Laugharne Castle sits on a low cliff overlooking the Taf Estuary. It was originally founded in 1116, as part of a chain of Norman castles along the South Wales coast. The fortification was attacked and destroyed by several Welsh chieftains in 1189, 1215 and 1257. The present ruins largely date from the mid 13th century.

In 1592, the dilapidated castle was extensively remodelled during conversion into a Tudor mansion. However, it was again badly damaged and left uninhabitable after skirmishes between Royalists and Roundheads during the English Civil War, causing it to fall into ruin. At the turn of the 19th century the outer ward was laid with formal gardens. 

The castle's most famous resident is the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who lived in Laugharne between 1949 and 1953. The summerhouse overlooking the estuary is where Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog was written.