Activities Llanelli Carmarthenshire

Beaches
The penthouse is just 40 metres from the soft, sandy beach at the mouth of the estuary of the River Loughor. It is a 20 minutes drive to Pembrey Country Park which has access to the 7 mile long blue flag beach Cefn Sidan Sands. It is a 30 - 40 minutes to the beaches on the Gower, which include Rhossili, Mewslade Bay, Oxwich Bay, Three Cliffs Bay, Caswell Bay(our favourite with excellent beach cafe) and Langland Bay.
www.explore-gower.co.uk 

Three Cliffs Bay     Cefn Sidan Sands Oxwich Bay

Golf
Carmarthenshire’s green rolling hills and scenic coastline make for great golf. 

The penthouse is 5 minutes drive from the Jack Nicklaus designed golf course at the Machynys 
Peninsula Golf and Country Club.  

  

There is a new, covered driving range and practice green with bunkers for anyone having lessons. The twilight tee times in the summer months are particularly good value.  
Ashburnham and Pennard are the other 2 courses we particularly enjoy.

There are a further 15 golf courses less than 50 minute drive away. 

Cycling
Merlin Bicycle Hire is located in the Visitor Centre, just a few minutes walk from the penthouse.  Here you can hire bicycles for adults and children and tandems if you are brave!
www.merlincycletours.co.uk 
The Millennium Coastal Park offers a 20km stretch of traffic free cycling from Bynea to Pembrey on the Celtic Trail, route 4 and 47 of the Sustrans National Cycle network.  Part of route 47 runs from Llanelli to Tumble, near Cross Hands, along a wooded path, part of an old railway line, passing Swiss valley Reservoir.
From the visitor centre it takes us about an hour to cycle to Pembrey Country Park and 45 minutes to the Wildlife and Wetlands Centre, however we are in our sixties and our children who are in their thirties get there more quickly!

Mountain Biking
Afan Forest Park – over 100km of trails ranging from flowing swooping single track threading through beautiful forest and exposed rocky double track on wide open hills to gentle family-friendly trails.  For those who prefer 2 or 4 legs there are wonderful woodland walks and horseriding. Fishing is also available and there are 2 visitor centres with great cafes. www.afanforestpark.co.uk 
Brechfa Forest has become one of Wales’s premier off-road biking destinations. With dramatic views and deeply-cut river valleys, Brechfa’s trails are among the best in the UK. The Gorlech trail delivers big climbs, stunning views, forest scenery and some tryuly exhilarating white knuckle descents, the Derwen trail is a 10km family bike trail.  www.bikebrechfa.co.uk

Quad biking - Ther nearest track is at Quad Challenge at Ammanford  www.quadchallenge.co.uk
but we prefer Ritec Valley Quad Bikes near Tenby www.ritec-valley.co.uk

Water Sports
The Millennium Coastal Park is a paradise for water sport lovers.  One of the outstansing features of the Park is its variety of water bodies – each one created for  a specific purpose. The North Dock was transformed from a scene of complete dereliction into a purpose built water sport centre.  The dock is a popular venue for canoes, kayaks, windsurfers, and small sailing dinghies. You can hire pedalloes and try out Aquaspheres – large plastic bubbles that give a walk-on water experience.
Burry Port Marina is the base of Carmarthen Bay Boat trips, who offer site-seeing tours of the coastline.
You will see kite surfing, winding surfing and jet skiing at high tide on the beach outside the penthouse.  Lessons and equipment for kite surfing are provided by Gower Kite Riders. www.gowerkiteriders.com
Kayaking, Canoeing and Archery can be organised in Llanelli. www.kayakcanoearchery.co.uk
Surf and sea kayaking can be organised at Caswell Bay and Llangennith www.surf-kayaking.co.uk
Spend a day at Oxwich bay with Euphoria Sailing watreskiing, wakeboarding, donut riding, windsurfing and sailing. www.euphoriasailing.com
Gower Coast Adventures organise scenic boat trips www.gowercoastadventures.co.uk
Surfing – the Welsh Surfing Federation Surf School at Llangenith on the Gower is the best place in Wales to learn or develop your surfing ability www.wsfsurfschool.co.uk

Pembrey Country Park
Pembrey Country Park is just a 20 minute drive from the penthouse. Behind the soft rolling dunes of the 7 mile long Cefn Sidan Sands there are hours of fun in 500 acres that are filled with among other things an adventure playgrounds, crazy golf, cycle hire, pitch and putt, a 130metre high dry ski slope, toboggan run, miniature railway, nature trails, horse riding and an excellent restaurant.  
Next door is the Welsh Motor Sports Centre.

Family Activity Parks
Oakwood Theme Park www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk   
Heatherton World of Family Activities www.heatherton.co.uk   
Folly Farm adventure park and zoo.  www.folly-farm.co.uk  

Fishing
Fishing enthusiasts are spoilt for choice in the Millennium Coastal park.  Superb sea fishing can be had from the shoreline along the entire length of the Park as the estuary is renowned for its healthy stocks of bass and flat fish.  For anglers who prefer getting away from the coastline there are 2 modern charter-fishing vessels operating out of the marina at Burry Port. 
www.boatfishingwales.com
There are several well-stocked ponds and lakes throughout the Park for coarse anglers.  All these waters can be fished on a daily permit. 
www.llanellicoarsefishingclub.org.uk 
The river Tywi has the reputation if being the best sea trout river in Europe and the river Teifi is renowned for its salmon fishing and the famous Teifi brown trout.

Shopping
A Spar shop is less than a 6/7 minute walk and 2 minutes further on Jenkins bakery.
Llanelli town centre is a 15 minute walk, there is an indoor market and a large Asda.
2 new out of town shopping centres, Trostre Parc and Pemberton Parc, have been built in the last 2 years and are just a 6 minute drive from the penthouse.  They will provide you with all the shopping you could possible want!
There is a designer outlet outlet shopping centre in Bridgend called McArthur Glen.  
It is very close to junction 36 of the M4 which is a 35 minute drive from the penthouse. www.bridgenddesigneroutlet.com

Other activities    
Llanelli Leisure Centre has 2 indoor swimming pools, Fusion gym, squash courts, badminton and trampolining.
Indoor bowls and snooker at the Terry Griffiths Matchroom are within walking distance.
The North Dock is a 2 minute walk from the penthouse.  Here you can hire pedaloes in the summer months and it is used for canoeing and sailing small dingies.  

Swansea Waterfront has a spectacular new waterbased leisure centre with the UK’s first standing surf machine, a thrilling ride called the Master Blaster, a lazy river, waterfall, water jets and fountains – the best indoor water park around! www.thelcswansea.com
Swansea is home to the Welsh National Pool, a 50m pool for the more serious swimmer.
Also in Swansea you can find tenpin bowling and 2 multi screen cinemas – all good activities for wet days.