Kitewood

With just 13 pitches set in a whopping 60 acres, Kitewood must surely be one of the UK’s most spacious campsites. The scattering of generously-sized pitches can easily accommodate the largest modern tents, with open moorland between the wooded areas and rabbit-run-like pathways linking the various pitches and facilities. In total it amounts to around two and a half miles of trails and yet, amongst it all, there’s still space to access most of the pitches by car at the start and end of your holiday. Otherwise the place is blissfully vehicle free; ideal for kids to turn feral and for wildlife to flourish. Which is really what this place is all about: Space, freedom and a whole load of good greenness for Mother Earth.

Kitewood is a family run site, helmed by Jacki, Graeme, Toby and Mylo who, between them, are carpenters, arborists, engineers and conservationists, working to create a refuge for wildlife (and people) on the outskirts of Fishguard. The wood, previously dominated by forestry-friendly Sitka spruce, is now being thinned and diversified, as they plant a whole host of broadleaf saplings alongside. There are hidden ponds, hummocks and dells too, creating a truly enchanting and biodiverse landscape, with dragonflies aplenty and birds and bats to be spotted day and night.

Amongst the foliage, of course, is a campsite. And the family seems well trained on that subject too. Each pitch, nestled in a private glade, has its own compost loo and hot shower (a ‘woodland en-suite’ as Toby likes to call it) and there’s a covered campfire area with a picnic table and an unlimited supply of free wood. For glampers, there are a couple of pre-pitched and furnished tipis, emblazoned with full-colour fairytale dragons, designed and created by the local children’s author Jackie Morris. And for everyone there’s a general ‘hub’ and dishwashing space, with a pizza oven that’s fired up once a week.

Off site, it’s around 30 minutes’ walk to the waterfront in Fishguard, where you can pick up the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Some of the best stretches of the route are nearby, including the undulating, clifftop path out to Strumble Head Lighthouse, and some of the best coves and beaches, like ​​Abercastle and Aberiddy’s Blue Lagoon are within a 20-minute drive. Not that you need to go much beyond the campsite to find good walks. The nooks of the woodland provide ample intrigue right on your doorstep and there’s something undeniably pleasant, here, about simply staying put, watching the Red Kites fly overhead and listening to the breeze in the trees.