Carmarthen

The oldest town in Wales sits quietly on the River Towy, where Roman roads once converged and medieval merchants traded wool and leather. Carmarthen feels properly Welsh - conversations drift between languages, and the Thursday market has run for over 800 years without missing a beat.

Most visitors hurry through on their way to Pembrokeshire's beaches, but they're missing something special. This is where Merlin was supposedly born, where the remnants of a Roman amphitheatre lie beneath modern streets, and where you can still see fragments of the old town walls if you know where to look.

Holy Trinity Church anchors the town centre with its striking tower, while the newer suburbs stretch toward the Towy estuary. Pleasant Meadow Dog Park gives families a proper green space, though the real draw is simply wandering the compact town centre with its mix of independent shops and chain stores.

The surrounding countryside rolls gently toward the coast, with the Towy Valley offering some cracking walking routes through ancient woodland and along the meandering river. Laugharne, Dylan Thomas's old haunt, sits just downstream where the estuary opens to Carmarthen Bay.

Getting here is straightforward - the A40 runs right through town, and there's a decent rail connection to Swansea and Cardiff. The nearby holiday parks make perfect sense for exploring both the coast and the Brecon Beacons, which rise dramatically to the north. You're 20 minutes from Pendine's seven-mile beach, yet close enough to nip into town for supplies or a proper meal when camp cooking loses its appeal.