and out of the village alongside the B4295, then turn right into Ponty Cob Road. After a mile pass under the railway and the A484 and then turn immediately left along a shared-use path to the south of Loughor (8/65 miles).
After a mile, cross the River Loughor and turn right following waymarker signs for NCN 4 around Yspitty (9/64 miles). Cross the main road at the end of the village and ride around the perimeter of the car park and across the footbridge over the A484. Ride along this meandering and generously wide shared-use path through the Millennium Coastal Park, first passing the holiday park, then swinging inland around the Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre before returning to the coast by a smart development of New-England-style homes on the outskirts of Llanelli.
Passing an iconic Welsh signpost in the Millennium Coastal Park near Burry Port
Continue following NCN 4 alongside the B4304, then turn left at the next roundabout by Llanelli Dock and ride out along the coast and enjoy mile after mile of traffic-free cycling past Pwll to Burry Port (20/53 miles). A trail-side plaque near Pwll commemorates the place where a seaplane carrying Amelia Earhart landed in 1928, making her the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. She made a solo crossing four years later. Ride around the harbour at Burry Port, which was established to ship coal from mines further up the Gwendraeth Valley, and follow NCN 4 inland through Pembrey (21/52 miles) and Kidwelly (25/48 miles). Turn left immediately after the bridge over Gwendraeth Fach in the centre of the village and ride back out to the coast at the mouth of the River Towy.
KIDWELLY CASTLE
The Normans established the first motte and bailey castle at Kidwelly in 1106, but Edward I commissioned a stone castle with two sets of concentric walls in the 13th century as part of his ‘Ring of Steel’ fortresses that were introduced to control the Welsh. However, it was only completed in 1422 due to local uprisings in support of the Welsh rebel, Owain Glyndŵr, who was trying to regain Wales’s independence from the English crown.
Unlike many Welsh castles, Kidwelly survived the ravages of the English Civil War and is remarkably well preserved. It was used as a location during the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. To visit the castle, continue around the bend and turn immediately right into Castle Street by the coffee shop.
When you reach Ferryside (30/43 miles), you may be able to take the recently reintroduced ferry service across the river to Llansteffan, saving 18 miles. If you can, ride out of Llansteffan following signs first to Llanybri and from there signs to St Clears to rejoin NCN 4. Otherwise follow NCN 4 through the village and uphill to briefly join the A484 and then turn left and ride through Croesyceiliog and down into Carmarthen (39/34 miles). Turn left along the shared-use path alongside the A484, which leads into the town, and follow it across the A48, under the A40 and down Pensarn Road towards the River Towy. Turn left immediately before the bridge and follow NCN 4 around past Carmarthen Station.
CARMARTHEN
The Greco-Roman polymath Ptolemy mentioned Carmarthen in his writings, providing the town with convincing evidence to support its claim that it is the oldest in Wales. Between the 16th and 18th centuries it was certainly the most populous borough in Wales, but was soon outgrown by towns in the South Wales Coalfield during the 19th century.
Carmarthen Castle, which dates from the 12th century, was captured and destroyed on several occasions, and Oliver Cromwell ordered it to be dismantled in the mid 1600s. However, it remained remarkably intact and housed the town’s police station during the Victorian era, the local gaol until the 1920s and is still home to a small museum and the town’s Tourist Information Centre.
Cross the footbridge over the River Towy, loop back underneath it and follow a shared-use path along the riverbank and through Carmarthen Park. Turn left along the B4312 and left again into Llansteffan Road half a mile further on. Once over the A40 and the railway, turn right into Alltycnap Road and follow NCN 4 as it snakes uphill. Near the top of the climb, turn right and immediately right again, all the time following signs for NCN 4. Follow this pleasant, narrow lane enjoying the views of the rolling hills to the north before descending to cross Afon Cywyn.
Turn left when you meet the A40 and follow the shared-use path towards St Clears (52/21 miles). As you approach the village, turn sharply left and drop down to join a shared-use path alongside Afon Cynin. Turn left at its end and ride along Bridge Street. Then turn right towards New Mill just after crossing the bridge over Afon Taf. A mile further on, turn left and follow NCN 4 waymarkers towards Laugharne and enjoy 2 miles of descent before turning right along the A4066 to Laugharne (57/16 miles). If you want to bypass Laugharne, continue through New Mill, saving 4 miles and 160m of ascent.
LAUGHARNE
Laugharne is a pretty town with pleasant Georgian townhouses and the ruins of a 12th-century castle that the Parliamentarians besieged and dismantled in 1642. Had Margaret Taylor, the first wife of the noted historian AJP Taylor, not purchased the Boathouse in Laugharne for the Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), who had once been her lover, it would have probably remained a sleepy backwater. Thomas clearly loved the place, and it is thought to have inspired the fictional town of Llareggub in his most enduring work, Under Milk Wood. However, other places that have a fleeting association with Thomas further along our route make similar claims.
Thomas and his family stayed for just four years until his early death in 1953, which was brought about by a notoriously excessive lifestyle. Thomas is buried in the town’s churchyard and despite a stormy marriage beset by drunkenness and infidelity, his wife Caitlin (1913–1994), who left Laugharne at the earliest opportunity, chose to be buried next to him. Today, the place that Thomas called a ‘timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town’ celebrates him and other Welsh culture in an annual literary and arts festival called the Laugharne Weekend, which takes place in April. See www.thelaugharneweekend.com
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