Apple Camping is a glamping site with a difference. The three Mongolian-style yurts – two for families, one just for couples – have recently been drawing customers to this four-acre meadow in rural Pembrokeshire but owner Toby's newest additions have caused more of a stir. After all, it's not everyday local residents get to see a 20m-long Jet Star aeroplane being driven down their country lanes. And as for the space craft... who knows how that arrived?
First opened in 2015 and attracting early glampers for its pleasing location near the old harbour towns of Tenby and Saundersfoot, Apple Camping is a well equipped glamping site with modern shower, laundry and washing facilities and covered BBQ areas and kitchens outside each yurt. In one corner, the Jet Star noses from the trees, a grey fuselage with its wings missing, like a crash-landed aircraft from the opening scene of Lost or the pages of Lord of the Flies. This is no accident, though. Inside the ex-first class aircraft still has the original bar, ambient lighting and a exquisitely converted captain's cabin with a double bed and another single bed behind the cockpit, while, up front, you can play pilot using the Xbox provided, which comes readied with flight-simulator games. In 2019, meanwhile, a second airliner – and Etihad Airways Airbus – 'crash landed' into the scene too, similarly equipped with original features (like a trolly dolly) as well as added facilities like a kitchen.
The yurts, of course, still remain. They have everything needed for those looking for a more restrained glamping style – comfortable and cosy without any over the top quirkiness – while, for those who really want something different, Toby has also added a giant PacMan themed geodesic dome (complete with a PacMan console inside) and has built an innovative space craft. The saucer-shaped UFO is, needless to say, suitably out of this world in the experience it offers. There's a double bed and two singles, cooking facilities and comfortable seating, but also a monitor for playing classic 80s games like Space Invaders and Defender. The main entrance hatch, meanwhile, works by remote control, while eight different windows provide all-round views of the surroundings.
Once you've landed and have you're feet back on solid ground, you can slip out into the surrounding countryside or down to the coast. It's a ten minute drive to the nearest beach and, located just a few hundred metres from the nearest A-road, the campsite is conveniently placed for really exploring the Pembrokeshire area. Kayak in the Daugleddau estuary, catch crabs of Tenby harbour wall or kick back on Saundersfoot's blue flag beach.