A476
| A476 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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| From: | Llanelli (SN507006) | |||
| To: | Ffairfach (SN628214) | |||
| Distance: | 16.8 miles (27 km) | |||
| Meets: | A484, B4303, B4306, B4310, A48, B4556, B4297, B4300, A483 | |||
| Primary Destinations | ||||
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| Traditional Counties | ||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||
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The A476 runs from Llanelli to close to Llandeilo via Cross Hands. It is a single-carriageway non-primary Class I route that has lost much of its importance to the primary alternative – namely the A4138, M4, and A483.
The route begins on a one-way system with the A484 just to the north of Llanelli town centre. It passes through the suburbs of Llanelli to the village of Felinfoel, home of the brewery of that name. We then enter the area known as Cwm Lliedi or Swiss Valley. There are some good walks around the Swiss Valley Reservoirs if you feel so inclined.
We continue northwards over the hill towards Llannon, running alongside the River Morlais for a short while. We pass turnings to the right and left for the B4306 and then the B4310 on the left at Tumble before we eventually reach Cross Hands, named after the intersection between the A48 Swansea to Carmarthen road and the A476 from Llanelli to Llandeilo. The crossroads in the middle of town was formerly a notorious blackspot, mainly because of excessive traffic on the A48, but since construction of the A48 bypass in the late 1980s, the situation has improved greatly: the original crossroads is signalised but the roads to left and right are now unclassified.
At the roundabout with the dual-carriageway A48, there is a retail park, making the most of its good transport links to surrounding areas. We continue towards Carmel, a small village. On the left-hand side can be seen the Carmel TV transmitter, which serves this part of South Wales.
Soon we approach the River Cennen. A narrow lane turning off sharply to the right right leads – via a steep hill, a ford, and a low bridge beneath the railway line – to the other side of the valley and the A483. We, however, stay on the west side for the time being, skirting the fringe of Gelli Aur Country Park. The B4300 (an alternative to the A40 between Carmarthen and Llandeilo) comes in from our left as we reach on the southern edge of the River Towy floodplain.
A little more than half a mile later, we arrive in Ffairfach, a small village immediately south of Llandeilo, where the A476 terminates at a junction with the A483. Here we are within 300 m of the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and if ruined castles are your thing, you could do a lot worse than travel three miles south east to Carreg Cennen Castle, near the village of Trapp.
