Campsites near Abergavenny

Abergavenny is fabled for its festivals, with the annual Abergavenny Food Festival being the showpiece event in September. Crickhowell, just north of Abergavenny, also has a walking festival in March. Weather in Abergavenny is notoriously capricious, with April and September offering the same dry sunny spells as the height of summer, as well as the same seemingly never-ending rain, but without the summer crowds.

Three of South Wales’ most iconic summits—Blorenge, Ysgyryd Fawr, and Sugar Loaf—soar up out of the fertile countryside surrounding Abergavenny. Fabulous hillwalking begins right outside town in the Brecon Beacons National Park, with Abergavenny well-poised for exploring the park’s eastern portion. The region is also known for its high-quality produce, and there are cracking restaurants in the vicinity.

The sinuous River Usk threads through winsome, much-overlooked countryside south of Abergavenny, offering delightful hiking, including on the long-distance Usk Valley Walk between Brecon and Caerleon, site of some impressive Roman ruins. Wood-fringed riverside campsites are conveniently positioned near the region’s midriff and area pubs.

The Black Mountains prop up the eastern end of Brecon Beacons National Park, a dark, brooding wedge of hills running from Abergavenny to Hay-on-Wye. The long-distance Offa’s Dyke Path trundles across the range, but hiking opportunities are limitless. The main way in for campers is the Vale of Ewyas, with its Abergavenny-Hay-on-Wye road bisecting some remote countryside below the ridges. Sites here are typically simple and small-scale.

The eastern part of the Brecon Beacons themselves slot in west of the Black Mountains, south of Brecon and north of Merthyr Tydfil. It is the park’s most-visited area, with the highest peak (Pen y Fan, 2907 feet) and easy access from bigger towns such as Abergavenny, at the southeast corner. Campsites in this rugged expanse are in the verdant valleys around the edge and usually family-oriented.