The 'best' front room at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive decorated in the style and colours of 1914 when it was the Thomas family's new home
August is a really busy month but I somehow found time to follow in Dylan’s footsteps and his story Who do you wish was with us? which tells of his trip to Rhossili from the Uplands. Dylan intended to walk there (all 20 miles!) but ended up catching a bus from Upper Killay.
I must admit to cheating as well – I drove all the way! It was well worth the trip – Rhossili is stunning in all weathers and seasons and we caught a great sunset before a quick drink in the Worm’s Head Hotel.
Number 5 is now open for house tours daily Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am to 5.00pm – except when there is someone staying there (book online on the website)
Dylan was around today would he have rushed home and posted his experiences and inspirations in a blog?
I think the answer is almost certainly “yes” which is perhaps one of the reasons that we have started this blog about the house and area that he remembers best.
The way Dylan worked and his prodigious output of letters would have been perfectly suited to a PC and email. His poetry took him an age to craft – some 200 versions have been recorded of some of his work – as he insisted on rewriting the whole piece even for minor changes. How much simpler with a copy of Word – but how long would he have kept a laptop?!
Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive played a large part in shaping the style and output of Dylan Thomas. Dylan was born in the front bedroom of the house in 1914 and continued to live in the house until his parents moved out in 1937. Over two thirds of his published output was written in 5 Cwmdonkin Drive overlooking his “… long and splendid curving shore…” of Swansea Bay. This is where the subject of the film Edge of Love and author of Under Milk Wood spent his formative years.
Over three years we have restored Number 5 to its condition in 1914 when it was bought as a new house by the Thomas family. From 27th October 2008 (Dylan’s 94th birthday) the house has been reborn and is available to rent as a themed self catering holiday experience – for example, if you book for 14th August 2010 you will enter 5 Cwmdonkin Drive on 14th August 1916 – the Great War is two years old and a newspaper of the day will keep you up to date.
It’s back to the days when the front room was “for best” and to the home of the upwardly mobile Thomas family. See the latest Youtube interpretation with beautiful music by Osian here
Not only can your self catering stay be for a week or a short break you can even stay for just one night and book online! The house is also open for guided tours making it a unique visitor attraction. It’s also been made famous on Come Dine with Me - why not let us host your own special Dinner with Dylan event or read the latest dinner review?
What the house evokes in its visitors is personal and subjective but we guarantee that there will be something that you will see or touch that will provide memories for a long time to come.
Is 5 Cwmdonkin Drive for you?
We think that anyone and everyone can gain something from staying or visiting the house – you might be a family or business group wanting to get away for some peace and quiet to plan your latest strategy or even a small group of friends looking for a unique venue for a birthday or other celebration (we’ll even lay on a traditionally cooked meal to an Edwardian menu).
Oh, and it’s a great place for anyone wanting to get away …so perfectly relaxing…
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I can certainly recommend the tour… really brought Dylan Thomas’ formative years to life for me… I’m now re-reading lots of his works and fitting in where exactly he wrote them from and it’s bringing it all back to life… reader and serious student of Dylan… you must go!!! non-reader and hardly heard of Dylan Thomas… you must also go!!!! also Anne makes a cracking cup of tea in the best china… lol
This house is a LIVING house! Not old and fusty, you can really imagine that you are in 1914. I have stayed there twice and find it peaceful and homely. Everywhere has the feeling of my grandparents’ similar home. The living room is homely, the kitchen is sparse but functional, the study has a calm manly quietude, and the comfortable front room is the forbidden pleasure of childhood Christmases. The bedrooms have traditional bedsteads – but modern mattresses, (thank goodness!) There are freshly laundered bedlinen and woollen blankets to cuddle you to sleep. There are also an upstairs bathroom and toilet – very novel for the time! Annie Haden makes everyone very welcome indeed and has become a special friend – her daily tours and hospitality make Dylan’s a never-to-be-forgotten experience! So, whether you are an historian, a Dylan Thomas devotee, or just curious, you really shouldn’t miss this amazing experience.