South Wales: what to do and where to stay
Camping has become a summer favourite in our family, especially exploring places we’ve never been. Wales is easy to get to from Greater London, but feels a world a way. On the way, we took a slight detour to Stonehenge and a rural pub in Wiltshire on the way back to break up the journey. I’ve created a map so it’s easy to see the relative distances.
We based ourselves in four spots across two and a half weeks. Three campsites and one Airbnb.
Places to go:
Sgwd-yr-Eira, Four Falls
Waterfalls, Four Falls trail, Sgwd-yr-Eira
There are too many waterfall options in Wales and it’s hard to figure out which falls are pitched at the right level. For this trip my request was a giant, impressive waterfall that is only one mile away from the car park, without a discouragingly steep climb to the bottom for the kiddie legs. This trail was challenging but possible for our 3 and 5 year old in around 4 hours. The set-up is a car park that leads to a well marked 5.5 mile circular walk that’s gravelly and at times uneven with further steep offshoots to access the four waterfalls. Highly recommended as a reach activity with the cachet of confidence for the kids – and I loved feeling like we were on an adventure, hunting down waterfalls.
Castles
Stunning reflection of the castle in the moat (check), which also means it has a draw bridge (check), top-notch turrets and a connected castle-top walk-way (check). Very impressive as castles go. It also has an inner courtyard with ambiance that screams: please have an extravagant party here, candlelit with a banquet table of delights. And masks. If you’re looking for that sort of venue. And this is the gift shop where we caved and bought two high-quality toy red dragons made by beanie babies. (are they still in business?) We try to minimise the tat we buy, but on her summer holiday in Wales, a 3 year-old needs a red dragon.
Perched on top of a mountain, you can see this crumbling, moody castle for miles. Built circa the 13th century, it has lovely rural views through keyhole castle windows that evoke the feeling of power: “I am lord of all that I see, no one is higher than me”. It has cave, where you can be in an enclosed, damp, dark space, underground - as a feature. Not covid friendly and a component of my personal Room 101 experience, even though I come from a line of enthusiastic coalminers. I did think: this is the moment the castle is going to collapse and we’re all going to die, normal mom stuff. But exciting for the kids and proved to be a salient memory of the trip. Nice place to bring a picnic if you can cope with the large quantities of animal poo. Also a serviceable cafe below doing lunch fare with castle views. Go with the scones. The cake was dry.
Dolphin spotting – Cardigan Bay
This has potential for disaster – only 40% of the trips see dolphins. So we were managing expectations from the moment we bought the tickets: “We’re just going to enjoy the boat ride, get a view of the coastal cliffs – it doesn’t matter if we see dolphins. They’re wild and we’re peeking into their habitat – they’re not preforming for us.” Apparently, dolphins are seen nearly every day in this part of Cardigan Bay. I’m sure we’ll see them before we leave. We did a two hour ride at 9am betting it would be less crowded and luckily only shared the boat with one other family. Tallulah was annoyingly focused on when she was going to see a dolphin and verging on despair with 10 mins to go on the way back to the mooring. I will take credit for spotting the dolphins first, two, about 10 feet from our boat. A mother and baby. Total excitement erupted from all children and relieved adults, which then subsided quickly. The team at New Quay Boat Trips were highly respectful of the dolphins and the conservation area. They’re endorsed by the Sea Watch Foundation.
Blue Lagoon, Abberiddy Beach
Strikingly beautiful turquoise water in a vase-like lagoon of black slate. For sure, worth a walk if at Abberiddy beach nearby. But the lagoon is crawling with people – all watching the spectacle of other people jumping in the water. My kids were too young and I am still processing trauma from jumping off a cliff on a dare when I was 14, so no thank you. Coming on a paddle-board might be a nice perspective. Jumps would be great for a teenage adrenaline rush.
Paddle boarding Three Cliffs Bay
I couldn’t justify packing our paddle-board in our tiny trunk this trip. But if we had, Three Cliffs Bay would have been perfect paddle-boarding. There’s a little meandering tidal stream that passes a lush green meadow, under Penard Castle, and carries on over stepping stones at high tide and finally empties out into the bay. There’s a watersport rental place in Oxwich Bay if you were inspired. Be careful with kids swimming as the current can be strong. Living on an island, I’m on a mission to educate my kids about the beauty and real dangers of the open water.
Places to eat:
I call this look: ‘camping chic’ at The Shed, Porthgain.
Everyone is advertising this place and it’s clear why. Light and crispy fish and chips at a grown up restaurant. Cod and cuddlefish fried delicately. The best version of a classic is a sign of a great place. We started with some king prawns scampied in garlic and a Greek salad, accompanied with a fork and knife, which felt fresh and novel after all our make-shift picnicing. The Banoffee Pie in a chilled sundae glass promised more than it delivered – suspect other puddings are better. The restaurant is always booked out in August, but they take first come-first serve on their outside terrace, decked out with bunting. Near the harbour.
Angel Bakery, Abergavenny
Top-rated pastries and breads. Great to buy extra for the tent breakfast in the morning. But you must try the caramelised onion focaccia. It’s rich and thick, and worth coming back for. We ate the majority of our massive slice, a block away while hiding out from a downpour under an awning on the way to lunch. That’s how good it was: we ate it on the way to lunch. They also stock artisan pantry items and local cheeses and meats resting (comfortably) on slate slabs.
The Chapel, Abergaveeny
Abergaveeny is famous for food. The Angel Hotel has converted a church basement into a bright airy restaurant that serves unfussy but delicious (mostly local) food. Our carrot ginger soup was accompanied by a hearty blue cheese and pumpkin scone that could have been a meal itself. Go there for lunch if you can’t bare taking the kids for the adventure to The Walnut Tree or The Harwick. Also sells art and books.
Simply Seafood, Tenby
By the harbour in Tenby is a seafood stall with a queue down the block. But menu till you get inside. I think they’re trying to heighten the anticipation. You can buy a small bowl of mixed fresh seafood for £5 and to eat on the beach with a toothpick, which seems far better than £40 in a hot restaurant on a sunny summer day. Get there before noon if you want a lobster roll. They don’t restock. The crab sandwiches are weighted down in thick sauce and we couldn’t taste the crab. Maybe it wasn’t there?
The Plough & Harrow, Murton, Gower Peninsula
Trusted local advisors recommended this as the best gastropub in the area, but we couldn’t get away from the sensational sunset view at Three Cliffs Bay…and their food truck that outdid itself every time. So we didn’t go to the Plough, but wish we had.
The Castle, Little Haven
Popular mini bay - little sister to Broadhaven and more atmospheric. But tough to find parking – we did many slow loops and started following people who might be leaving. The Castle has a lovely view of the bay and strong on afternoon drinking that spills onto the lawn. They start serving dinner at 5pm. The fish pie hit the spot.
We only had drinks overlooking the harbour, but the Griffin nearly takes over the only through street on a summer evening. Wonderful, boisterous way. We felt like we showed up to a welcoming garden party already in full swing.
Places to stay:
Cardigan Bay, New Quay, Airbnb
At least a 9 out of 10 – maybe higher. This tiny two floor flat is all windows at the top of the last house in town before the cliff drops off. The coastal path crosses in front, but most of your view is endless water. We spotted at least 10 dolphins from the balcony. The perfect place to spend a weekend hiding out on your own. The flat is connected to another house and felt newly decorated (because our children aren’t mellow we felt self-conscious about them being rambunctious). A double bed for the parents upstairs, that felt like luxury after camping. A foldout couch that was perfect for the kids – the owners dropped off extra bedding at our request. There was a weirdly loud seafood factory on the water below that apparently sends welk to Korea.
Point Farm, Dale
On a short walk uphill from Dale is a small campsite, within some trees. It bills itself as eco, low impact, which is great, but it feels like a field of 10 sites with no distinguishing features. Also a neighbour arrived at 1am and decided to set-up, opening and slamming their van doors for most of an hour, which was ironic as we weren’t allowed to pull our hybrid near our tent. Great access to the town and an a circular rural walk.
Coastal Stay, Abberiddy
The owners converted their farmhouse back yard into a small 25 pitch site. It has a nice distant view of the water. A feature is the pygmy goats you can walk on-site, which the kids loved. It’s a long walk on the road to the beach and then a drive into Porthgain, but they offer crispy, thin crust pizza from a festival like stall on-site and the atmosphere absorbs that feeling. Some of the pitches are much quieter, and directly next to the fields - worth asking where you’re going to be.
Three Cliffs Bay, Gower Peninsula
One of the best campsites in the UK based on the view alone. But you have to book wildly early to get a seaview and some of those pitches are heavily slooped. A long scramble down to the bay that floods completely at high tide. They have a full-service shop with everything from espresso, marshmellows, ham and cheese sandwiches ready for a hike and a rainbow of hoodie sweatshirts with their logo. The nightly food truck was also a bonus – you can take your pulled pork sandwich and watch the sunset over the Bay. The quality is so good, we missed some pubs we wanted to hit on Gower. Lots of people come for their whole summer beach holiday and do a fire every night, which is a bit of overkill on the smoke and burning wood with the pitches so close.