Laugharne

TO THE BOAT HOUSE AND BACK

When we first visited Laugharne in 2001, the closest I came to Dylan Thomas's Boat House was a few hundred yards away along the Taf estuary as can be seen in the view above. So when we paid a return visit two years later, we parked in the same place below the castle (the picture below left is from 2001) but this time I walked through Laugharne, by the Town Clock (below right) to follow a footpath along the cliffs.

The path is well signed but it is worth pausing from time to time to take in the views over the estuary before reaching the garage belonging to the Boat House. An information board outside contains an extract from a poem by Dylan Thomas and identifies the building as "The Writing Shed". Originally it had been constructed as a garage in 1923.

It was here that Thomas wrote much of his later work including "Under Milkwood". A glass panel in one of the doors allows visitors to see the inside of the shed which has been preserved to give an impression of what it was like when Thomas was here.

A little further along the path, the Boat House itself comes into view.

Continuing beyond the Boat House the path reaches a flight of steps. At the top of the steps is another information board. This tells us that Dylan and his wife Caitlin Thomas lived in the Boat House with their three children, Llewellyn, Aeronwy and Colm between 1949 and 1952. The Boat House has now been preserved as a heritage centre and contains audio visual presentations, original furnishings and memorabilia as well as a themed bookshop and tea room.

Descending the steps leads to a small terrace and garden and it is easy to imagine Dylan Thomas standing here among the flowers, admiring the views and pondering his next work.

We summer boys in this four-winded spinning,
Green of the seaweeds’ iron,
Hold up the noisy sea and drop her birds,
Pick the world’s ball of wave and froth
To choke the deserts with her tides,
And comb the country gardens for a wreath.

From "I See The Boys Of Summer" by Dylan Thomas

From here it is but a short walk down to the beach and back along the estuary to the car park in the centre of Laugharne but a backward glance or two reveals those familiar views of the Boat House.