Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/510262
DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2015 24 along the Swansea waterfront. At the Cap- tain Cat statue I recalled lines from Under Milk Wood, probably Thomas's best-known work. "The houses are...blind as Captain Cat." Nearby, a statue shows Thomas twisted round in a chair gazing over the docks, bleary eyed but alive and cantankerous. THE DYLAN THOMAS TRAIL Driving westward toward New Quay was slow because I stopped at every castle, and there was one around every corner. Churches also attracted me and I spent hours wandering in the shadow of glorious old stone walls inspecting weathered tombstones. Winding narrow roads took me to St. David's where Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and whose name has been bestowed on innumerable Welshmen, is buried. This charming sea-coast hamlet has a mere 1,800 inhabitants, but, graced by a cathedral, has bragging rights as a city. Dylan Thomas and his wife, Caitlin, stayed only briefly in New Quay but it was a produc- tive, albeit turbulent, time, which included shots being fired at the Thomas home. Dylan described his favourite hotel, The Black Lion, as "waiting for Saturday night as an over-jolly girl waits for sailors." I sipped an ale gazing at the photos on the pub walls and wondered which of the locals formed the basis for char- acters in Under Milk Wood. New Quay, along with Laugharne, lays claim to be the fictional village Llareggub. I strolled along the Dylan Thomas Trail, visiting the cottage where Thomas lived and seeing many places that echoed those in the play. Driving on, I often detoured to the recently completed Coastal Path, the world's TOP TO BOTTOM: Take in beautiful pastoral views in Brecon Beacons National Park. VisitBritain Enjoy a beautiful sandy beach at Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula. VisitBritain Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) is buried in a cemetery in Laugharne under a simple wooden white cross. Hans Tammemagi