IN PICTURES: Prince talks about his 'passion' for his Welsh retreat

Prince Charles gave an insight to his favourite gardens, landscapes and the places which inspire him while speaking of Wales’s unique environment.

He said the home he bought at Llwynywermod in Carmarthenshire came after a long search lasting some 40 years! Several houses and sites were explored says the Prince.

Llwynywermod was originally part of an old estate with the ruins of the oldhouse, the remnants of an 18th-century landscaped park and various disintegrating ‘concrete and corrugated iron’ modern farm buildings and an abandoned slurry pit.

Asked how important it was to the Prince to have a retreat in Wales, Charles says, "Having been Prince of Wales for 55 years, it enables me, onvarious occasions, to be part of the local community around Llandovery and to have a base for entertaining and meeting people from throughout the Principality.

"Wales has still preserved its wonderful sense of community – particularly in the rural areas – and Llandovery, an old sheep-drovers’ town, somehow maintains those priceless assets of its own community hospital, family GPs, a rugby club (of which I am proud to be Patron), a railway station and astrong connection with the family farming communities in the surrounding countryside."

In the interview the prince says one of his most memorable times in Wales was spent exploring mid Wales during his term at AberystwythUniversity.

Click her for the the full interview with Prince Charles by Visit Wales