There's a special house in one of Wales' most special coastal towns that seems to have a magic that overwhelms and captivates visitors and owners, and has been the epicentre of creativity and drama over its long and undulating history.
It was the former waterside home in Laugharne of internationally acclaimed author and poet Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin, where it thrived as a creative hub for attracting leading writers and artists to visit.
Thomas and his wife were expecting their first child when they moved into the five-bedroom home called Seaview in 1938, and it is thought to be the location where many sections of his literary masterpieces were penned.
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The poet is known to have entertained a host of personalities at the house, including writers T.S. Eliot and Arthur Miller, and the painter Augustus John who memorably described it as 'a doll's house'.
Caitlin was known to sit at the arched window above the front door to immerse herself in the views, and later wrote that the couple's years spent at Seaview were some of the happiest of their lives.
The house is a Grade II listed Georgian gem tucked away along the winding lanes of this historic Carmarthenshire town, and is thought to have been built around 1845. But since those days of the Thomas' and their unique visitors producing a highly charged, creative atmosphere, the property has had a varied journey.
There was a period of life that saw it slowly deteriorating into a worrying state of repair but then thrive as a hotel and restaurant and a holiday let.
The house went to auction in 2007 and was bought for £232,000 by architects, father and son Graham and Jan Milsom.
They launched an ambitious two year renovation project that saw the house transformed into a restaurant with rooms, establishing a business that earned a two-rosette AA rating within months of its April 2009 opening.
According to data on property portal Zoopla the house sold in 2013 and a further programme of modernisation work was done by that owner to create a 'delightful residence', according to the estate agents selling the property when it was put back on the market in 2017.
The house was then snapped up at this time by local hotelier Martyn Ingram - he had come under the property's spell and fallen in love with it too.
It was to be a full-time home for Martyn and his partner Melanie Hamilton and they worked hard to upgrade the property further.
But with other commitments and a full life running Brown's Hotel in the town, which also has a connection to Dylan Thomas as one of his regular drinking spots, Seaview eventually became a holiday let rather than their new family home.
Although Martyn adored the house and the special atmosphere that had captured his heart, he also knew in his heart that the house deserved to be lived in full-time and be full of vibrant life once more.
But Martyn also knew this special abode needed a special new owner; one that fitted the property, its history and its unique creative atmosphere like a glove; he wouldn't just sell it to anyone, he was going to be picky.
By pure chance or by perfect fate, Seaview found its next owner and its perfect creative match.
Sian Evans, singer and songwriter for Kosheen, writer and poet, just happened to be staying at Martyn's hotel and a chance conversation with one of the friendly staff there has changed the course of her life and the future life of Seaview.
Sian says: "I parked myself in Laugharne between the lockdowns and I was staying in Browns.
"I was going up to Ceredigion and up to Pembr okeshire and down to the Go wer and I was using Browns as a stopping spot, so I'd sit and have a glass of wine and think about where I'd been and what I'd seen."
The location and Laugharne itself was the first stage in Sian deciding to come home to live and put roots back down to grow in Wales.
"I holidayed in Tenby as a child in a caravan, I loved this part of the world. When I first came to Laugharne I did a show here in the Tin Shed - a lovely little space that some of the local people were putting together as a venue - and I came here to play and I was just transfixed - the estuary, the woodland, the whole vibe of the place."
Laugharne featured in Sian's life again as the area where she got married and the love affair with the town, the community and the location deepened.
She says: "It's just such a beautiful place to come back to when I've been away touring.
"To wake up and look out over the estuary here at the changing coastline and environment as the water comes and washes it clean away every single day, it's just magical and how I came to buy Seaview is also quite a magical experience too.
"I started chatting to this lovely lady working at Browns - I've been told this many times, come to Laugharne a stranger leave as a friend, and it really is like that - the Welsh curiosity and nosiness mixed in, with a really healthy dose of friendship and genuine warmth towards our fellow human beings, is just lovely."
The conversation turned to home, which was at the time in Bristol for Sian, and the member of staff at Brown's mentioned her boss Martyn might be selling Seaview.
Martyn and Sian met at Seaview and the magic began with the property totally casting a spell over Sian.
She says: "And it was just like that. I walked into the house and it wrapped itself around me - it frightened me and excited me at the same time."
So taken was Sian with Seaview, its unique atmosphere and how it hugged her from the moment that she arrived that she collapsed.
She says: "When I first looked around I was with Martyn, and I had never had this response before, but it floored me and I dropped down onto my bottom!
"I sat in Caitlin's window and just wept.
"But then I didn't think I was going to be able to afford it because my budget was quite strict because of the two years of no earnings and then Martyn came up with a price and I just said YES!"
Martyn knew he had found the only buyer who could wrestle the keys of this unique house from his hands, and he's not the only one, who instantly recognised the connection between the creativity of the house and the human.
As one reviewer of Sian's new bed and breakfast micro business summed up beautifully, 'never was there a marriage between a house and a person so perfect than Sian and Seaview'.
Sian feels emotional thinking about how she has finally found her perfect property match and how so many people in the community have agreed with their kind words and actions, welcoming her to the town.
She says: "It just felt like home, this does sound very strange and spooky, but it felt like it needed me, it felt like it needed a heart beat and music.
"I got the feeling that this house through history has probably been patronised by some really quite wacky people, Augustus John, Dylan Thomas, Caitlin Thomas, they had some really wild times here and I think the house has been missing a little bit of that.
"I can't wait to put a Christmas tree in Caitlin's window, where she would sit and wait for Dylan to come back from the writing shed / pub and she'd be able to watch him stumbling up the lane."
Sian admits that until finding Seaview she hadn't delved too deeply into Dylan Thomas' writing but, of course, the thought of owning a property where he and Caitlin had spent many years tempted her to find out more.
She says: "I started to read his poetry and discovered that it is so emotive and in keeping with this environment - the drama of it all.
"As a writer first and foremost myself, I was inspired by and romanced by the same things as he probably was when he came here."
The property oozes history into a unique atmosphere that is felt by so many who visit, and if the walls could talk they would surely have a myriad of incredible stories to tell, especially from those wild days when the Thomas' called Seaview home.
Sian says: "There's a bullet in the wall somewhere here! They had a very crazy relationship, as artists and creative people normally do, there's usually fireworks, and apparently there is a bullet in the wall here where Caitlin chased Dylan around the house with a shotgun; there's definitely passion in this house!"
And Sian can't wait to put some creative passion back into the house, which started as soon as she moved in, on a date that was a magical day to her and so many people around the world.
She says: "I've been here since the 21st June which is the summer solstice which is magical to me with the changing of the seasons.
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"I've embraced everything with open arms and it's just been lovely meeting some lovely people doing the B&B, and it fitted in very nicely with the music. But now the gigs are back I have two heads - I spend weeks touring and then weeks being a B&B landlady."
Welcoming guests into Seaview has been a joy for this charismatic host, but her heart lies firmly within the creative industries and that is the longer term future for Seaview.
Sian says: "My son is 30 and off in London making music and they're going to use the place as a base to do some writing, but mainly I've got plans to run some song writing retreats and music therapy sessions.
"I'm teaming up with a therapist, and we're going to do equal amounts of talking therapies and singing. I love teaching and I think singing, making music and poetry all go hand in hand together, but also and hand in hand with Seaview I think."
Sian hopes the combination of the hospitality of the house and the location will inspire people to explore their own creativity and feel enriched by the experience, whether it's writing, visual art or even simply seeing things in a different way that lets that inner creativity come forward.
She says: "There is a masterplan for Seaview. I wanted to do the bed and breakfast in two rooms to see if I could cope with it during the summer and that's been a real success, although I've put on weight by eating little bits of breakfast sausage!
"But I would like to really offer the space for creativity. Mental health issues in the creative industries are rife, and a lot of people have been hit during the pandemic, and it would be lovely to try and help put people back together after it.
"So we're going to offer some retreats here that encompasses song writing, singing, and therapy. I'm hoping with singing and some talking therapies we can really help to get people up and running again into this next chapter of their lives post pandemic and reinstall some confidence.
"Singing is a beautiful thing to do - it's so healthy, it's so good for you to sing. Our voices are our consort and our companion from the minute we take our first breath.
"But a lot of the time we neglect our voices, we feel as though we don't have the confidence to raise our voices and to make a joyful sound.
"But it's so beneficial when you do, so it's my ambition really to get people singing, and singing together ensemble in a group and it really does bond you in a safe space."
Sian is touring until the end of November and then after her first family Christmas at Seaview she plans to start scheduling some workshops and all inclusive residential courses.
She says: "There'll be a schedule of warm up and relaxation and techniques, lots of lovely walks, lots of lovely food, plus teaching alongside ensemble singing, performing to each other and just creating a really nice vibe.
"I'm not planning on creating the next X Factor winner, but singing is not something that's reserved only for people who have found a talent for singing.
"Your voice is as individual to you as your fingerprint, it's yours and it's your friend.
"Don't worry about whether anybody else likes it, it's about you and it's about enjoying it and actually the more you do it, the better you get, like most things."
"Primarily my ambition really is to open up singing for everybody and to show how beneficial it is and how enriching it is and how much fun it is - Wales is the land of song at the end of the day!"
For now, Sian and Kosheen will be finishing their tour and then it's back to Wales where Seaview will give her a welcome home hug again - and she can't wait.
Sian says: "Wales is my home, I'm a very, very proud Welsh woman; we are all very proud Welsh people and Welsh people usually end up coming home to settle.
"My friends and my family are so pleased for me, I've encountered nothing but kindness, friendship and support from the Laugharne community, and Martyn and Mel - I couldn't be happier.
"I'm 50 in October and I think it's the perfect time to come home and live in this house, and we'll enjoy growing old disgracefully together."
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