Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales, encompassing the majority of West Wales. Today, the name Dyfed is largely ceremonial, with the area more practically divided into the smaller counties of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion (also known as Cardiganshire). Dyfed is known for its beautiful coastline, which draws thousands of visitors every year. The dramatic splendour of Pembrokeshire’s weather-beaten shoreline is one of the most spectacular sights in the UK, so much so that the entire 186-mile stretch of coastline is a designated national park.

Pembrokeshire offers a host of historic coastal towns such as Fishguard and Tenby, and the busy ports of Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock. The county town of Pembroke is a picturesque place, dominated by an imposing Norman Castle from where the great Tudor Dynasty was born. Pembrokeshire is also home to the city of St David’s, which is unique in that it is the UK’s smallest city, and the only UK city to be wholly situated in a national park. Ceredigion, or Cardiganshire, lies above Pembrokeshire, and is known for its numerous small resort towns and the tourist-friendly Cardigan Bay coastline, facing out into the Irish Sea. It also homes not one, but two universities – Aberystwyth and Lampeter. Carmarthenshire occupies a central southern position, and was historically known as an agricultural region. The geography is mountainous at the northern end, flattening down to beaches in the south. Carmarthen, the county town of Carmarthenshire, claims to be the oldest town in Wales, having allegedly been occupied since before the Roman occupation. However, Llanelli, perched close to the coast, is the largest town.

The county of Dyfed has famous links to the poet, Dylan Thomas. He briefly lived in New Quay, Ceredigion, at the tail end of WWII. During this time a scandalous incident occurred involving an argument in the Black Lion pub with William Killick, a friend’s husband. Killick later went to the Thomas’s home, peppering it with gunfire while the poet’s family was inside. Although born in Swansea, Thomas also spent childhood holidays and his later years in Carmarthenshire. He wrote some of his most inspired works at his boathouse in Laugharne, which is now a visitor attraction.