Anyone live in or near Llangadog, Carmarthenshire SA19

[cremedemonthe]

I'm looking to move up to Wales in the next 6 months or so, I have seen a property but I expect it will be gone by the time I'm ready.
It has a little bit of land and stables, which I won't use other than to grow fruit and veg, keep chickens and dogs on and maybe bees.
I will need a large workshop too for me to work from home in to earn a living.
What I'd like to know is, what are the walks for dog walking like up there as other parts of Wales (Llandysul and Pentrecwrt) seem to have all farmers fields full of sheep and no where to walk in the woods etc.
I'm spoilt here for walks in the Surrey Hills but it is far too crowded and noisy for me now, I'm a country boy who has seen his home village turn in to a town and now a very large urban sprawl with people coming down from London, we have fights and riots out in the street at weekends, crime has gone up 10 fold, no where to park and rude and aggressive people, time to move!
So locals, what's it like there?
Are there good vets, doctors,shops etc round that way.
We are used to being snowed in and bad weather before anyone tells me you'll be snowed in, I live 1,000 feet up on the North Downs where we have had 18 inches of snow and 12 foot drifts in recent years, I'm born to it.
PM me if you prefer, I need all the help I can get, thanks, Oz

 

[Edgehog]

Fab area to live so a good choice. You have Dinefwr Castle nearby http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dinefwr/ which allows dogs on leads. Crychan and Halfway Forests near Llandovery where you can walk dogs as far as you like http://www.crychanforest.org.uk/. Also the Brecon Beacons and numerous beaches not far away.

You don't move to Wales if you like shopping but there is an ok Co Op in Llandovery as well as some lovely small shops and lots of pubs and cafes. Llangadog also has some good pubs and Llandeillo a decent high street ( complete with a chocolate shop ). Carmarthen has the usual big high street shops plus a Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco and Swansea and Cardiff aren't far away.

There are a couple of vets in Llandeillo and one in Llandovery with specialist equine vets in Narberth and Carmarthen. Great doctors in Llandovery attached to the hospital.

It is a really lovely friendly area to live and has some fabulous places to walk and ride.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Fab area to live so a good choice. You have Dinefwr Castle nearby http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dinefwr/ which allows dogs on leads. Crychan and Halfway Forests near Llandovery where you can walk dogs as far as you like http://www.crychanforest.org.uk/. Also the Brecon Beacons and numerous beaches not far away.

You don't move to Wales if you like shopping but there is an ok Co Op in Llandovery as well as some lovely small shops and lots of pubs and cafes. Llangadog also has some good pubs and Llandeillo a decent high street ( complete with a chocolate shop ). Carmarthen has the usual big high street shops plus a Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco and Swansea and Cardiff aren't far away.

There are a couple of vets in Llandeillo and one in Llandovery with specialist equine vets in Narberth and Carmarthen. Great doctors in Llandovery attached to the hospital.

It is a really lovely friendly area to live and has some fabulous places to walk and ride.

Thank you you are a mine of information
I don't like shopping but will do a long drive down to Cardiff every so often and stock up at Costco (got a trade card) and top up once a week with groceries etc, we like to grow as much as we can as well to help out the food.
What saddlers and/or saddlery shops are round your way?
Are they any good and to be recommended?
What stables are round there , any ideas?
Thanks, Oz

 

[Edgehog]

We do a big monthly shop too and get fresh stuff locally too, most people round here do that.

There is a saddler on the ranges with an indoor school for trying saddles near Trecastle. http://www.llwynonsaddlery.co.uk/ Charlies in Carmarthen have a small equestrian section. I don't use either as I have a trade account with a wholesaler.

Most people keep their horses at home as land is cheap but there is a big driving yard at Llangadog http://www.pasturefarm.com/ and I have recently heard of someone breaking and schooling from a yard in Llangadog too. It's a very horsey area just not many livery yards. What sort of thing are you looking for? We have a village coffee morning tomorrow so I can ask for ideas for you ( mainly horsey ladies! ).

 

[cremedemonthe]

Egdehog I've PM'd you

 

[Annagain]

Don't live in the area but have a very good friend whose father is the parish vicar in Llagadog. Lovely place.
Cardiff is about 1hr 15 away but decent range of shops in Carmarthen and Llandeilo has a lovely high street that hasn't been swamped by ubiquitous chainstores.

Llwynon saddlery (just off the A40 near Sennybridge) is great for saddles. Graham really knows his stuff. He can be a little pompous at times but I've spent 10 years making 3 hour round trips every year to get saddles checked, as he's the best in the area. Having someone come out to me would be so much easier, but I trust him and his approach makes so much sense. You take the horse to him rather than him coming out. He does all the work while you wait and then checks fit while you ride in his indoor school and he'll make any necessary adjustments. They only sell saddles / bridles and associated equipment these days though, as they tended to focus on quality brands and couldn't compete with online retailers for price for general horsey stuff. They do rug washing and that sort of thing too.

Cotts in Narbeth (about 30 miles away) are an excellent equine vet.

Lovely surrounding area too. Carreg Cennen Castle is a great place to visit as well as the National Botanic Garden and Aberglasney not too far and away. A little bit further and you have Laugharne (Dylan Thomas's home) which is lovely and then Pembrokeshire which is my favourite place in the world. Yes there are a lot of sheep around (it is Wales after all!) but lots of forestry in that area too.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Don't live in the area but have a very good friend whose father is the parish vicar in Llagadog. Lovely place.
Cardiff is about 1hr 15 away but decent range of shops in Carmarthen and Llandeilo has a lovely high street that hasn't been swamped by ubiquitous chainstores.

Llwynon saddlery (just off the A40 near Sennybridge) is great for saddles. Graham really knows his stuff. He can be a little pompous at times but I've spent 10 years making 3 hour round trips every year to get saddles checked, as he's the best in the area. Having someone come out to me would be so much easier, but I trust him and his approach makes so much sense. You take the horse to him rather than him coming out. He does all the work while you wait and then checks fit while you ride in his indoor school and he'll make any necessary adjustments. They only sell saddles / bridles and associated equipment these days though, as they tended to focus on quality brands and couldn't compete with online retailers for price for general horsey stuff. They do rug washing and that sort of thing too.

Cotts in Narbeth (about 30 miles away) are an excellent equine vet.

Lovely surrounding area too. Carreg Cennen Castle is a great place to visit as well as the National Botanic Garden and Aberglasney not too far and away. A little bit further and you have Laugharne (Dylan Thomas's home) which is lovely and then Pembrokeshire which is my favourite place in the world. Yes there are a lot of sheep around (it is Wales after all!) but lots of forestry in that area too.

Thanks annagain, I am a traditional saddler so moving to another area had me wondering if I would be treading on anyone else's toes already established in that area who are in the trade too
I doubt it though as I will just keep myself to myself and be manufacturing mainly.
Oz

 

[Annagain]

Might be worth seeing if you can supply him, although he does to a lot of his own leather work. I don't think he makes any saddles just adjusts / reflocks but he definitely makes bridles.

 

[Finlib]

We made a similar move 5 years ago though we moved to Pembrokeshire.
Haven't regretted it one little bit .
We were in Hampshire on the edge of the South downs in what was a rural hamlet .It got swamped with people who commuted to London and had no interest in the countryside .
Fortunately we both retired early so no need to earn a crust but have to say even though we are very rural there is much more of a community spirit here then where we were.It went form a beautiful rural hamlet to an over crowded commuter village with every house having 2/3 /4 cars and no one interested in country life .
Here there is a shortage of places to get simple tack and rug repairs done.
Good luck ! the rural peace and sound of the birds certainly beats the cars and aggressive people always in a hurry!!

 

[cremedemonthe]

We made a similar move 5 years ago though we moved to Pembrokeshire.
Haven't regretted it one little bit .
We were in Hampshire on the edge of the South downs in what was a rural hamlet .It got swamped with people who commuted to London and had no interest in the countryside .
Fortunately we both retired early so no need to earn a crust but have to say even though we are very rural there is much more of a community spirit here then where we were.It went form a beautiful rural hamlet to an over crowded commuter village with every house having 2/3 /4 cars and no one interested in country life .
Here there is a shortage of places to get simple tack and rug repairs done.
Good luck ! the rural peace and sound of the birds certainly beats the cars and aggressive people always in a hurry!!

Exactly the same problem here, no interest in conserving what we have round here, they abuse the countryside and have no community spirit.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Might be worth seeing if you can supply him, although he does to a lot of his own leather work. I don't think he makes any saddles just adjusts / reflocks but he definitely makes bridles.

I make my own branded goods and supply a large equestrian wholesaler with specialised goods so I don't think our paths would cross anyway

 

[TTK]

Hi CdM, have you looked at Radnorshire, I lived there for years and the riding is wonderful. Or even South Shropshire - wild yet civilised.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Hi CdM, have you looked at Radnorshire, I lived there for years and the riding is wonderful. Or even South Shropshire - wild yet civilised.

We are looking all over the place at the moment, god knows where we will end up! Thanks for suggestions.