Awel Yr Awen

Far from the nearest road, under the dark starry skies of rural Ceredigion is where you’ll find the pitches and bell tents of Awel Yr Awen. This is a campsite on an organic farm where you can have a campfire and watch red kites swoop and soar overhead. The site is small, the pitches are off grid and you will find yourself surrounded by nature – as the poet Dylan Thomas did when he stayed in the farmhouse here for a couple of postwar years. And while this peaceful farm is a lovely place to get away from it all – it’s not far from the beaches of Ceredigion Bay either. Aberaeron is a few miles down the road, New Quay is only half an hour’s drive away.

There are just two bell tents and six pitches here so the five-acre meadow that’s given over to camping and glamping guests never gets crowded. It’s so small and so well managed, in fact, that each pitch is named rather than numbered and every one is different. Choose Nuthatch for a south-facing spot, Woodpecker for shade at midday, Hron if you're coming in a van and Poplar for the luxury of your own compost loo.

The bell tents, five-metre Owl (which sleeps up to four) and four-metre Red Kite (which sleeps up to three) each have their own compost loos too. They are also kitted out with beds and bedding inside and a picnic bench outside. Everyone has their own stone-circled fire pit on the ground and logs are for sale on site. The other communal facilities are a pair of compost loos, a pair of rustic hot-water showers and a camper’s cabin where there’s electricity to power a fridge, freezer, kettle and, if you want it, to charge your phone. It’s a back to basics site but all the important stuff is taken care of which makes it an excellent base from which to explore Ceredigion or in which to simply relax and watch red kites and stars.