Cilycwm: Discover walking, waterfalls and cultural heritage

Cilycwm combines walking trails and woodland landscapes with a history that is easy to trace. A 4.6-mile (7.4 km) walking trail runs around Cil-y-cwm; the village’s defining features include a historic parish church, a chapel and traces of the former droving trade. This gives you a way to decide whether to focus on landscape, history or both when considering Cilycwm as a destination.

Walking and landscape

The walking trail around Cil-y-cwm is 4.6 miles (7.4 km) long and offers views of the cascading waterfalls of Craig Rhossan. Its length gives you a specific point of reference for planning; the waterfalls are a striking feature of the route’s landscape.

The landscape around Cilycwm is characterised by scattered farms, small irregular fields and woodland. Many of the steeper slopes in the valley are covered with ancient sessile oak woodland. The area also includes plantation woodland, rivers, upland heath and farmland. These diverse habitats provide space for many resident and migratory bird species.

Many plantation forests in the Cilycwm valley are managed by Natural Resources Wales and designated as open access land. As land management and access status can change, check the current access conditions before setting out on your walk. This helps distinguish the designated walking route from access information for individual woodland areas.

Culture and local history

The Church of St Michael is an Anglican parish church dating from the 14th and 15th centuries and is a Grade I listed building. W. D. Caroe restored it between 1905 and 1909. Capel Y Groes is an independent chapel built in 1859–1860 and is a Grade II listed building. Together, the two buildings represent different chapters in Cilycwm’s architectural history.

Ysgoldy Fach, an old schoolhouse dating from the 18th century, lies behind the village church and overlooks the River Gwenlais. Until the 19th century, the village green opposite the church remained an open space. The schoolhouse, river view and historic open space offer specific points of reference for exploring local history beyond the church buildings.

Cilycwm was once an important stopping point on a drovers’ route and became a centre for droving in the 18th century. The paved gutters along the road were once used to feed cattle on their long journey east to market. They link the village’s history to the practicalities of the cattle trade. The area’s history stretches much further back: communities have lived in the Cilycwm area for at least 5,000 years.

Cilycwm has a village pub. Check whether it is open at the time of your visit.

Discover more destinations: Llanarthney, St. Ishmael, Henllan Amgoed, Carmarthen, Whitland, Llansadwrn, Llandeilo, Burry Port.

For the main travel overview: Carmarthenshire.