellent prize winning butchers cum delicatessen where locally produced food can be obtained for cooking back at the cabin.
Heading south out of St Clears on the road to Pendine Sands and Laugharne the brown signs direct you to Dylan Thomas' Boathouse and the village of Laugharne with it's ghostly mediaeval castle on the estuary of the River Taf. It is reputed to be the fictional town of Llareggub and the inspiration behind the Thomas play 'Under Milk Wood'. It's other claim to fame is that actor Neil Morrissey loves the place so much he bought one of the pubs Browns Hotel which he sold in 2004 and still has an interest in other property nearby notably the exclusive Hurst House Hotel.
Laugharne has a plethora of pubs ironically three of them are within a stones throw of Temperance House but for good home cooked food try Greens restaurant by the car park, they offer organic local produce but beware if you are peckish between 3 and 6pm as rural Wales is shut.
You can find the grave of Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin in the churchyard, a simple white wooden cross is all that marks the great writers last resting place. Most pubs around St Clears and Laugharne have pictures of Thomas on the walls and they all claim he was a regular. Thomas spent most of the last four years of his short life in Laugharne not always sober and often quoted 'an alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you'....no wonder most people assumed he drank himself to death.
Take a walk along the cliffs westward away from the castle up through wooded cliffs and the coast path will lead you along the shore until just before the quarry you cut back into Laugharne where you can walk through the churchyard and then down to The Boathouse where Dylan Thomas lived, now part tea rooms part museum it can be visited as long as you arrive well before 3pm. Just along from the Boathouse is Thomas' writing shed, if not the most expensive shed in Britain it certainly has the best view, this culture trail is well trodden in the summer months when American tourists swarm down to see the great mans house and writing shed so avoid the high season.
After a wander around Laugharne a visit to Pendine Sands is a must, the vast stretch of beach with firm solid sand where land speed records were made and broken in the twenties by Sir Malcolm Campbell and J.G Parry-Thomas. The Museum Of Speed on the beach houses 'Babs' the motor car with a massive 27 litre aero-engined car driven by John Parry-Thomas who was to lose his life on the sands when Babs drive chain broke at a speed of 170mph almost taking his head off. The car was buried in the sand after the accident but was recovered and restored and returned to action on the beach in the seventies. I wanted to open up the modest 1.6 litre 16v engine on my new Renault for a blast along the beach to see what it can do but unfortunately the beach is in MOD hands now and all motoring activities on Pendine Sands are strictly prohibited especially between the hours of 1500 and 1800.
On the way back take a drive to Llansteffan just a few miles south of Carmarthen and climb the steep hill to the castle high on the cliffs. Llansteffan Castle is magical for as many reasons as you care to make up and mercifully unlike in England it's free to enter and not blighted by those twin spoilsports health and safety. Climbing on the ramparts gives a fine view out over the Tywi estuary and makes a wonderful playground, if I had a sword and shield I'd have been running around the place for hours. At low tide you can walk down the zig-zag steps from the south of the castle to the beach below for a spot of beachcombing or a walk on the sand.
This part of Wales is full of spectacular walks, loads of pubs and restaurants and a very friendly welcome from the locals, try the Butchers Arms in St Clears it's on the way out of town on the Laugharne road you'll get good ale and food including real chips something that South Wales is particularly good at, none of your frozen rubbish here just good locally sourced produce and scenery to take your breath away.
Woodland Lodges can be found via http://www.hoseasons.co.uk/
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