Towns of West Wales
Cardigan – 5 minutes
The town is a mixture of large national brand shops & smaller independants. During the summer months it is a bustling place & in 2020 the centre was pedestrianised & all council car parks were free. There is a two storey indoor market open 6 days a week, with lots of small traders. Just out of town about half a mile away are Aldi & Tesco.
There are loads of cafes, pubs & restaurants, both eat in & take away to chose from with most cuisines catered for & don’t forget to visit the castle, at the southern end of town.
From here you can catch a bus north to Aberystwyth & south to Haverfordwest, Fishguard & St Davids. There are also regular buses to Carmarthen.
Haverfordwest – Within 45 minutes
Haverfordwest is the attractive and ancient county town of Pembrokeshire. As well as being the county’s administrative centre, Haverfordwest has a great variety of shops in the town and the outlying retail parks. To get here from Cardigan you travel over the stunning Presili Hills which are mostly within the Pembrokeshire National Park.
The centre of Haverfordwest is dominated by the Western Cleddau that runs through the middle of the town and the castle that towers above it.
Haverfordwest has been established for almost 1,000 years. In Elizabethan times, Haverfordwest was the second largest port in Wales and remained the main port in West Wales until the coming of the railway in 1853.
The castle is in the centre of Haverfordwest and dominates the town. Built in about 1110, the castle has had an eventful history. In 1779-80, the County Gaol was built in the inner ward and the museum now occupies the old prison governor’s house.
Carmarthen – Within 60 minutes
From the hotel turn right & stay on this road, A484, until you reach Carmarthen. There are many villages to drive through, so lots of speed restrictions & cameras, so take your time & enjoy the beautiful drive through the Welsh countryside.
The town of Carmarthen is sited on the river Towy some eight miles north of its estuary. It is a small town of around 15,000 inhabitants and lays claim to being one of, if not the oldest town, in Wales. It was in 1546 that the two settlements of old and new Carmarthen joined to form a single town, that between the 16th and 18th centuries became one of the most densely populated areas in Wales and was quoted during this period as being perhaps the chief city of Wales. Alas, the population dwindled during the 19th century as people moved to the more prosperous areas of the South Wales coalfields.
There is a real mix of national brand & independant shops here, with an indoor market open 6 days a week. Head up towards the castle to find the smaller retail outlets & a lovely atmosphere.
As you would expect, there is a huge choice of eateries in the town centre & some national treasures like Wetherspoons, Macdonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken in the outlying retail parks.
This is also the nearest mainline train station heading east.
Fishguard & Goodwick – Within 30 minutes
Fishguard comprises of the old harbour of Lower Town, the main town of Fishguard, perched on the cliff top. Lower Town Fishguard is a particularly picturesque village with its cluster of quayside cottages.
Lower town Fishguard was a locally important trading port importing limestone and coal and exporting slate, woollen goods and food. It also had a small fishing fleet catching pilchards and herring.
Although a maritime history and coastal setting are noted as significant in defining Goodwick’s special character, it is the period of late 19th- and early-20th-century growth that defines the Goodwick’s character. With the 1906 arrival of the railway, and the use of Goodwick Harbour for trans-Atlantic liners, Goodwick had a fashionable heyday in the Edwardian period, and the Victorian and Edwardian shops are identified as being key parts of Goodwick’s character.
In more recent times Fishguard and Goodwick was the location for the filming of Moby Dick with Gregory Peck and Lower Town was the location for Dylan Thomas’s most famous play, Under Milk Wood starring Richard Burton.