Myddfai

Myddfai is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated south of Llandovery in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog), and has a population of 415, decreasing to 398 at the 2011 census.

The village is a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons, famous for the history and heritage of the Physicians of Myddfai and the legend of 'The Lady of The Lake' and provides a central location to visit a wide range of interesting places, such as gardens, castles and The Heart of Wales Railway.

The community is bordered by the communities of: Llanddeusant; Llangadog; Llansadwrn; Llanwrda; Llandovery; and Llanfair-ar-y-bryn, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by Llywel in Powys.

St Michael's Church, Myddfai is a grade I listed building.

Myddfai Community Hall and Visitor Centre is one of the main attractions in Myddfai with a gift shop offering plenty of art and crafts by local artists and contributors, a café serving hot drinks and homemade cakes and a large hall and meeting room offering facilities for weddings, events and local community events. It is an energy efficient facility in the heart of the village and recognised as one of the most well equipped venues in the area. It was designed and built with funding from the Big Lottery Village SOS Scheme and supported by a wide range of other funders. The story of the Myddfai project and build was followed by the BBC as part of the 'Village SOS' series with presenter Sarah Beeny and was shown on BBC One in August 2011 and was officially opened in June 2011 by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall.

The area is the setting for many tales of myth and legend. One such legend is the story of the Lady of the Lake. The story goes that a young farm boy grazing his sheep flock around the lake of Llyn y Fan Fach below the Black Mountain escarpment used to pass the long daylight hours gazing into the dazzling waters of the lake. As he grew up, passing every day this way, one day a beautiful woman emerged from this lake, approached the dumbstruck boy, who was instantly besotted and cast totally under her spell. She was unparalleled in beauty, grace and wisdom and immediately prophesied to him that he would become rich and respected if he would agree to marry her. However this future success and her partnership was dependent on certain conditions. Foremost condition was that he should never strike her more than three times. Secondly that he never speak a word of her origin or the supernatural source of their success and relationship.

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