Tour Two - Laugharne (Full or Half Day)

Following a scenic journey through the West Wales countryside, we arrive in Laugharne and start our tour by visiting Dylan Thomas' grave in St Martin's Church. Here we reflect on the life and works of the greatest Welsh poet of our time. Leaving the church, we take a short drive to Laugharne Castle. Established in the early twelfth century as an earthwork castle, it was rebuilt in stone by the Anglo-Norman de Brian family during the later thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. Sir John Perrot later transformed it into a Tudor mansion in the sixteenth century.

A 15 minute stroll along the causeway bordering the river Tâf brings us to The Writing Shed. Take a few minutes to imagine Dylan staring out over the estuary composing his works in total peace and solitude. Dylan Thomas’ writing shed began its life back in the 1920s. A Dr Cowan, who spent his holidays at the boathouse, bought the shed to house his Wolsey car. He paid £75 to erect the £5 shed on cast iron pillars on the cliffside at a time when the average house price was just £200.

The Boat House is our next port of call. Even during their earlier stays in Laugharne, Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin had dreamed of living in the Boat House. It was certainly not the material comfort or the practicality of the house that attracted them. In fact, the house was notoriously cold and damp, and did not boast electricity or running water. Yet this old house, together with its small harbour, is very special. As you approach it, you move into the timeless world of the sinuous curves of the river Tâf, of glinting light on mud and water, of low green hills, of the vast panorama across the estuaries and the sea, and of the wheeling and calling of seabirds. As Dylan said, there is "nowhere else like the Boat House." From the Parlour you look out on the landscape from which Dylan drew so much of his inspiration. You can literally see the sources of his poetry.

From here you can also see most of the world he knew. Across the river, just over the horizon, stand Blaen Cwm, Llansteffan and Fern Hill, the farm that has become a symbol of childhood innocence and of the inexorable march of time. On the far horizon, lie the Gower Peninsula and Worms Head where Dylan set one of his most powerful short stories ‘Who Do You Wish Was With Us?’ In front of you lies Sir John’s Hill, the inspiration for one of his most magnificent poems.

We return to Laugharne village, passing Seaview, the house where Dylan and Caitlin lived from August 1938, for 18 months, renting it for a weekly fee of seven shillings and sixpence. Finally, we end our tour taking tea and cakes in one of the many coffee shops to reflect on the life of Dylan Thomas.