The Ultimate Jane Austen Road Trip in West Wales

For any literary fan, 2025 is a significant milestone, marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in December. She is a writer who is arguably one of the best romantic novelists in England’s history. As we approach this historic event, many are seeking out the sites associated with her in England. Still, few think of visiting Wales to discover the Georgian townscapes known to the author. So grab your favourite Jane Austen novel, get behind the wheel and embark on this ultimate Jane Austen-themed road trip in West Wales to honour the author’s birthday.

Getting around on a Jane Austen road trip in West Wales

One of the wonderful things about West Wales is that it’s full of bucolic countryside, making car travel the easiest way to explore. The area is relatively small, and most West Wales attractions are no more than an hour or less from one another. This allows you to enjoy a leisurely pace, fitting several highlights into a single day and still having time to relax with your favourite Austen novel before the day ends.

Who was Jane Austen?

Jane Austen is the author of several romantic novels like Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, and she lived during the Georgian period. This period spanned 1714 to 1837, ushering in an era of significant social, political and cultural change from the expansion of the British Empire to the rise of Romanticism in art and literature. Towards the latter part of the Georgian era was The Regency Period, when the extravagant Prince of Wales assumed power, replacing his insane father, King George III, as the Prince Regent. Reading Austen’s novels gives intimate insights into this era, but today, the best remnant of the past is the architecture, and for me, there’s nowhere better to see this than West Wales.

Day 1: Explore the Georgian Sites in Carmarthenshire

Start this Jane Austen road trip in Llandeilo and its immediate surroundings before heading to Laugharne, one of West Wales’s most beguiling spots.

Stop One – Llandeilo

Llandeilo is a swatch-card-coloured market town that is one of the best places to visit in Wales. It has Georgian houses looming over the historic River Tywi, with Dinefwr Castle standing sentinel above the houses and St. Teilo’s Church. St. Teilo’s rests quietly in the town centre, where a late medieval tower gives way to ivy-clad gravestones.

Today, cars rocket past along a narrow high street that really has no right to let two-way traffic through. But this bustle is no different to what Austen would have known. Swap mechanical noises for neighing horses and the clanging of carriages, the elegant cafes for rowdy inns, and the focus on boutique shops for worshipful attention on the church and market, and you’ve got yourself a Georgian scene.

Channel your inner Austen and walk the high street, exploring local businesses like Heavenly Chocolate Emporium, a chocoholic’s paradise. While chocolate was a delicacy for Austen, you can pop inside to meet the multi-award-winning chocolatier Tracey Kindred. Everything is handmade on the premises, including chocolate spoons and bars with flavours like dark chocolate with nuts. If you’re in the need for breakfast, head to Flows for smashed avocado and poached eggs. 

Stop 2: Aberglasney Gardens

From Llandeilo, drive eight minutes down the A40 to Aberglasney Gardens, where you can follow in Jane Austen’s footsteps and tour this grand house.  While Jane never visited Aberglasney, she did visit manor houses like Chatsworth House and Chawton House. At Aberglasney Gardens, patchwork fields and rolling hills conceal a horticultural treasure known for its 10-acre gardens and 20 different garden styles. While here, see Bishop Rudd’s Walk, which features woodland plants rarely seen in the British Isles and the UK’s only surviving example of an Elizabethan cloister garden with a three-sided arcaded path. 

Then, take some time to discover what the manor house can reveal about the people who lived here in the late 18th and 19th centuries. During the 1800s, the Phillips and Walter Philipps families owned the house, giving it its most distinctive features: a Georgian-inspired central portico doorway and symmetrical bay windows. Its grand façade hints at a wealthy lifestyle and a preoccupation with the British Empire. Thomas Phillips brought Aberglasney after he retired from the Honourable East India Company, where he had risen to Head Surgeon. This idea of the Empire creating wealth was one Austen focused on in Mansfield Park, suggesting part of the Bertram family’s fortune came from their estate in Antigua (likely a sugar plantation).

Stop Three: Paxton’s Tower

From Aberglasney, the winding River Tywi will be your compass, guiding you towards a towering, neo-Gothic-style folly. Perched atop a sweeping hill, the structure rises 36 feet into the air. Leaving a small car park behind, walk across a field, but beware, your boots might get coated in an unappealing brown shade. You, like me, might hear Miss Bingley’s biting words echo in the mind as she chastised Elizabeth Bennet for walking with ‘her ankles in dirt’.

You’ll immediately be captivated by the imposing Paxton’s Tower, built in 1811 by Sir William Paxton. One story suggests this businessman, who once again made his fortune with the East India Company, built the tower out of spite when he lost the local election. The structure was meant to remind the people of the wealth Paxton could have invested in the community. Another idea is that Sir Paxton was a friend of Admiral Lord Nelson and had the tower built to commemorate Nelson’s victories.

Stop Four (Optional): National Botanic Gardens of Wales

From beneath Paxton’s perfectly formed arches, you’ll see the landscape known today as the National Botanic Gardens of Wales – your next stop on this road trip.  Entry here is £16.85 per adult. The Gardens have undergone a stunning restoration, reviving the elegance of their Regency-era landscape, which includes dramatic waterfalls, a charming weir, a rustic bridge, and expansive lakes. At the heart of the estate, Paxton commissioned the construction of Middleton Hall, a grand Regency mansion designed by Samuel Pepys. Once hailed as “one of the most splendid mansions in South Wales,” the main house has sadly been lost to history. Now, there is only the floor plan of a few rooms, a poignant reminder of its former glory. As the wind gently caresses your face, tussling your hair in all directions, I think you’ll imagine standing side-by-side with the ghosts of the people who once lived here.

Stop Five: Laugharne 

End the first day of this Jane Austen road trip in West Wales by driving half an hour to Laugharne. Charming country roads will give way to the A40 before leading towards the coastline. Laugharne is a lovely seaside town with a high street featuring a few shops, a town hall crowned with an Italianate bell tower, a couple of eateries, the edge of a Norman castle, and a mixture of twee cottages. Before checking into Brown’s Hotel for the night, walk the streets to discover the Georgian townhouses that would have been familiar to Jane Austen. 

Day 2: Explore the Georgian Sites in Pembrokeshire

Stop Five: Tenby

Today, leave Laugharne behind and make your way to Tenby. It may not immediately be apparent how Tenby is a Georgian town, considering its medieval walls, adorned with crenelations and boasting formidable towers, are what will first catch your attention. However, the seaside town, probably known to Austen, developed within this confine. In the Regency era, these towns flourished thanks to the middle and upper classes holidaying here to take mineral-rich waters, fresh air, and daily exercise.

Outside of England, Tenby was one of the most popular resorts, developed by Sir William Paxton (I know…he’s everywhere!). Charming pastel-coloured guesthouses cascading down the hills, a picturesque harbour adorned with white sailing boats, inviting beaches, and an eclectic mix of shops make it easy to see why 19th-century tourists decided this would be a great place to unwind and catch a few rays. Aside from the Georgian architecture, the town is littered with blue plaques. These denote the famous Georgians who lived there, including artist Charles Norris and Lord and Lady Hamilton, whom Admiral Lord Nelson visited.

While in Tenby, visit The Tudor Merchant’s House, a Grade II-listed 15th-century property. It is the oldest house in Tenby, boasting rough stonework, uneven glass windows and ornate frames. The house was built around 1500 for a successful and wealthy merchant and his family, who would have been exporting popular goods like wool, vinegar, sea coal and ceramic pots. Today, the house is beautifully furnished with locally crafted reproductions of Tudor furniture, richly coloured wall hangings, and pewter and ceramics typical of the period. Pop next door and have a drink at Plantagenet House, where youll marvel at its Medieval Flemish Chimney. If you fancy extending your stay in Tenby, catch one of the ferries leaving the harbour to Caldey Island (£15 per adult). Caldey Island is an important religious site with a Grade II-listed monastery home to seven Cistercian monks. While on the island, you can buy island-made chocolate!

Stop Six: Aberaeron

Drive from Tenby to Aberaeron and whip out a copy of Austen’s Persuasion. Skip to Chapter 11, where Austen describes Lyme Regis: “The principal street almost hurrying into the water, the walk to Cobb, skirting round the pleasant little bay.” Aberaeron is a Regency town that you’ll be forgiven for thinking was a seaside retreat. It also looks a lot like the description Austen made of Lyme Regis. Like Tenby, it’s a maze of brightly painted Regency buildings, but unlike its neighbour, Aberaeron is a rare example of a purposely planned town. This was developed in 1805 as a working town with a fishing port and shipbuilding industry.

The quiet here is only interrupted by children trying their hand at crabbing while elderly couples amble along the promenade. Much like Austen’s description of Lyme Regis, Aberaeron’s leading site – the harbour – runs directly to the ocean, encouraging you to walk to the town’s beach. Dip your toes in the water and have lunch at Y Seler, which has a menu brimming with ingredients from local suppliers and fresh produce. The vegetable risotto (£15) is made with creamy wild rice and al dente vegetables such as kale, green beans, and leeks, and it is to die for. Afterwards, grab pudding at The Hive, famous for its honey ice creams and stroll along the high street where many Georgian houses are picture-worthy. 

Stop Six: Llanerchaeron

Then, drive the short distance to Llanerchaeron, a Georgian villa built by John Nash. This is one of the best examples of a self-sufficient Welsh gentry estate, and before becoming a National Trust site in 1989, this estate had remained virtually unaltered since 1790. The building offers a real-life, Downton Abbey-style “upstairs, downstairs” experience, with grand dining and living rooms juxtaposed against a cobblestone courtyard featuring laundry rooms, a salting house, and a brewery.

Beyond the walled kitchen garden, there’s a serene pond with lily pads and trees reflected on the surface, and further afield is a hay-bluebell parkland. Grab one of your Jane Austen books and end your road trip by sitting beneath the ancient trees, where you’ll lose yourself for an hour to the sound of birds and a good tale.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON MY Jane Austen Road Trip in West Wales

So there you have it, my ultimate Jane Austen road trip in West Wales itinerary! I took two days to complete this road trip, but you can change it to fit a more extended weekend or week schedule. 

I hope this helps you plan your trip to Wales. If you’d like more inspiration, here is my 10-day road trip around South Wales.

Is there somewhere you’re looking forward to visiting the most? Comment below, I’d love to hear!

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