Laugharne

Laugharne is too small to offer a wide spread of hotels, so most visitors either book into its one historic inn or base themselves a short drive away and treat the town as a day trip. Brown's Hotel, dating from 1752 and once Dylan Thomas's favourite haunt, is the obvious choice for anyone wanting to stay right in the heart of the action, within walking distance of the castle, the Boathouse and St Martin's Church. Its rooms sit above the bar and restaurant, so it suits visitors happy to be part of the town's slow-paced social scene rather than seeking total quiet.

For more choice, Carmarthen and St Clears both have a range of hotels, inns and B&Bs within a short drive, while the coast towards Pendine and Llansteffan offers sea-view guesthouses and farm stays set among rolling Carmarthenshire countryside. Self-catering cottages are plentiful in the villages around Laugharne, many converted from old farm buildings, and make a good base for a longer stay exploring the Taf and Tywi estuaries, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park nearby, and the wide sands at Pendine. Booking ahead is wise during the spring Laugharne Weekend festival and through the summer months, when the town's limited accommodation fills quickly.

Laugharne rewards slow exploration on foot; most of its attractions sit within an easy walk of one another along the estuary.

• Dylan Thomas Boathouse — the cliffside cottage where Thomas lived with his wife Caitlin from 1949 until his death in 1953, now a small museum with rooms furnished as he left them and estuary views that inspired much of his later writing.
• Dylan Thomas's Writing Shed — a short walk along the cliff path from the Boathouse, the simple garage-turned-study where he worked each afternoon, preserved with his desk, scrunched-up paper and view over the water.
• Laugharne Castle — a Cadw-managed ruin with roots stretching back to 1116, rebuilt in stone by the Normans and later remodelled into a Tudor mansion by Sir John Perrot; Thomas himself wrote in a shed in its walled garden before moving to the Boathouse.
• St Martin's Church — the parish church on the edge of town where Dylan and Caitlin Thomas are buried side by side beneath a simple white cross, still visited by admirers of his work.
• Dylan's Walk — the waymarked stretch of the Wales Coast Path linking the castle, the Boathouse, the writing shed and the church, giving fine views over the Taf estuary towards Llansteffan.
• Laugharne Town Hall — the small Georgian building at the heart of town, still home to one of Britain's oldest surviving forms of self-government, the ancient Corporation of Laugharne.
• The estuary foreshore — at low tide, wide mudflats and cockle beds are exposed below the castle, a magnet for wading birds and a reminder that this has always been a working fishing and cockling community.

Brown's Hotel, a boutique inn dating from 1752, was Dylan Thomas's favourite drinking spot and remains the town's best-known address, now also home to Dexters Steakhouse & Grill next door, serving Dexter beef from a nearby farm. Beyond Brown's, the town's short main street holds a handful of independent spots, including a deli serving coffee and sandwiches, a wine bar offering brunch and tapas, and Ty-Glo, a well-regarded pizzeria, giving a compact but characterful choice for a town of its size. For a proper Welsh catch, look out for fresh local cockles and seafood, a nod to the estuary trade that has sustained Laugharne for centuries.

Carmarthenshire's estuary coast around Laugharne is quiet, green and largely undeveloped, making it appealing territory for campers, though it is worth knowing the rules before you pitch up. Wild camping is not legal in Wales without the landowner's permission, so informal camping on the foreshore, in fields or along the coast path around Laugharne is not permitted; instead, look to the area's established campsites and caravan parks, several of which sit within easy reach of the town on the road towards Pendine and St Clears. Many make the most of the gently rolling farmland and estuary views that define this stretch of coast, with pitches for tents, touring caravans and motorhomes alongside a growing number of glamping pods, shepherd's huts and safari tents for those wanting a more comfortable base.

The terrain here is a mix of soft, low-lying estuary marsh and firmer farmland a little further inland, so sites tend to sit back from the water itself rather than right on the mudflats; a short drive or walk usually brings you down to the Taf or Tywi shoreline and the coast path linking Laugharne to its neighbouring villages. Late spring through early autumn is the most comfortable camping season, when daytime temperatures are mild and the marshes and hedgerows are at their most alive with birdlife, though this part of Wales sees regular rain year-round, so a decent waterproof pitch and warm bedding are worth packing whatever the month. High summer brings the best weather but also the busiest sites, particularly around the Laugharne Weekend festival and the school holidays, so booking ahead is sensible.

For those who would rather skip the tent altogether, glamping has taken hold across this part of Carmarthenshire, with wooden pods, bell tents and converted farm buildings offering estuary or countryside views without the packing list. Whichever option you choose, Laugharne's compact size means most sites are only a short drive from the castle, the Boathouse and the town's pubs and cafes, making it easy to combine an outdoor stay with a proper look at Dylan Thomas country.