On the up...
The north Wales seaside
resort of Barmouth is
swapping kiss-me-quick
caravan parks for Scandi
style. Don’t dismiss Splott in
Cardiff, it’s fertile ground for
first-time buyers who want a
sense of community. There’s
a lot of money going into
Swansea, though the city
itself still has a bit of catching
up to do. The investment can
only be good for the Gower
Peninsula. In Pembrokeshire,
there’s potential away from
the coast: look to the Preseli
Mountains and Crymych,
while Whitland, in
Carmarthenshire, is a
down-to-earth alternative
to Best Places to Live
favourite Narberth.Winner
LLANDEILO, CARMARTHENSHIRE ✪
The only way is Tywi. In different surroundings this sparkler of
a town could be a little bit twee, with its coloured Georgian
houses and a high street offering boutique fashion outlets,
arts and crafts galleries, and posh chocolate shops. But here
in rural west Wales, set in some spectacular countryside, it
feels like small-town living at its unpretentious best.
The cafés are busy with friendly locals of every age and
stripe, all chattering happily, more often than not in Welsh.
Indeed the Welsh language is one of the ties that brings
people together here — nowhere more than in Hengwrt, a
smart new cultural centre that opened last year in the
revamped Shire Hall, where the Llandeilo Literature Festival
takes place later this month.
Among the speakers will be local author and artist Kate
Glanville. She’s also on the committee of the Community
Support Group, which has co-ordinated the town’s response
to the pandemic, and will carry on as a community hub
in the future. “It’s amazing how many people volunteered
to help. This is a beautiful place with beautiful architecture,
but the community is very special, too. People really care
about each other.”
You need to when remoteness is part of the appeal. It’s 20
minutes from the A48/M4, a 40-minute drive from Swansea
and half an hour from Carmarthen, home of S4C — another
reason Llandeilo is popular with actors and creatives.
As well as Hengwrt, the disused Victorian market hall is
being renovated and is due to open this year with
a very modern market hall, restaurant, café and spaces for
local businesses.
Best place to live if... If you deserve nice things
in delightful, dramatic surroundings.
Best address The town centre for
colourful, characterful
terraces or in a nearby
Tywi Valley village.
£251,000
neighbours), from the Teifi
Boating Club to Poppit Sands,
one of the loveliest beaches in
Wales. There’s a village shop
that stocks quinoa and vegan
goodies, a post office, a smart
chippie, and a garage — a
necessity as this is car
country. The hearty local
spirit also saved the White
Hart pub, which reopened
last autumn after renovation
as a “warm, welcoming,
supportive community
hub, promoting the Welsh
language and culture”.
Cheers — or iechyd da!
Cardigan is a five-minute
drive away, and is where
you’ll also find the nearest
secondary school.
Best place to live if... You’re
looking for a great escape to
last a lifetime.
Best address Pilot Street
for sunsets (and moonrises)
across the Teifi estuary.
£234,000This is an edited version. For the complete guide visit thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-livePlain sailing
St Dogmaels,
on the Teifi
estuaryan environmentally minded
volunteer group’s projects
include community planting
and a shop local scheme
— proof that the freshly
painted pier isn’t the only
thing green about Penarth.
Indeed, the residents like
to be viewed as a class apart
from neighbouring Cardiff —
less than 12 minutes by train,
longer by Ovo electric bike
— but it is getting harder
to spot the join.
Best place to live if... You
want a beautiful backdrop for
dog walks and downward dogs.Best address Marine Parade
for status, sea views and a
choice of spare bedrooms.
£366,500RUTHIN, DENBIGHSHIRE C
Overlooked by the Clwydian
hills, Ruthin is a town stuffed
with history — a ruined castle,
St Peter’s Church, a jumble of
lovely old buildings, and even
reports of ghostly wailings at
the ATM (where the gallows
were once located) — but it is
far from a stuffy historical
town. This is an impressivelydynamic little community
working hard to adapt and
thrive. “Everything we do is
about ensuring that our young
people want to stay here or
come back after university,”
says Gavin Harris, a local
hotelier and former mayor.
The industrial estate is as
important a part of the town
as Ruthin School, the second
best independent secondary
in Wales (according to The
Sunday Times Parent Power
guide), the new business
centre and the Ruthin Craft
Centre. Next on the agenda is
the first velodrome in north
Wales, a repair café and a
community fridge.
There’s no train station; St
Asaph is a 20-minute drive
where you can pick up the
A55 North Wales Expressway.
Best place to live if ... You
don’t think small towns
should be stuck in the past.
Best address Bryn Goodman:
the feel of a country lane a few
yards from the centre.
£277,000ST DOGMAELS,
PEMBROKESHIRE DTuesday is award-winningly
special in this corner of wild
west Wales. It’s market day,
when locals descend to pick
up everything from meat
(pork, goat, Longhorn beef )
to cheese, veg, crabs and
lobsters, plus bread made
with flour ground at the
nearby mill, Y Felin. “In
lockdown we managed to
keep going with help from
volunteer marshals,” says
Helen Lloyd, one of the
organisers, who has a stall
selling Caws Cenarth cheese.
Indeed, this village is
picturesque and personable
all year round (unlike some
of its PembrokeshireUSK, MONMOUTHSHIRE E
Pride — not smugness — bursts
out of every pretty little
immaculate corner of this
gorgeous town named the
best place to live in Wales last
year. It remains an inspiring
place to mix country living
(eye-catching countryside,
castles) and convenience
(it’s no distance to Newport,
Cardiff and the M4). Spring is
welcomed in style with 5,000
daffodils thanks to the Usk in
Bloom volunteers, a 250-tree
arboretum is being planted
beside the river, and gin from
the local White Hare distillery
has been named the best in
Wales. While the high
street does not have a big
supermarket, it offers a
hardware store, pharmacy,
butcher, a baker, delis,
florists, a hairdresser,
and the unrivalled Sweet’s
Fishing Tackle.
Almost everybody in the
town is keen to get involved.
“We’re a small town and
we’ve realised that the best
way to get things done is to do
them ourselves,” says Meirion
Howells, a local businessman
who also runs the Usk choir.
There’s a community cinema
in the Memorial Hall and at
least 60 local groups, covering
everything from astronomy
to drama. The cricket club is
well fielded, while the (now
obligatory) wild swimmers
meet every Friday for a
bracing evening dip — there
are plenty of pubs to sate any
remaining thirst.
Best place to live if... You’re
keen to be part of a
community that cares.
Best address Abergavenny
Street, Old Market Street or
Maryport Street for
characterful historic homes.
£410,000April 10, 2022 41