St. Clears is a long and straggling village at the head of an estuary of the Taff, and vessels of small tonnage can reach it at high tide. It formerly possessed a castle and a priory, but both have disappeared. The town itself is uninteresting. Between St. Clears and Carmarthen the small hamlet of Banc-y-Felin is particularly pleasing, with a tributary of the Taff flowing through it.
CARMARTHEN
Carmarthen, the capital of the shire, stands upon the site of the Roman Maridunum, and is the point of convergence of two roads, Via Maritima and Via Montana. Some parts of the town stand at a considerable elevation, and present an imposing picture from a distance. It is an excellent example of an old Welsh town, retaining a great deal of its primeval quaintness. Upon market-days, when it swarms with people from the surrounding districts, one seldom hears a word of English spoken, and the busy scenes witnessed in the bustling market are mainly transacted in the mother-tongue. Upon entering the town the Picton Monument is seen, raised in honour of the Peninsula hero, who fell at Waterloo.
The Church of St. Peter is a large building chiefly in the Perpendicular style, with a lofty square tower. The interior has been very carefully plastered so as to hide everything of interest. A Roman altar, however, may be seen below the tower.
Sir Richard Steele, who died in 1729, the friend of Addison, and the well-known man of letters, lies buried in this church. In his old age he came to reside at Llangunnor, near Carmarthen.
The Castle, which at one time made Carmarthen a place of strength, was demolished by the Parliamentarians, and the small portion remaining has been converted into the county gaol. On leaving Carmarthen the route towards Llandilo lies upon the Roman road, the Via Montana. It includes some of the finest scenery in South Wales. There are two roads running in the valley, with the railway separating them; the north one is the more picturesque.
At a loop in the road about ten miles out, Middleton Hall, lying due south, and erected by Sir William Paxton, may be recognized by the tall tower which forms such a conspicuous landmark. It is known as Paxton's Tower, but was raised by him in memory of Nelson. Almost directly afterwards, Dryslwyn Castle comes in sight, a most picturesque ruin, consisting of one tower and many fragments of walls. It was besieged in the time of Edward I., when Lord Stafford and other leaders lost their lives, in undermining the fortress, by the sudden collapse of the walls beneath which they were operating.
On Grongar Hill, a few hundred yards away to the right, the poet Dyer composed his poem 'Grongar Hill.' The view from the summit is charming. On the farther side of the valley can be seen Golden Grove, the residence of Viscount Emlyn. Dynevor Park and Castle come into view upon the right front on reaching the neighbourhood of Llandilo. The ruins stand upon a lofty mound a short distance from the road, in the most attractive portion of the park. The first castle was built in 877, and almost rebuilt in the time of William the Conqueror. For some centuries it was the residence of the Princes of South Wales. Henry VII. granted it to Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a descendant of the Princes, and ancestor of the present owner, Lord Dynevor. It was occupied until 1760. The remains consist of a round keep and a square tower, commanding a magnificent prospect. (The ruins are open for inspection to the bona-fide visitor upon application.)
LLANDILO
Llandilo is a small town perched upon two or three steep hills to the north of the River Towy, crossed here by a stone bridge of one span. The streets are narrow, with the public buildings grouped together in the centre of the town. The church was thoroughly rebuilt in 1848, and everything of interest then disappeared. If a stay can be arranged at Llandilo, one of the most remarkable edifices in the kingdom, Careg Cennen, should be seen. It is a castle almost without a history, standing upon a rocky height with inaccessible precipices on three sides, the foremost one over 300 feet in height. Two square towers guard the sloping ground upon the fourth side, and the main portion of the castle occupies the summits of the precipices. The situation is superb and the scenery delightful. The spirit of romance is free from any of the handicaps usually suffered by the historian, for in this castle among the clouds, in connection with which history is silent (except a reputed origin in the thirteenth century at the hands of Rhys of Wales), the wings of imagination may soar to any height. This is a site awaiting the novelist in search of a romantic setting for a story of the Middle Ages. It stands about five miles to the south-east of Llandilo, overlooking the Vale of the Towy.