Dylan Thomas and the delights of a Pembrokeshire coastal cottage

Even in deepest winter, amid worrying bursts of sleet and snow on an edgy five-hour drive, the journey to the dramatic West Wales coast and that bright red cottage door was well worth the effort.

As soon as we entered, it was clear that picture postcard Pwll Cottage would be an ideal hideaway in which to be ‘trapped’ for a few days of utter tranquillity, surrounded by an alluring blend of old world warmth and modern comforts.

And ‘trapped’ we were, eventually, as those snow showers deepened and we realised that the Met Office weather warnings had come true, leaving my partner and photographer Sue Mountjoy and myself wondering how that sweeping green lawn and boulder garden had turned so quickly into a white Arctic landscape, glistening brightly, several degrees below freezing.

Mercifully, though, the heaviest of those wintry torrents held back sufficiently on our first day to allow us to nudge our hesitating Honda Jazz nimbly along seven miles of icy, ungritted country lanes to the delightful Taf estuary village of Laugharne, which has attracted such luminaries as forme Jimmy Carter, Mick Jagger, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Burton and Susan Sarandon, searching for her local roots.

Many have been drawn to the beauty of its dramatic medieval castle ruins and elegant Georgian streets overlooking the ever-changing river’s wide salt marshes as it flows into Carmarthen Bay. But every one of them has come to discover how this landscape inspired the resort’s most lauded resident, the poet and writer Dylan Thomas, to create such masterpieces as Under Milk Wood and Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

As snow-groaning clouds hovered above, Sue and I whizzed around such key Thomas haunts as his recreated writing shed, housed in a former wooden garage, his favourite bar at 300-year-old Brown’s Hotel and his last family home, The Boathouse, from which he made his final journey to New York, where he died in 1953 aged just 39.

Topping up our storm supplies at the village convenience store in low-lying Grist Square, the assistant warned that the car park floods regularly through tidal surges. We glanced with worried looks toward the Honda as he added, reassuringly: “But don’t worry, the cars don’t usually float away.”

Heading gingerly back to Pwll Cottage (the name means pool in Welsh), we paused in nearby Marros hamlet, to gaze at St Lawrence’s Church, to admire its sturdy 15th century stone tower, built, like so many in this part of the country, to house and defend any fleeing English landowners, threatened with death during the many uprisings by axe-swinging angry locals.

Of course, those rebellious days are long gone, and there is invariably ‘a welcome in the valleys’ to English tourists, a fact exemplified by the scrumptious Welsh cakes and Bara Brith we both tucked into from the £40 Welsh Produce Hamper that awaited us on the cottage dining table.

Indeed, that warm and homely cottage vibe cocooned us for the next two days, as those snow clouds tipped their heavy loads, the car turned into a giant snowball and, under intermittent phases of blue and sunny skies, the roads stubbornly resembled skating rinks.

So, out of the window went our plans to walk through the gate and along the medieval Pilgrims’ Way toward the sea cliffs to join the glorious Pembrokeshire Coast Path (although I did manage a few snow-crunching solo hiking miles); nor would we be spotting oystercatchers on deserted Marros Sands or visiting the nearby Pendine Museum of Speed, which celebrates the late Sir Malcolm Campbell breaking land speed records along the seven-mile flat beach there at almost 175 mph in his ‘Blue Bird’ cars in the 1920s.

On sunnier visits (as the cottage visitors’ book declared), there could have been riding at the Marros Stables, castle exploring at Pembroke and Carew or ambling round pretty Tenby and Saundersfoot, as well as enjoying hearty meals at The Green Bridge Inn and the Spring Well pubs, just 10 minutes’ drive away.

Instead, we immersed ourselves in the Christmas card-like peace and joy of everything that this historic, yet intricately restored, cottage offered: occasional foxes wandering across the virgin snow-blanketed lawn; a robin calling for nibbles; Sue and me battling it out at table tennis and darts in the adjoining games room; hearty home-cooked meals in the kitchen-diner made ultra-cosy by its roaring log burner and the cottage’s instant central heating; music, reading and TV evenings in front of the living room’s push-button gas stove, followed by long and deep snoozes in one of the three spacious bedrooms.

On our final night, under the clearest of night skies filled with stars, we even wrapped up in heavy coats and drank a toast of soothing Brecon Beacons Penderyn single malt on the porch picnic table in honour of our ‘home from home’.

Next morning, under light rain and with the snow having melted rapidly, we packed up and pointed the Honda toward the bustling English Midlands, with a pang of regret that we hadn’t been ‘trapped’ a few days more in a haven where our universe stood still and we discovered a life which we had long forgotten.

With a promise to ourselves that we would definitely return, we agreed we had experienced the reality of that often-heard Welsh proverb: ‘Where there is peace there is life’.

FACT FILE

Pwll Cottage can be booked via Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire, a family-run company with over 400 properties sleeping from two to 30 guests on or close to the coast.

Holiday homes range from traditional stone cottages to one-of-a-kind properties; there’s also a dedicated in-house concierge team offering hand crafted welcome packages and exclusive experiences from chefs to yoga sessions and holiday hampers.

A week's stay in Pwll Cottage for up to six starts from £430, including a £180 saving.

To book, go to www.coastalcottages.co.uk or call 01437 765 765.