April 2018 – West Wales
We have just returned from a few days visiting Cardiff (Gerry’s home town) and West Wales. Our first stop was to meet with Gerry’s school friend Richard and his wife Janet in Cardiff Bay. We took a bus to the centre of Cardiff where we walked to the Castle and civic centre before walking through Bute Park to catch a water taxi back to Mermaid Quay. It was fascinating to see just how vast a redevelopment has taken place. So much has changed and the regeneration of the old docks and dry docks has been amazing. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch before saying goodbye to Richard and Janet and heading to Carmarthen.
We awoke on our first day in West Wales to glorious weather and headed North West to the village of Cilgerran and its Castle. The Castle stands on a promontory overlooking the river Teifi and
was ideally situated to control both a natural crossing point and the passage of seagoing ships.
It seems the area was fortified in the 12th Century but the present buildings date from a couple of hundred years later.
There is a very impressive wicker statue of a knight in the grounds.
Our next stop was the village of Cenarth, the centre for coracles. 
The Photo shows a typical coracle (courtesy of Wikipedia). We did not see a coracle on the river but we did see the beautiful Cenarth Falls.
We headed next to the city of St Davids and enjoyed a visit to the magnificent Cathedral before driving to Narberth Castle. The castle remains are thought to date from the mid-thirteenth century but by the end of the 20th century it was completely derelict and overgrown. The ruins were renovated and opened to the public in 2006.
Our final destinations of the day were the seaside towns of Tenby and Saundersfoot. Both were quite crowded with tourists enjoying the Easter School holidays and the sunshine.
We had a lovely meal at the Cinnamon curry house in Carmarthen. We had failed to get in the previous night and if we had not booked we would not have got a table when we wanted it. The food and service were really good and we returned the next night (after booking).
The 
following day was Castle day!
Our first stop was Llansteffan on the estuary of the River Towy (at 75 miles, the longest river flowing entirely within Wales).
We enjoyed a walk along the sandy shore before climbing the hill to the Castle.
I rather liked the wall with the cross shaped window which showed up so well in the misty light!
.
We enjoyed our visit but soon headed off to the ruins of Laugharne Castle overlooking the River Taf estuary, The Castle and environs have been the inspiration for artists such as Turner, and authors such as Dylan Thomas who wrote ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog’ in the gazebo in the castle garden.
We certainly enjoyed walking around the castle which was in a much better state of repair than any of the others we visited.
That said, our next stop Kidwelly Castle 
was also well worth a visit and very much a castle for children to explore!
Our final visit of the day was to the Dinefwr Estate (National Trust).
We were quite tired by now and decided against the walk to the castle settling for a trip around Newton House.
.
All in all a splendid couple of days leaving us with a wish to return and explore more of the history and culture of West Wales.
