Llandeilo

Llandeilo's accommodation reflects its character as a small, well-heeled market town: independent hotels and coaching inns on or near Rhosmaen Street offer comfortable, characterful stays within easy walking distance of the shops, galleries and restaurants that make the town centre so appealing, while a scatter of guest houses and B&Bs occupy Georgian townhouses on the quieter streets nearby. For visitors who want more space or a rural setting, farmhouse B&Bs and self-catering cottages are dotted through the surrounding Tywi Valley countryside, many with views over the river or towards Dinefwr's parkland and the hills beyond.

Because Llandeilo is compact, almost anywhere in town puts you within a short stroll of the main sights, and it works well as a base for exploring further afield too: Aberglasney, Carreg Cennen Castle, Golden Grove and the National Botanic Garden of Wales are all within a 20-minute drive, while the Brecon Beacons and the Gower Peninsula are both accessible for a day trip. Booking ahead is worth doing during the summer months and around local events, as the town's smaller hotels and guest houses have limited room counts, but outside peak season there is usually good availability across the range of options, from simple B&B rooms to more comfortable boutique stays in the heart of town.

Llandeilo's biggest draw is right on its doorstep: the National Trust's Dinefwr estate, a landscape with over a thousand years of history behind it. But the wider area rewards exploring too, from restored gardens to ruined castles and gentle river paths.

• Dinefwr Park and Castle — an 800-acre National Trust estate on the edge of town, combining an 18th-century deer park grazed by White Park cattle and fallow deer with the ruins of Dinefwr Castle, once a stronghold of the medieval princes of Deheubarth, and the restored Newton House with its Edwardian servants' quarters.
• Aberglasney Gardens — a few miles west near Llangathen, this is one of Wales's best-known gardens, famous for its restoration (documented in the BBC series "A Garden Lost in Time") and for the Elizabethan cloister garden, the only one of its kind surviving in Britain.
• Carreg Cennen Castle — a spectacular ruined castle a short drive southeast, perched on a limestone crag above the Cennen Valley with a passage leading into a natural cave beneath the fortress.
• Golden Grove (Gelli Aur) Country Park — a former Vaughan family estate on the opposite bank of the Tywi, with waymarked woodland walks, an arboretum and wide views over the valley.
• National Botanic Garden of Wales — a short drive south at Middleton Hall, home to the world's largest single-span glasshouse and extensive parkland and lakes.
• Rhosmaen Street — Llandeilo's steep main shopping street, lined with independent boutiques, art galleries, antique shops and long-established family businesses.
• St Teilo's Church — the parish church at the top of the town, on a site with monastic origins dating back to the 6th century.
• Tywi Valley walks and cycling — riverside paths and quiet lanes along the Tywi give easy access to some of the loveliest valley scenery in south-west Wales.

For a small town, Llandeilo punches well above its weight on food. Ginhaus Deli on Rhosmaen Street combines a well-stocked delicatessen with an extensive gin selection and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in relaxed surroundings, while Pitchfork and Provision is a well-regarded independent bakery and café in the town centre known for its bread and cakes. A short drive out towards Carmarthen, the village of Llanarthne is home to Wright's Food Emporium, a celebrated café, deli and wine shop set up by food writer Simon Wright in a former coaching inn, drawing visitors from well beyond the immediate area. The town also has a handful of traditional pubs serving food, making it easy to find a good meal after a day exploring Dinefwr or the wider Tywi Valley.

Carmarthenshire's Tywi Valley around Llandeilo is classic Welsh river-valley camping country: steep wooded hillsides, water meadows grazed by cattle and sheep, and a scatter of small, family-run campsites and glamping sites tucked into the folds of the landscape rather than large commercial parks. As with the rest of Wales, wild camping without the landowner's permission remains against the law here, so it's best to book a pitch at one of the area's licensed sites, several of which sit close to the river or within a short walk of Dinefwr's parkland.

The terrain rewards a little planning: the valley floor around the Tywi can be damp underfoot outside summer, and campers should expect some steep approach lanes given the hilly nature of the countryside between Llandeilo, Llandovery and the fringes of the Brecon Beacons. Late spring through early autumn is the most reliable window for tent camping, when the ground is firmer and the long evenings make the most of the valley's scenery, though touring caravan and glamping sites with hardstanding or wooden pods extend the season further into autumn and even winter for those who want a more sheltered stay.

Glamping has taken off in this part of Carmarthenshire, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and wooden pods offering a warmer, more comfortable alternative to canvas while keeping campers close to the river paths, castle ruins and gardens that draw people to the area. Many sites are small and family-run, often on working farms, giving visitors a genuine taste of the Tywi Valley's rural life alongside easy access to Llandeilo's shops and restaurants, Dinefwr's deer park, and the wider network of walking and cycling routes that thread through this quiet stretch of west Wales.