When Jonathan Edwards first moved into his home there was an unusual request. "When we moved in three years ago, we actually had to sign to say we wouldn’t sell alcohol here,” he said.
The reason is that Mr Edwards' home was once a pub. It's also part of one of the most iconic rows of houses in south Wales. In fact, search for Llandeilo on Google and the first thing that comes up is his house - well - the row of houses including his. The picture-book perfect, pastel-coloured houses are on a hill just beyond the Grade-II listed Llandeilo Bridge over the River Towy.
The properties, on aptly-named Bridge Street, date back to around the 1780s and some served as businesses years ago - but these days they're mostly homes, with a few Air BnBs, locals say. Whilst residents do have to put up with noisy lorries and trucks trawling past - as several HGVs use Llandeilo as a shortcut to travel to mid and North Wales, life here is pretty relaxed, with gorgeous views of Carmarthenshire to feast your eyes on, a string of lovely, independent shops to visit and a wide range of social groups and community activities to get involved in.
Bridge Street resident Mr Edwards said of his home: “It was built around the 1780s and by the 1800s there were about 20 or 30 pubs in Llandeilo, this was The Half Moon." You can get more Carmarthenshire news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Mr Edwards has lived in Llandeilo for nearly 20 years, having moved from Ammanford to live with his wife near her family. He acknowledged that he lived in “one of the most iconic” houses in the area and saw Llandeilo as “quite cosmopolitan,” despite its small size and population. “There’s always something going on here, there’s nice shops and nice amenities – and businesses are all independent,” he said. “We have seen a few pubs closing, but I think if any town is going to bounce back [after the pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis], it’s Llandeilo – it has that certain quality that’s needed for a town to bounce back.”
Over the last few years, Mr Edwards has noticed an increase in local tourism with families coming from other parts of Wales and from England for a local “staycation” instead of venturing abroad. He said some of the visitors said they’d like to see more pubs and restaurants open in the town, but locals thought there was plenty to do and visit for the time-being.
“Most people here live here full-time, but we have seen some houses move into the Air BnB-type area of business – and that’s pricing out couples and families who want to buy in the town,” he added. “If families are taken out of the town then people become more transient, and it affects the schools – but currently they’re all very good schools here – and the rest of the area. But people need somewhere to stay, it’s about having that balance – perhaps we’ve tipped too much into that one side.”
“It’s important for Llandeilo to retain its USP [unique selling point],” he continued. “It’s got a lot of independent shops, clothes shops, galleries, antiques shops – we need to keep the unique selling points of Llandeilo. And there’s a strong community spirit, even though it’s quite cosmopolitan, we have an arts festival, a literary festival – and we have strong Welsh heritage here, and people put flags up and deck themselves up for special occasions.
“There’s also a lot to do, we’ve got a cricket club, rugby club, football, boxing and there’s a lot of people working hard to keep things going. We’ve got very active town councillors and people who want to keep Llandeilo as the heart of the community.”
Asked what he’d like to see added to the town to help future-proof it and improve it, Mr Edwards mentioned the long-awaited Llandeilo bypass. The bypass was first discussed by locals, councillors and Welsh Government around 40 years ago and was finally approved in 2017.
At the time, Welsh Labour ministers agreed to the bypass as part of a deal with Plaid Cymru to get the 2017-18 budget passed. Work was supposed to begin in 2019, but was later delayed until 2022 and then pushed back again to 2025 – and residents are understandably frustrated at the constant delays.
“We really need the bypass. If you want to develop the town and you have lorries and trucks travelling through all the time – and the pavements are quite close to the trucks, it’s not the widest of roads – it’s not going to work. And the air pollution and everything that goes with it [is made worse by the traffic],” Mr Edwards added.
“It’s a real bone of contention, there’s been so many consultations over the last 30/40 years, you get so far and then everything stops. It’s all stamped and waiting for the ‘final stage,’ the final government approval – then there’s yet another consultation. It’s meant to be built in 2025 now.”
His sentiments were echoed by fellow Bridge Street resident, Elizabeth Dwerry House. Elizabeth has lived in her home for 60 years and said that before she and her parents moved in, the property was a tailors. “In those days, there wasn’t so much traffic here, you could cross the road easily” Ms Dwerry House said. “Now you could have to wait 10 minutes to cross the road – we need the bypass.”
She first noticed the increase in traffic in the 1970s and said it had been a steady increase of cars, vans and HGVs piling through the town ever since. “I would like to see the bypass – they [Welsh Government] have promised it!”. She added. “My mother used to say ‘I won’t see it in my day’ – unfortunately I don’t know whether I will either!”
Another Bridge Street resident, who works in the film and television industry and asked not to be named, said he liked “everything” about Llandeilo apart from the traffic. “I’ve lived here for 40 years, it’s a very special place,” he said. “Traffic is the major issue – the bridge is unique and someone is going to get killed here, or the bridge is going to collapse, if it stays like this. And it can take twice as long to drive into town than to walk.”
During our visit to Llandeilo on a Monday in June, we saw – and heard – several large trucks and lorries hurtling up through Bridge Street and Rhosmaen Street, the town’s main shopping street, transporting goods and produce across Wales. Locals say they’re fed up with the HGVs travelling through their town but are also worried about the cars and vans that whip through and often seem unaware of families nearby.
“It can be a bit scary, you see mums with buggies and little ones pinned up against a wall when a lorry comes past - one lorry clipped someone’s arm the other week,” said Jayne Rees, owner of Eve’s Toy Shop in King Street. Jayne, who named her business after her youngest daughter, moved her business from Mumbles to Llandeilo 15 years ago as she was struck by how supportive the Llandeilo community was of independent businesses. Whilst she worries about the impact of traffic, her business is doing well and has become something of a hub for local families.
“I sell high quality children’s toys – it’s good quality things at a range of prices,” Jayne said. “I won’t sell rubbish that’s going to break! We do lots of things for the children here, free events throughout the year like parties, Lego days, princess parties, Alice in Wonderland parties, Father Christmas. We have a lot of regular customers and we have a Birthday Club which is really popular!"
“Llandeilo is a lovely place, you rarely get a stroppy customer, there’s lots of TV and Welsh celebrities living locally,” she said.
Asked if her sales had been affected by the cost-of-living Crisis, Jayne added: “People are more careful with their money, understandably. A lot of our customers are young families so they’ve got mortgages to pay, so they’re more careful with their spending.”
Asked what she’d like to see improved in the town, Jayne said she was desperate for better transport links. “I’d love to catch the train to work – but the times are all wrong for working people. We need a better train route and a better bus route, currently there’s only a bus every two hours,” she said. “Sometimes people come here on the bus and then they’re stuck here for hours waiting for the bus back.”
Whilst Bridge Street is inevitably impacted by passing traffic, residents are still greeted with beautiful views of Carmarthenshire and the River Towy. Another Bridge Street resident said he loved living in Llandeilo as there was so much to do locally. “I like being able to swim in the river and there's lots of walks nearby,” he said.
“I’d like to see the bypass but we’ve been waiting 40 years for that. And a few years ago Sainsbury’s was stopped from opening in the town, it was so disappointing, it would have meant lots of jobs for local people and cheaper food. But I’m looking forward to the new bike route from Llandeilo to Carmarthen, on the old railway line."
Deputy mayor of Llandeilo, Charlotte Morgan, moved to the town as she was struck by its gorgeous colourful houses and close community. Charlotte, who previously lived in Suffolk, said she fell in love with Bridge Street and the people and community of Llandeilo a decade ago and hasn’t looked back since.
“It’s a wonderful community and people really make the difference here,” she said. “And being deputy mayor is so much more interesting than I ever thought it would be! Llandeilo is a wonderful place, a wonderful community of wonderful people. Everything is here – but there is always something to be improved. [We need] to support the right people and give everyone an equal platform to be heard [about what they can offer or need in the town].”
“I think we need confidence back in the high street,” said Anne Richards, owner of independent gift shop, Igam Ogam. “Llandeilo is a destination town, with lots of coffee shops and restaurants. I’ve been here 20 years and this year has been my worst year – people are worried about the cost-of-living crisis, they see it on the news on the tv and panic. The grandparents’ generation are really thinking of their spending.”
Ms Richards added that banks closing in Llandeilo town centre had a knock-on effect on independent businesses. “There’s only one bank left in town and they’re not open on a Wednesday – as soon as that started my sales plummeted on a Wednesday!”
Whilst several businesses were closed during our visit on a Monday, there were still several clothes shops, galleries and other independent stores to visit, as well as a brilliant co-operative, selling crafts and homemade gifts from talented local artists and tradespeople.
And, in addition to the gorgeous views, friendly community and independent shops – there’s a wealth of community activities and social groups in Llandeilo. During our visit, we met a few gentlemen from the Llangadog, Llandeilo and Llandovery Men’s Shed, known as the LLL Men’s Shed, a community group for local gents interested in making, mending and practicing skills, while making new friends and enjoying a cup of tea!
The group recently built a bench for the community and it has now been installed on a patch of grass in King Street. It was great to see their hard work and hear how enjoyable the members had found constructing the bench and being part of the group. The bench is one of three benches the group has been working on and has been funded by the Welsh Government, West Wales Care Services and CAVS (Carmarthenshire Association Voluntary Services) as part of the ‘Connect Kindness’ transformation project.
A description on the LLL Men’s Shed website explains what the group and its Shed offers: “The Shed is a larger, community-scale version of the typical man’s shed in the garden. It is a place for making and mending, a place where the person feels comfortable enough to pursue practical interests with like-minded people. A place that is safe and friendly, where skills can be shared. The aim of this Llangadog, Llandeilo & Llandovery Men’s Shed is to provide a place where people from the community can come together to work on projects and be in good company.”
Mayor of Llandeilo, Christoph Fischer, praised the Men’s Shed for bringing like-minded people together in the community. Mr Fischer moved to Llandeilo years ago for a “quiet life” but soon fell in love with the town and wanted to become more involved. “I’ve been Mayor for a month, it’s been fantastic,” he said. “I’m trying to break the mould in my Mayorship, I’m trying to reach out to people who haven’t felt included.
“I moved here eight years ago, from Bath, to be nearer my husband's family. I started getting involved in the community with the Book Fair, then I organised the Literary Festival, then I stood for council and then I became the Mayor! I came for a quiet life but Llandeilo has a fantastic community!”
As well as the Men’s Shed, there are a range of community festivals and activities throughout the year, including a Literary Festival and a Music Festival. Up the road is Dinfefwr Country Park where you can explore acres of glorious parkland, along with a mansion and castle, and see wild deer.
There’s also a range of wellness groups including pilates classes and prescribed-exercise classes, youth groups and a dementia-friendly choir, run by the Welsh National Opera. The ‘Cradle Choir’ is a choir for people living with dementia and people who care for or support people living with dementia – and we popped by to see the group in action.
The weekly choir rehearsal has become a safe and “happy space” for members, many of whom may otherwise feel a bit isolated during the week. The group love singing together and feeling part of their choir community and are looking forward to their upcoming concert on Monday, July 17, at Newton House in Dinefwr.
Ultimately, Llandeilo offers an awful lot for the community – it’s just a shame about the traffic running through the town, but, come 2025....
