Bert's Beachside Camping

Bert served the Paice family so well that when the time came to put him out to pasture, they couldn’t bear to stray too far from his side. So when they found an idyllic 13-acre farm on the Llyn Peninsula, they transformed one of those acres in to a kitchen garden that’ll feed him… in a way. Bert, you see, was the family campervan – home to the Paice family for a large part of four years but now he’s a café. And he’s destined to serve campers who are lucky enough to find their way to this sheltered haven between epic Welsh mountains and sea.

The first campers to pitch up at this seaside campsite were the Paice family themselves. Their legacy of life on the road (with three young kids in tow no less) is apparent in lots of little touches. If you don’t fancy pitching a tent, they’ll put one up for you. If you arrive at tea-time, you can book in for the Friday night-supper. And if you need a high chair, travel cot or baby-carrier they’ll lend you one. There’s also a kids’ playground, yurt playroom that’s open if the weather is bad and, of course, there’s Bert the café campervan. Not only can you buy home-baked croissants and cakes from his little kitchen, but there’s free-of-charge tea at all times too.

Around the characterful campervan, the campsite has just 15 pitches and a sociable atmosphere with communal campfires and shared-use barbecues in a designated area. There are monthly 'Feast Nights' too, designed for sharing stories over a sit-down supper. Pitches are reserved for tents and small caravans or campervans (we wouldn’t want Bert getting lonely after all) but there’s no electric hook-up and the loos are eco-friendly composting ones. It’s as green as the trees of the site’s little woodland, which are all that separate you from the sea. A track through the woods leads to the campsite’s own private shingle beach where you can spend days kayaking, paddleboarding and combing the shores. And there’s a sandy beach just a five-minute walk away along the Llyn Peninsula Coastal Path at Trefor too.

But the coast is only half the story with the Welsh mountains proving just as enticing. Hiking, bouldering and climbing opportunities are within easy reach among the Yr Eifl peaks which surround the site – and Snowdonia National Park is just 20 miles away. The granite-mining history of the area is laid bare at the Welsh Language Centre, a few miles away, and it’s just a little further to The Tŷ Coch Inn in Porthdinllaen. It’s been voted one of the best beach pubs in the world, with views of a sheltered bay and great walks nearby. But, if you don’t fancy the drive, there’s another place with similar credentials and less of the hype; the mighty hills above Bert’s Kitchen Garden. You’ll have to take your own drinks but as the sun sinks in to the sea, you’ll discover what the Paice family are happy to share; the perfect place for a sundowner.