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Carmarthenshire (Welsh: Sir Gaerfyrddin or Sir Gâr) is a county in south west Wales. It is bounded to the North West by Ceredigion, the West by Pembrokeshire, the East by Glamorgan and to the North East by Powys

Towns and villages

Map of Carmarthenshire

Towns

Villages

Understand

Carmarthenshire is a largely rural county and has rich farmland and a large agricultural industry. It has some of the most fertile land in Wales and is known as the Garden of Wales. Carmarthenshire is an ancient county and historically the largest traditional county of Wales, which modern Carmarthenshire shares roughly the same boundaries.

The Prince of Wales's Welsh home is located near the village of Myddfai in Carmarthenshire.

Tourist information

Get in

By car

  • The M4 Motorway connects Carmarthenshire with Swansea and destinations to the East, eventually reaching London. The M4 terminates at the Pont Abraham Roundabout, approximately 15 miles south east of Carmarthen and serves Llanelli.
  • The A48 connects Carmarthen to the M4 at Pont Abraham. The A48 then continues along a route similar to the M4 heading eastwards.
  • The A483 connects towns in eastern Carmarthenshire to places in mid and north Wales and Chester.
  • The A40 is a major east-west route beginning from London and ending at Fishguard which passes through Carmarthen. East of Carmarthen, the A40 skirts the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons and passes the town of Brecon.

By train

Arriva Trains Wales run the vast majority of Services in the area, with First Great Western running a small number of through trains to London.

Train services from Shrewsbury, via central Wales on the scenic Heart of Wales Line call at Ammanford and Llanelli.

The only east-west line through Carmarthenshire is the West Wales line on which direct Arriva Trains Wales services from Manchester, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea call at Llanelli and Carmarthen as well as many other smaller stations. First Great Western trains from London only run directly to Llanelli and Carmarthen during the summer months. At other times, a change at Swansea or Newport is required.

By bus

National Express operate coach services to Carmarthen from Blackpool, Birmingham and London (Victoria). The TrawsCambria service from Cardiff Bay to Aberystwyth calls at Carmarthen. To Llanelli, National Express operate regular coach services from London (Victoria).

See Carmarthenshire government bus page.

By air

Pembrey Airport in the south of Carmarthenshire handles private light aircraft. Charter company South Western Airlines operate out of Pembrey Airport.

By boat

The ferry ports at Pembroke Dock and Fishguart are approximately an hour away from Carmarthenshire, offering ferry services between south Wales and Ireland.

Get around

The best way to travel around Carmarthenshire is by private car.

See

Castles

Coastline

Parks and Gardens

  • Aberglasney near Llandeilo
  • Black Mountain, the range of mountains on the far western part of the Brecon Beacons National Park falls within Carmarthenshire. This part of the Brecon Beacons is far less visited than the central and western parts but is no less spectacular.
  • National Botanical Gardens of Wales near Carmarthen.

Do

Aviation

Motor Racing

Skiing

Spectator Sports

  • Ffos Las Racecourse, National Hunt and Flat horse racing, near Kidwelly.
  • Scarlets, Rugby Union, Llanelli.

Cycling

  • Millenium Coastal Path (part of NCR 4) This route follows the Carmarthenshire coast south of Llanelli.

Eat

Carmarthen and Llanelli offer the best opportunities in Carmarthenshire. Carmarthen contains chain restaurants such as Pizza Express, Frankie and Benny's, Harvester and the Real China as well as fast food eateries McDonalds and KFC. Outside of the town are a number of independent restaurants including Y Polyn (AA restaurant of the year for Wales 2010), The Cors in Laugharne (located in a bog garden) and Hurst House (previously owned by Neil Morrissey).

Drink

Llanelli has the best collection of pubs and bars in Carmarthenshire.

Sleep

Talk

The area is by and large bi-lingual. Welsh and English are both widely used.

Stay safe

Go next

  • Brecon Beacons National Park - a short drive from Carmarthenshire will take you into this land of lakes, mountain peaks and Celtic mystery.
  • Cardiff - Wales' capital city - castle - shopping - between 1 - 1 1/2 hours by car. There timetabled train services to Cardiff from Carmarthen and Llanelli as well as other smaller village stations. Direct bus services to Cardiff are available at Carmarthen and Llanelli.
  • Pembrokeshire Coast National Park the only coastal national park in the UK, found just to the West of Carmarthenshire.
  • Swansea and Gower peninsula - Wales second largest city lies just to the south east of Carmarthenshire for shopping, leisure, nightlife and restaurants. There are frequent bus and train connections from Llanelli and Carmarthen.
This region travel guide to Carmarthenshire is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!