The sleepy little town of KIDWELLY (Cydweli) is dominated by its imposing castle (June-Sept daily 9.30am-6pm; April, May & Oct daily 9.30am-5pm; Nov-March Mon-Sat 9.30am-4pm, Sun 11am-4pm; £2.50; CADW). Established around 1106 by the Bishop of Salisbury as a satellite of Sherborne Abbey in Dorset, the castle is situated at a strategic point overlooking the River Gwendraeth and vast tracts of coast. On entering through the massive fourteenth-century gatehouse, you can still see portcullis slats and murder holes, through which noxious substances could be tipped onto unwelcome visitors. The gatehouse forms the centrepiece of the impressively intact semicircular outer ward walls, which can be climbed for some great views over the grassy courtyard and rectangular inner ward to the river. This is the oldest surviving part of the castle, dating from around 1275. The upper stories were added in the fourteenth century by the nephew of warlord Edward I. On the northwest edge of the town is the small-scale Industrial Museum , on Priory Street (Easter-Sept Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 2-5pm; free), housed in an old tin-plate works. Many of the original features have been preserved, including the rolling mills where long lines of tin were rolled and spun into wafer-thin slices.

There's decent pub accommodation at the Old Malthouse , by the castle (tel 01554/891091; £50-60), and superb B&B at Penlan Isaf Farm (tel 01554/890084; £40-50), on a dairy farm overlooking the town. You can camp at Tanylan Farm (tel 01267/267306), which perches alongside the estuary west of Kidwelly. Good food and drink are available at the cosy Boot & Shoe , 2 Castle St, or at the excellent King's Arms in the village of Llansaint, up in the hills a couple of miles west of town.