The combination of green fields, great views, and a beach within walking distance make this dog-friendly campsite in Ceredigion sound like a real winner. And it is – if you, like us, enjoy a spot of back-to-basics camping. This is a laid-back site with simple facilities: portable toilets, open-air showers, and plenty of space in its pitch-where-you-please meadow. Tents, dogs, and campervans are welcome but caravans, motorhomes and anyone wanting a clubhouse will have to head elsewhere. Perhaps to one of the nearby holiday parks, which cluster along this coastline. Here at Nantcellan, a 20-minute walk away from the waves, it’s more about natural surroundings, stargazing and quiet chats beside the campfire.
Set among 25 acres of meadows, the campsite at Nantcellan Barns is part of a project to rewild a former dairy farm. While we campers are allowed to pitch up in a couple of fields, others are being planted with trees to provide more space for wildlife. On arrival, you let yourself into this peaceful spot, choose your pitch and make yourself at home. The family who run the place keep a fairly low profile, popping in to say hello and make sure everything is shipshape a few times a day. This lends the place a relaxed vibe that makes camping here a pleasure if you are a self-sufficient type. While loos and showers are basic and campers are asked to take rubbish home, the kitchen shelter is the kind of extra that proper campers can get excited about. This rustic undercover space has everything you need if the Welsh weather turns wet or windy: sinks, a stove, seats, and shelter.
The closest beach is Clarach Bay, a good 20-minute stomp away across fields and down a lane. Here you can take a dip and perhaps pop in to the café at the caravan park, which fronts onto the beach (it does a good line in woodfired pizzas). Those with young kids may prefer to drive – and if you’re getting in the car, you may actually head a little further to find the larger beach at Borth or even nearby Aberystwyth, which is less than two miles down the road or along the coastal path.