Cwmdu village.

Driving the back roads around Talley you may chance upon the tiny village of Cwmdu. Cwmdu is one of those places you can't just drive through - you have to stop because it is so unexpectedly pretty.

The village pub in Cwmdu.

It is heartening to see how a bit of care and attention and a coat of paint that isn't white, can make a place stand out among so many similar villages around Carmarthenshire. A place where parked cars look so incongruous, a place crying out for a horse and cart to clippity-clop along the high-street.

Cwmdu village.

Its vibrancy however goes a lot further than a coat of paint, as its local website testifies to a strong community spirit, centered around a village pub that is still open for business - a rarity now in many Carmarthenshire villages and making them all the poorer for it.