Set on the banks of the River Towy, Carmarthen is one of the oldest towns in Wales, apparently first settled by Celtic tribes and then later on by the Romans in around 75AD.  Sitting around 26 miles south east of the popular west Wales market town of Cardigan and 17 miles from Newcastle Emlyn.

Today the town boasts narrow winding lanes intermingling around the town to offer pedestrianised shopping areas, large covered market, and gives locals and tourists alike a great place to shop, eat, explore and entertain.

The town has many large retailers occupying its many shops and stores, with plenty of places for everyone to shop for their favourite designer outfit.  As well as the main names, the town also offers several independent boutique shops.  There are plenty of restaurants, cafes and takeaways to choose from to suit all culinary choices. And the pubs and artisan bars around the town offer a great meeting place to catch up and relax with friends.  It also offers several large supermarkets for food shopping.

Carmarthen is also home to the West Wales General Hospital (Glanwili Hospital) which has a state of the art A&E department as well as outpatient and inpatient department with 400 beds and covers all types of major treatments.

To add to all this, Carmarthen also boasts a university(University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Carmarthen Campus), which offers a wide variety of courses for students from all over, dating back to 1848.

The train station gives rail links to the whole of the UK with The Train Line service running to Swansea and joining the Great Western Railway trains to offer connections to London and the Midlands.

Nearby is the old Gwili Steam Railway which travels along the old Great Western Railway route through the stunning Gwili Valley.  This is well worth a visit if you are in the area and a great day out for the kids!

Beautiful sandy beaches can be reached only a short drive away in the neighbouring villages of Llansteffan and Laugharne. While Pembrey County Park, only 12 miles from the town, offers another vast sandy beach and a wide variety of activities including a dry ski slope.

The road links from Carmarthen open onto the A40 which gives access to the West Wales Coast in one direction, or Mid Wales in the other.  Or travelling along the A48 to Cross Hands joins you on to the M4 which is the main road from London and the south east of England into Wales. All this makes Carmarthen the gateway into fabulous West Wales.