Three castles a church and a poet

We went back into Tenby for the photo.

Headed off towards Laugharne where one of the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas puchased a garage and wrote some of his best work.
Dylan was born in Swansea and moved around a bit, This was the last place he lived, in a boathouse. He died in New York on tour at the age of 39. Many theories about his death, but it appears to be a mixture of alcohol and too much work.


 






There is also a great castle at Laugharne, so we had to visit that too.
 It was originally built in 1116, rebuilt as a Norman stronghold in 1215 and has seen many alterations over time, becoming a Tudor fortified manor house in the sixteenth century. It changed hands twice during the English Civil War, it was captured by Parliamentary forces in 1644.
In the 19th century formal gardens and a gazebo were added, Dylan Thomas and Richard Hughes did a lot of writing from here.







 










Next was Llansteffan castle, this castle sits high on a hill and can only be reached on foot. Admission to the castle is free, So off we went.
This castle was built by the Normans after 1100..
The castle last fell to defeat in 1257 and suffered severe damage from canon fire, it was 'rendered unusable' and was reported in 1367 as 'being in a state of poor repair'

Are we getting tired of castles yet?
How could we?
We found another one down the road, Kidwelly castle.
This one appeared in the opening scene of Monty Python and the holy grail.
This castle somehow escaped involvement in the civil war, so it is well preserved. 
Gwenllian was the wife of Gruffydd and while he was away trying to strike a deal with the Normans she organised an army to defend their castle from the Normans, this failed and she was captured and beheaded in 1136 at the age of 36. She was the only woman to lead a Welsh army into battle.
For centuries after she died Welshman shouted 'Revenge for Gwenllian' as they engaged in battle.

Before leaving Kidwelly we visited the Church of St. Mary.
It is a grade 1 listed building founded in 1114 but burnt down in 1223.
This building was built in 1320.
It was a Benedictine Priory and is the largest parish church in South West Wales.

We struggled to find a caravan park and eventually ended up on a farm with portable toilets and a communal shower, we chose not to use the shower.