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Pant-y-gino, Trimsaran |
Bluebell Cottage, Pwll |
Sound of the sea Pwll |
The town of Llanelli is a great place to take a self-catering holiday or mini break right on the Carmarthenshire coast.
Steeped in history and character, it boasts outstanding natural landscapes, Blue Flag beaches and stunning seaside scenery. For holiday makers, the jewel in Llanelli’s crown is the award-winning £30 million regeneration project, Millennium Coastal Park.
Fourteen miles of welsh coastline have been transformed into an array of tourist attractions, 2,000 acres of wetland habitats and leisure facilities.
A water sports and parkland paradise, the Millennium Coastal Park has a variety of water bodies, each one created for a specific purpose. The former industrial North Dock is a venue for canoes, kayaks, windsurfers and small dinghies. It’s even possible to glide across the water in giant plastic bubbles called Aquaspheres.
With healthy stocks of bass and flat fish, the South West shoreline of Wales offers superb sea fishing opportunities. There’s coarse angling on well stocked ponds and lakes that can be fished on a day permit. Or for a less active way to enjoy Llanelli waters, site-seeing tours by boat run regularly from South Wales’ newest marina, Burry Port. This 450 berth facility is an ideal base from which to explore the South and West Wales coastline.
Within the Millennium Coastal Park, Home From Home offers a wide selection of luxury seafront apartments for rent at Millennium Quay. Most are modern, high spec apartments with fabulous sea views flanked by a magnificent stretch of golden sandy beach. Called Pendine Sands. this flat expanse of the finest sand in the UK, spans some eight miles.
Close by is a Discovery Centre, restaurant and cycle hire shop. The Discovery Centre is an iconic, contemporary styled building housing the Tourist Information Centre and café and is the first port of call for visitors.
A continuous traffic-free coastal path spanning over 20 miles has been created which is simply perfect for walkers and cyclists and links Pembrey Country Park with the National Wetlands Centre and Machynys. During peak holiday season it’s possible to take a leisurely ride along the path on the Sospan Hopper Land Train.
Pembrey is a safe haven for families to enjoy the great outdoors with a visitor centre and restaurant on site. Set in 500 acres of glorious parkland, it is packed with activities ranging from a 130 metre dry ski slope, the longest toboggan run in Wales, steam train, pitch & putt golf course, adventure playground and miles and miles of cycle and horse riding track, picnic areas and seven miles of sandy beach.
At the National Wetlands Centre run by The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, this 450 acre all-weather park on the Burry Inlet is a magnificent mosaic of lakes, pools and lagoons. It is home to countless wild species; over 650 of the world’s most spectacular ducks, geese, swans and flamingos. Plus there’s an indoor interactive Millennium Discovery Centre and Water Vole City where children can crawl and slide through tunnels. Set a little further inland but continuing with the wildlife theme lie Sandy Water Park and Festival Fields. The area features a beautiful 16 acre lake attracting all sorts of wildlife including a resident flock of swans.
For golfers, Ashburnham is long established as one of the best links courses in Britain; home to many international and national competitions. At Trimsaran, Glyn Abbey is an equally inviting, lovely parkland course.
But for the ultimate golf experience and a complete all-round leisure destination, look no further than the championship course at Machynys Peninsular Golf and Country Club. Designed by Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack Nicklaus, it is one of the finest 18 hole courses in Wales, with stunning views across the salt marshes of the Loughor Estuary, Carmarthen Bay and the Gower Peninsular. Most of the holes on this new, award-winning course are either over or alongside water making it challenging but a pleasure to play. It’s also fair and pretty forgiving with between four and six tees on some of the more difficult holes.
The Machynys club house also includes a spa and bistro. Whether for simple bar snacks, a leisurely lunch or a romantic dinner, the Machynys Bar & Brasserie uses fresh local ingredients with diners enjoying breathtaking views. Monks Health Club & Spa on the ground floor hosts a 35-station gym with luxury spa facilities, jacuzzi, beauty treatment rooms, steam and sauna.
Llanelli also offers its fair share of Welsh history and local culture. There’s the Parc Howard Museum & Art Gallery which set in an historic building on beautiful parkland displays collections of Llanelli pottery and local paintings. And Kidwelly Industrial Museum is an original tin plate works that tells the story of the area’s industrial heritage.
For castle lovers there are fortresses at Kidwelly, Carreg Cennen, Laugharne and Dinefwr where you will also find 18th century gardens designed by Capability Brown. There are more beautiful gardens at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, only a 15 minute drive from Llanelli, plus miles and miles of wild woodland at Afan Forest Park.
For shopping Llanelli town centre boasts high street names and an indoor market offering local produce, shops, cafes and restaurants, with more high street brands to be found at the new and impressive shopping mall, Trostre Retail Park.
Llanelli is within easy journey times of the Gower Peninsular and other popular visitor destinations including the theme park Oakwood Park and adventure park zoo, Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire.
