Gwendraeth Valley
Cwm Gwendraeth (Gwendraeth Valley)
The Gwendraeth at the Valleys’ western extremities is in fact two valleys which have a more rural feel than that associated with the other former coalfield valleys to the east.
Both reach the sea at Kidwelly, but they never meet. Despite its name, the Gwendraeth Fach (Lesser Gwendraeth) is actually the slightly longer of the two rivers. The Gwendraeth Fawr (Greater Gwendraeth) has its source at Llyn Llech Owain (the lake of Owain’s slab), a beautiful 64 hectare country park that has recently been largely transformed back to open heath land. Its lake, surrounded by peat bog, is a site of special scientific interest with a huge wealth of wildlife for visitors to explore. The park’s walks and cycle paths have spectacular views across to the Preseli Mountains, the Black Mountains and down to the Gower Peninsula.
A number of legends are associated with the formation of the lake. One is that Owain Glyndwr, the last independent Prince of Wales, was entrusted to look after a well on Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain carefully replaced the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. To stop the flood he rode his horse around three times creating Llyn Llech Owain. Other legends attribute the name to Owain one of King Arthur’s knights, who, ashamed by the incident, gathered his men and took them to caves near Craig y Ddinas where they continue to sleep to this day.
The busy village of Cross Hands has plenty of places to eat and drink with its own shopping centre and business and retail parks on the outskirts. Cross Hands Public Hall designed by an unknown Italian designer in classic Art Deco Style is one of only three of its kind in Wales. Now fully restored, the Grade II-listed building has a fully functioning stage and cinema. is said to have got its unusual name from the practice of handing over prisoners on their journey from Carmarthen to Swansea gaol.
Tumble (Y Tymbl), one of Carmarthenshire’s biggest villages just south of Cross Hands, developed in the 19th century to house anthracite miners employed at the nearby Dynant and Great Mountain collieries. The area has a proud history of radicalism. During the Tumble Strike in 1893, 3000 miners marched through Cross Hands and Tumble, whilst in the 1840’s the area was a hotbed of dissent during the Rebecca Riots.
At the foot of the steep hill on which Tumble is built is the entrance to Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park. Established on abandoned fields and industrial spoil heaps, the 270-acre park is a remarkable example of recolonisation by wildlife.
The BBC's longest running television soap opera Pobol-y-Cwm is located in the fictional village of Cwmderi in Cwm Gwendraeth and the valley is a stronghold of the language with Menter Cwm Gwendraeth, a community-based Welsh language initiative based in Pontyberem.
Situated between the villages of Carway and Trimsaran near the Glyn Abbey Golf Course is Ffos Las racecourse, Britain’s first new National Hunt racecourse to be built in 80 years. Built on a former opencast mining site, the already highly-popular award-winning development is also a conference centre and offers flat all-weather and National Hunt turf racing as well as Harness racing.
Between 1766 and 1768, the first major canal built in Wales was constructed by Thomas Kymer and for over 30 years, the Kymer Canal carried coal from Pwll y Llygod and Great Forest pits in Carway to the harbour at Kidwelly (Cydweli).
One of the oldest boroughs in Wales, Kidwelly was established around 1115 and sits in the shadow of an impressive Norman castle. The town has number of other notable buildings including St Mary’s Church, built in 1320 to serve the nearby Benedictine Monastery, and the bridge over the Gwendraeth, linking the two parts of the town, which dates from the middle ages.
Walking around the town you will notice frequent references to Princess Gwenllian, who led a Welsh army on Kidwelly Castle and the army of Maurice de Londres, Lord of Kidwelly. Her army was defeated on Maes Gwenllian (Gwenllian Field) and
As well as exporting coal, Kidwelly harbour used to import and export tin from Kidwelly tinplate works. Established in 1737, it was only the second such works in Britain. Kidwelly Quay has excellent views of the Gwendraeth estuary and is an excellent place for bird watching.
