Dylan's Welsh Walks

By Harri Roberts

These eight themed walks in West Wales celebrate the centenary of the birth of Swansea-born poet Dylan Thomas in 2014. The walks vary in length from 4.3 miles (6.9 km) to 8.1 miles (13.04 km) and are suitable for most people.

The routes take you past several of Dylan's childhood haunts, former homes and favourite drinking places, while enjoying stunning views along the Wales Coast Path. The book's author, Harri Roberts, lived in Dylan's childhood home at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive when he was a post-graduate student in Swansea and has relished exploring the same West Wales coastline which inspired the poet.

Places like the quirky town of Laugharne where Dylan lived for seven years and is buried; the fishing village of New Quay where the infamous shooting took place at Majoda; and the long white sands of Rhossili Bay where Dylan whiled away many hours as a child.

Whether you are a fan of the Welsh poet or just enjoy walking amid beautiful coastal scenery, there will be plenty to please you in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harri Roberts
• Release date: Dec 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311745439

Harri Roberts

Harri has an academic background in literary studies and Welsh culture, including both an MA and a PhD in Welsh writing in English. He has contributed to several academic journals and worked as a reviewer for the Welsh magazine Planet and the Welsh literary journal New Welsh Review. He is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guide and, until autumn 2013, was the editor of the members' magazine, Outdoor Focus. Harri is the author of several print walking books and has contributed articles to Walking Wales magazine; he also writes regularly for several online walking sites. He is a fluent Welsh speaker and works as a freelance Welsh translator, editor, book reviewer and proof reader. Harri is as passionate about hiking as he is about Wales and believes that some of the most stunning natural landscapes and trails remain undiscovered by hikers. He hopes his books will change that.

Book preview

Dylan’s Welsh Walks

Eight scenic walking routes in Dylan Thomas’s Wales

by Harri Roberts

Text copyright © 2013 Harri Roberts

Images copyright © 2013 Tracy Burton

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

The Mumbles

Pennard

Rhossili

Newquay

Llangrannog to New Quay

New Quay to Aberaeron

Laugharne

Llansteffan

Llangain

Useful websites

About Harri

About Tracy

Other books

Thank you for choosing camau

The Mumbles

Mumbles Pier

A popular surfaced path connects the Mumbles with Langland and Caswell Bay. After a steep climb through woodland, the route then returns to Langland via a higher, clifftop path with spectacular coastal views. The final leg of the walk uses quiet roads and urban paths to access Mumbles Hill and its splendid views over Swansea Bay. A steep, wooded descent leads off the hill and back down to the busy Mumbles seafront.

The Dylan Thomas connection

The Antelope, Mumbles

As a young man, Dylan Thomas spent numerous evenings in the Mumbles, ostensibly as part of a local amateur dramatic group, Swansea Little Theatre, which rehearsed in a church hall in the village. However, these evenings often degenerated into long, drunken interludes at one of the Mumbles’ many watering holes. Particular favourites of Dylan’s were the Antelope (now closed), the Mermaid (now a restaurant), and the Marine (renamed the Village Inn). Although Dylan starred in a number of Little Theatre productions, he was eventually thrown out of the group after getting drunk during the dress rehearsal for a performance.

Langland Bay, Gower

Beyond Mumbles Head are two popular bays, Langland and Caswell, to which the young Dylan and his friends would make regular outings on summer weekends. In 1934, Dylan took his first girlfriend, Pamela Hansford-Johnson, on a summer outing to Caswell Bay, where the pair were photographed paddling barefoot in the shallows.

While you’re there

Dylan Thomas's childhood home in Mumbles

Dylan Thomas was born and brought up in the Swansea suburb of Uplands, where his birthplace at number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive can be visited by arrangement.

Close by is Cwmdonkin Park, a happy childhood haunt which later inspired a number of well-known poems and stories. The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea’s maritime quarter has a permanent exhibition on Dylan Thomas and his life, and runs an annual Dylan Thomas Festival in October and November.

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