09-Aug-2026
Writer Dylan Thomas (1914-53) was born in Swansea, grew up in Swansea, and did a fair amount of his writing there.
You can visit his birthplace at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive:
It's in a lovely, elevated situation...
...and has been restored to give the feeling of an intimate family home
This is the bedroom where he started to write
His parents' bedroom commanded a great view of the bay
The study used by his father, a schoolmaster
A neat kitchen
The parlour, where you can enjoy tea and Welsh cakes at the end of your visit
Nearby is Cwmdonkin Park, which Thomas refers to frequently:
The memorial shelter
The memorial stone, inscribed with the closing lines from Fern Hill: "Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, time held me green and dying though I sang in my chains like the sea"
Downtown, not far from the River Tawe, there's also the Dylan Thomas Centre, which houses an extensive collection of artefacts related to the author's life. Again, well worth a visit:
An early letter
Thomas joined Swansea Little Theatre Company, and acted in a number of plays
Clothes and the provision of clothes are an abiding concern. Thomas, it seems, was always borrowing outfits...
The closest we'll get to Laugharne on this visit... These are the original doors from Thomas's writing shack, near the Boathouse
I found all this fascinating, and a great inspiration to read more Dylan Thomas, neglected since school days...