Points of interest
THE three-arched stone bridge over the Towy at Llandeilo-yr-Ynys, south of Nantgaredig, was built in 1786 – a time when many new turnpike roads were being built to modernise the communications network of the county.
The River Towy frequently bursts its banks, spilling over onto an extensive flood plain where the river deposits enrich the surrounding fields. The lush grass attracts flocks of Canada geese, while goosanders (beautiful saw-billed ducks) can occasionally be seen on the river. These scarce fish-eating birds were first recorded as a breeding bird in Carmarthenshire in 1980. During the summer months the sandy riverbanks provide nesting sites for sand martins, while sedge warblers can often be heard in the shrubs and trees lining the river.
The Towy Valley railway
line between Llandeilo and Carmarthen opened in 1865 by the Llanelly Railway and closed in 1963. It stopped at Nantgaredig station which has since been converted into a private residence. The Railway Hotel stands beside the old station and is still open for business.
An exciting new project is under way now with the former redundant railway track between Carmarthen and Llandeilo being brought back to life as a leisure and visitor attraction. Providing a 16-mile traffic free pathway through the Towy Valley, it will follow an almost adjacent route to that of the River Towy as it flows from Llandeilo to Carmarthen.
The village of Llanfihangel uwch Gwili which is about five miles from Abergwili comprises one church and two farms. There was once a public house called the Black Swan but it fell into decay. St Michael’s and All
Angels Church is situated within a rectilinear churchyard, bounded by a road on its north side. The church was a chapel of ease to Abergwili parish during the medieval period, belonging to the Deanery of Carmarthen. It was appropriated to St David’s cathedral. The church currently belongs to the Deanery of Llangadog/Llandeilo.
The church is a grade two listed building, considered a good example of a small rural church retaining Edwardian character. It consists of two-bayed chancel, three-bayed nave, two-storied west tower and a transeptal north vestry. The nave and chancel are thought to date to the 13th or 14th Century. There is a blocked south door in the nave. There is another blocked door in the south chancel wall, and also a blocked small medieval cusped window. The tower may possibly be medieval, but is not typical of the region, lacking the usual west door and square spiral stair turret.
The tower is entered through a two-centred early 20th Century door in its south wall. It communicates with the nave via a plain, twocentred arch. A two-light window in its west wall dates to the early 17th Century. The belfry stage (partially rebuilt in the early 20th Century) has a slit light in each face. These may be postmedieval in date. The tower’s pyramidal roof has a finial. The church was restored in the early 20th Century, at which time it was re-roofed, re-floored, re-fenestrated and internally plastered. The painted octagonal font is 19th Century in date.
The River Cothi is 14km long and is the largest tributary of the River Towy and it is noted for its trout and sea trout (sewin) fishing and for its beautiful scenery. The upper reaches of the river
form a steep gorge from which a Roman aqueduct ran to the gold mines at Dolaucothi.
Alltyferin Mansion was built for the Bath family in 1869. The house was demolished in the 1950s but there is still evidence of the estate’s grandeur to be found in the local landscape. The rhododendrons and chestnut trees in the woods here are typical of estate plantings. Just outside the south gate entrance to the Alltyferin Estate stands Glan-Cothi, originally a farmstead but transformed into a grander building by the early 19th Century when it was the home of the Hughes family. The famous Methodist leader Howell Harris preached here on several occasions.