Prince Charles met some of those working on the renovations

Prince Charles's estate bought Llwynywormwood near Myddfai in Carmarthenshire as a base for his visits to Wales.

About �1.8m is being spent on the former 18th Century coach house which had been converted into a farmhouse.

He was briefed on work on the house and its landscape and met the craftspeople and stonemasons involved.

Some 40 skilled workers have been called in to renovate and restore the buildings set in a 192-acre estate.

Gone are a series of 1960s outbuildings and in their place a line of cottages enclosing the courtyard in the way originally intended two centuries ago.

Craig Hamilton, the project's official architect, showed the prince over the site during a brief inspection tour.

He was shown a new communal dining room where a large arched window is being created. Next to the same block a small conference suite is in the process of being built.

David Curtis, land steward for the Duchy of Cornwall, explained: "The conference suite will be used for functions tied to the prince's various charities.

Around 40 craftsmen and women are renovating the buildings Enlarge Image

"The cottages will be used to house people who will come here for that purpose and when they are empty they will be available for let to tourists."

Once work at the property is finished it will be used as a base for the prince and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall during their visits to Wales.

The first phase is scheduled to be completed this summer and the whole project should be concluded by the autumn.

In addition, 60 acres of parkland will be in the process of being returned to its former state.

Master mason Olly Coe, who runs Coe Stone of Carmarthen, said: "I believe that working on a project like this will have a knock-on effect for business. It certainly won't do any harm".

He said his workmen, who use traditional lime mortar, were already highly-regarded craftsmen in their field.