A weekend spent in Carmarthenshire is a weekend well spent, especially if you’ve been hooked on the first series of Keeping Faith – or Un Bore Mercher on S4C.
A beautiful county, often overlooked for the coastal beauty of Pembrokeshire a bit further west, it has wonderful beaches, rolling hills, gorgeous ruined castles, and charming villages.
It was a no-brainer, then, for location scouts for the gripping drama – its scenery and natural beauty have enraptured viewers as much as the storyline.
Now the yellow-mac-wearing lovers of the BBC/S4C drama can visit the key locations from the series thanks to a new Super-fan Trail.
I took a weekend to discover the sights, take lots of pictures in my (pre-Keeping Faith) yellow mac, and drink in the scenery.
With the online guide still having a few tweaks when I went, I took to my prearranged schedule to follow the “trail”, taking in Carmarthen, Llansteffan, Laugharne and Pendine. Be aware you have to make your own way around this trail – there is no tour guide.
Though it didn’t feel rushed, I would recommend a long weekend to cover the trail as you might want to spend more time in some of the areas.
First stop was Carmarthen, which is where we (myself and the friend I’d dragged along to help me take the pictures) based ourselves.
We stayed directly around the corner from the Guildhall, which is used as the courthouse in the show and provides the backdrop for many of the legal scenes – including when Faith’s children are taken off her in series one.
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As Wales’ oldest town, Carmarthen is a great setting for drama. With its medieval castle and riverside setting, it’s beautiful and when we visited so did Storm Hannah – making it doubly atmospheric.
On top of being able to wander around the town centre and shops and look at the locations here, Carmarthen is no more than 20 minutes (if you’re lucky with traffic) from the main location, Laugharne.
Famous for its association with iconic Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, the estuary village with glorious views and lovely pubs now has another famous resident – despite Laugharne doubling for fictional Abercorran on screen.
Brown’s is an important port of call here, where Eve Myles’ Faith and her pal Lisa (Catherine Ayers) share a drink in the window seat at the pub.
While their beverage of choice was normally a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, Brown’s has an impressive selection of gins, which we sampled while having a gossip and obligatory picture in the window.
Sheila Hagin, receptionist at Brown’s, recalls the time Keeping Faith came to town and how it feels to see your hometown changed into a recognisable TV location.
“We were all intrigued with the first series as we wanted to find out what it was actually about,” Sheila said. “There was so much going on during the filming of series one but they didn’t give much away.”
Sheila recalls seeing the property being used for the Howells Solicitors Office and it brought back some childhood memories.
“I saw Eve walking into the old butchers in town, Bobby Gleed’s. I thought: ‘Oh my God, my gran would send me there for a neck of lamb – now it’s on TV’.”
The show is never far from minds in the hotel, Sheila added.
“Whenever I’m serving in the bar it comes up in conversation. And when the stars come in, it is lovely. It’s exciting having it here, really.”
After our lunchtime tipple at Brown’s and a hearty lunch at the Ferryman’s Deli, we went on the (small) uphill mission to see THE house, which is owned by Mary and Eynon Hughes.
Used for the exterior of Faith and Evan’s family home, I was bowled over to be standing on the terrace looking out over Laugharne and the estuary, just as Faith and Lisa do in series one.
The Hugheses built their beautiful home and they don’t mind people taking pictures of the exterior.
It makes more sense to walk, rather than drive, which I did, and I gave the couple a knock (they knew I was coming) to have a chat about the Keeping Faith mega-fans.
Mary said: “I think it’s nice. A lot of the people who’ve come here have been unbelievably enthusiastic. We don’t mind, as long as they photograph outside the house it’s fine.
“We were surprised at the amount of interest – about 10 people a day were asking down at the gift shop ‘Where’s Eve’s house?’”
There have been a few over-excited 'Faithfuls' but most are respectful of the street and Mary and Eynon’s privacy.
Just to hammer the point home fans following the Keeping Faith fan trail are not all invited to knock on Mary and Eynon’s front door.
Eynon added: “I would be working out the front doing things and I’d see people and [think] 'That’s odd, don’t know them' and we live in a cul-de-sac.
“I say 'good morning' and that breaks the ice and they ask if it’s ‘the’ house and if I mind them taking a photo.
“Some are a bit sheepish, they make out they are lost and only one’s ever come up there (the side of the house) – I was sunbathing!
“I just happened to look and there was someone at the end of the decking taking photographs. They just turned around and disappeared!”
The couple seem to think that interest in the village might pick up again when the second series starts on May 12 (Un Bore Mercher on S4C) and they thoroughly enjoy having the cast and crew visit.
Mary added: “Three days of filming and they are gone. There was more in the first series because they had a lot of views. They are all so nice, the stars and the crew.
“It is strange. The most surreal thing is I was watching the filming from the bedroom – you know the scene where they have a glass of wine – to see them on our decking our chairs, it was very strange.
“More strange than seeing the view.”
Mary and Eynon are now crossing their fingers for a third series as series two is about to air. It is essential viewing in their home.
On your walk back down from “Faith’s house” you’ll pass the Cors Country House.
A former restaurant, it was the setting for Evan’s mother and sister having a chat in series one. Grab a selfie by the sign if you fancy it.
Laugharne is an easy place to spend a lazy afternoon exploring and visiting the local sites.
Before we left we upped our steps count and walked to the Dylan Thomas Boat House, where there are also amazing views. This village is full of them. And if you walk next to the estuary you’ll also spot the Howells’ family boat moored up, the Broadsword – another picture opportunity.
Keeping Faith's Eve Myles almost quit acting to become a midwife before the hit series came along
En route back to the Judge’s Library accommodation in Carmarthen (more on that in the fact box below) we stopped at Pendine Sands.
This is where Faith spends a lot of time contemplating the traumatic events that have engulfed her family in series one.
It’s where she took her youngest, Rhodri, to reminisce about happier times and where she and ex-con Steve Baldini (Mark Lewis Jones) embraced for the first time.
If you’ve roped your other half into this trip then this is a definite selfie spot. With its seven miles of golden sands, Pendine had a pivotal role in the show and you’d regret missing it.
I returned here after 22 years since my last visit and it holds a special place in my heart but even if you don’t have a personal connection here it’s still pretty impressive.
Finally, and without giving too much away, we drove to Llansteffan, which has been used in series two of the show.
The finer details are under wraps but you won’t be sorry with a visit to the village.
A Sunday lunch at the Inn At the Sticks will see you dine in the place frequented by the cast and crew during filming of the new series.
That’s after a walk up the hill to the Norman castle, which is fun to explore whether Faith Howells visited there or not.
Walk down from the castle through the bluebell woods and you’ll find yourself on the cliffs overlooking the Tywi Estuary. From there you can walk down to the sands (you’ll need to check the tide times) and back up to the beach.
Proving itself to be a beautiful and interesting place to visit, Carmarthen and its surrounding coast is worthy of a weekend – and it’s an extra bonus if you have a penchant for a yellow mac and a critically-acclaimed Welsh drama.
* The Keeping Faith Superfan Trail will is available on www.discovercarmarthenshire.com and Un Bore Mercher starts its second series on S4C on Sunday, May 12
