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A busy market town
on the banks of the River Tywi, Carmarthen is
dominated by a ruined castle and is known as
Merlin’s City, or Caerfyddin, because it was
supposedly the birthplace of King Arthur’s exotic
magician Merlin. The wizard is apparently buried
nearby beneath Merlin’s Hill. In the centre of the
town is an ancient oak tree upon which Merlin cast
the mythical spell ‘When Merlin’s oak shall tumble
down, then shall fall Carmarthen Town’.
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St Peters Church - Photo:
Nigel Davies
CCL |
The town was originally a
Roman fort but the Normans added a defensive
castle.
In the 19th century Carmarthen witnessed one
of the so-called Rebecca Riots when protesters
attacked the local jail over the introduction
of tolls. The rioters - men dressed as women -
took their title from a verse found in
Genesis.
Beyond Carmarthen is the National Botanic
Garden of Wales whose centrepiece is the
world’s largest single-span glasshouse. |
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