T R A V E L P L A N N E R
For more information, visit:
Welsh Government: visitwales.com
Brown's Hotel, Laugharne: browns-hotel.co.uk
Dylan Thomas Centenary Site: dylanthomas100.org
Morgans Hotel, Swansea: morganshotel.co.uk
The Coach House, Brecon: coachhousebrecon.com
Warpool Court Hotel, St. Davids: warpoolcourthotel.com
DS
first hiking trail along an entire national
coast, to watch waves pounding in from the
far reaches of the Atlantic.
My next stop was Laugharne, "a leg-
endary, lazy little black magical bedlam by
the sea" where I downed a pint or two at
Brown's Hotel in the same corner where
Thomas used to sit. I imagined the
laughter in the dusky premises, for Dylan
was always the life of the party and had a
sonorous voice with a subtle Welsh lilt.
His public readings, particularly in
America, became almost as famous as his
written works.
At dusk I strolled to the Boathouse where
Dylan lived stormily with wife Caitlin and
children for the last four years of his life. I
passed the weather-vaned tower of the
small town hall, the looming walls of the
castle and then came onto the vast sweep of
the Taf estuary with a rising moon reflected
in the still waters. I could imagine Dylan
writing in his boat shed, a beer bottle on the
table and discarded, crunched up sheets of
paper littering the floor.
Next morning, Bob Stevens, the mayor of
Laugharne, led me along the Dylan Thomas
Birthday Trail. "Dylan had a close connec-
tion to this land," he said, as we strolled
from sign to sign, reading the October Poem,
which Dylan wrote on his "30
th
year toward
heaven" while on this same walk.
Late in the afternoon, I visited the ceme-
tery where Dylan and Caitlin are buried
under a simple wooden white cross, which
contrasts with the solid, stone monuments
all around. Sadly, Dylan died in poverty, in
spite of the monumental legacy of work he
created and the many he inspired, including
Bob Dylan and John Lennon.
I returned to Brown's Hotel, Dylan's
words resonating in my mind.
"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
He was a great poet, inspired by a marvel-
lous country.
