Llandovery is in the county of Carmarthenshire, right next to the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. We stayed with friends for a few days and had glorious sunshine for the first two days. Then the weather turned Welsh which meant grey skies and rain. It turned out there was so much to explore nearby which I will show you in the linked pages.
The town of Llandovery is dominated by its ruined castle and the stunning monument to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan (shown above). He was a Welsh hero who led the army of King Henry IV in search of a secret rebel camp. But this was a deception and King Henry had him hanged, drawn, and quartered, on discovering his pretence to be helping the King. Now something of this is explained on a shield positioned below the castle, but Google Translate was not quite up to the challenge! Instead, it came up with quite a charming piece of fantasitcal phrase.
The castle was built in 1100 and swopped hands many times up to the 15th century. Little of the castle remains today, but a wander around the back of the building shows it was quite an impressive structure in its day.
Not far from Llandovery is the much smaller town of Myddfai (pronounced Mudfai). This tiny village is historically significant as the home of the physicians who have practised here since the 13th century. As a pharmacologist, I was aware of the English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper but had never heard of the Welsh herbalists who had recorded their potions in the 14th century manuscript collection known as the Red Book of Hergest. The story of the Physicians of Myddfai is recorded on the walls inside the village cafe and gift shop; well worth a visit.
