Cheap Hotels in Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire has an area of approximately 2,398 sq km (926 sq miles) and is a hilly county, the highest areas being in the east where the Black Mountains rise. Fan Brycheiniog climbs to a height of 804 m (2,632 feet) on the border between Carmarthenshire and Powys, but the coast is mainly low-lying with fine stretches of sandy beaches.

There are numerous relics in Carmarthenshire of prehistoric and Roman occupation; Carmarthen itself being founded by the Romans, and Dolaucothi, about 12 km (8 miles) northwest of Llandovery, an area mined for gold by both Celts and Romans. Arriving toward the end of the 11th century the Normans built castles at Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Llanstephan, and Laugharne. Edward I of England created the county of Carmarthenshire in 1284, at which point it had become the Welsh centre of the wool trade. Following Bishop Richard Davies' first translation of the Bible and the Prayer Book into Welsh, Carmarthenshire was the source of many religious revivals in the 17th and 18th centuries.

There are now many industries supporting the economy of Carmarthenshire, of which the largest are agriculture and tourism. The Brecon Beacons National Park extends into the east of the county, occupying 227 sq km (87 sq miles) of land, and there are many sites of archaeological interest; Carmarthen was the site of a Roman amphitheatre, and near Llandeilo are Carn Goch, an Iron Age hill fort, and Carreg Cennen Castle, a fortress built in the 14th century on a cliff edge. The National Botanic Garden of Wales, a centre of education, conservation, and leisure, can be found near Llanarthney, east of Carmarthen. The first national botanic garden to be established in the United Kingdom for over 200 years, it contains walled gardens, lakes, cascades, and parkland, as well as a futuristic oval-shaped glasshouse.