Glanmarlais Camping

It’s not just what’s on the ground but what’s in the sky that makes Glanmarlais Camping a good place to pitch a tent. Out here in Carmarthenshire’s upper Towy Valley, the camping field is among 100 acres that are part organic farm part conservation project. And it's all under some of the darkest, starriest skies you’re ever likely to see (the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park is just a few miles away and the whole area is part of an International Dark Sky Reserve). It’s lucky then, that there’s not much at Glanmarlais Camping to distract from all that natural beauty.

It’s a simple site that’s part of the eco-friendly Greener Camping Club. There are just five pitches in its gently-sloping, car-free meadow. Grass is left to grow long between the handful of well-spaced pitches, which are reserved for tents and campervans and on which campfires are allowed. Facilities are super simple: composting loos and a rustic shower (with hot water from an air-source heat pump), a washing-up sink, and some communal undercover space in a barn. Pitches are off grid but there’s electricity to the shared spaces, including to a fridge-freezer and a place to charge mobile phones.

If you like to be near a toilet, stay in the lower pitches but if you’re all about the view—book a place at the top of the field. From there you can see the peaks of the nearby Brecon Beacons. Those may be why you’ve headed in this direction and Glamarlais is a good location from which to enjoy them. Walks, wildlife, wild swimming and mountain biking opportunities abound. And while the edge of the national park is only a few miles away, you don’t even have to go that far to find a taste of those things. You can dip your toes in the River Marlais right here on site, head out on walks from the farm gate and keep your eyes peeled for farmland birds and red kites flying overhead.