Friday 7th May 2010 – Laugharne

We followed the lane and turned right although this was actually the way that the asphalted road went. Straight on was a track and footpath that we were told would eventually take us to the estuary. The road took us down the hill with wild-flower strewn banks on either side until, passing St. Martin's church, we took a bridleway that lead to the coast on the northern side of the village. We followed the upper path with its wonderful views over the estuary towards Kidwelly and the beautiful golden beaches around various estuaries. As we continued away from the village we were rewarded with views up the estuary of the rivers Taf and Cywyn.
We came across a small green-painted garage fronting the path, extending out over the edge of the hill and supported by metal posts. This turned out to be one of the sights that we had come to see – Dylan Thomas' workshop. Although it looks rather precarious and must have been incredible cold in Winter, its windows give it fantastic views over the ever-changing estuary, sea and countryside. This provided inspiration for Dylan Thomas' writing and much of his work, including Under Milk Wood, was written here. Thomas' untidy workshop had been recreated – a tie hung on the back of his chair, books lay around, the desk was strewn with papers and discarded, crumpled papers littered the floor. Dylan's wife Caitlin described how he would be very disciplined in his working, always working from 2 pm to 7 pm in the workshop and returning to their house to proudly present her with the one, two or three lines that he had written in those five hours!
We learned about this and much more about Dylan Thomas in the museum in his house, The Dylan Thomas' Boathouse, just a little further along the path. The house is well worth a visit although given that it is very small, it is best visited out of season. The custodian explained the problem that he had last season when two coachloads of visitors turned up at the same time – it was “an exercise in people management”, he said.
Walking back from the house towards the village, we took the lower path along the edge of the estuary.
Photos: The exterior of Dylan Thomas' workshop in Laugharne; The interior of Dylan Thomas' workshop as it would have been when he was writing in it; Browns Hotel in a sorry state, much as Thomas was on many occasions when he left the bar!