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Tywi Valley and CarmarthenAberglasney and Grongar Hill
Field paths from a restored garden up to the hill that inspired one of the first landscape poems in English, with the Tywi valley below.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 45
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From the gardens, paths climb Grongar Hill for the view over the valley and Dryslwyn Castle, returning by lanes and fields.
Worth knowing
- John Dyer’s poem Grongar Hill was published in 1726 and effectively invented the English landscape poem.
- Dryslwyn Castle on its mound in the middle of the valley is free to visit and a short drive away.
- The gardens have a separate entry charge and the cloister garden is unique in Britain.
What you’ll see
The Tywi valley and its meanders, Dryslwyn and Dinefwr castles, and the gardens below.
Background
Aberglasney was derelict for decades before restoration began in 1999. Its Elizabethan cloister garden is the only surviving example of its kind.