Cilrath Wood Camping

Driving along the track to Cilrath Fach Farm can't help but bring a joyful flutter of anticipation. The Preseli Hills rise to greet you on the horizon before hedgerows create a leafy tunnel down into a time-forgotten vale below. Here you’re welcomed by an old hay meadow, an ancient woodland and a chocolate box 18th-century farmhouse. Time it right and you’ll be welcomed by the teasingly named 'Grumpy Farmer', Pete, or wife Jackie, too, complete with a suitably vintage Land Rover to take your belongings to your pitch.

There’s a wonderfully light touch to things here. Environmentally friendly and off-grid, the campsite takes a minimalist approach to camping. There are gas-powered showers, luxury composting toilets and a washing-up area, while camping pitches are sparsely dotted around, each with their own picnic bench and firepit. If the Land Rover isn’t to hand you'll find wheelbarrows at the site entrance, where local information, USB chargers, a fridge-freezer and everything you need to light a campfire can also be discovered in “The Shed”. There’s often an opportunity to buy free-range eggs laid by happy Cilrath chickens, too, or award-winning 'Mabel George’ fudge, freshly made in the on-farm Fudge Factory.

Whilst the time-warp may be modernised by surprisingly good 3G signal, beamed across from the Preseli Hills, this really is a campsite for forgetting about your phone. Brooks rise on the farm and tumble gently down to the wildlife lake and several footpaths guide you on a short amble through the farm's wood. Look out for dragonflies and butterflies, red kites and herons, and all sorts of reptiles. Wild orchids and yellow rattle grow, along with a carpet of bluebells each spring. Amongst it all there are two charming communal spaces – a silk parachute that hangs over a small bluebell-clad dell (an old 17th-century quarry) and a simple zinc-topped open barn where campers can socialise within view of the lake and earshot of a stream. The latter spot is particularly good for catching the last of the evening light.

Though it’s more than half a mile from the farm to the nearest road, once you escape the green embrace of the campsite, you’ll actually find it’s remarkably well connected. Located centrally within Pembrokeshire, pretty much every part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is within a half-hour drive, with the nearest beaches, around Saundersfoot and Amroth, less than 20 minutes away. And, while Milford Haven, the Cleddau Estuary, Tenby and St David’s have their appeal, campers are just as well staying inland and exploring the wild Preseli Hills. The local town of Narberth, two miles away, is a good place to finish, with a choice of pubs and restaurants. The town was recently declared ‘the happiest place to live in Wales’. And, while we might not live in the area, it’s certainly our happy place to pitch for a week or two.