Basecamp Wales

View prices & book 7.2 76 reviews
The view from Basecamp camping field
Motorhome pitches with/without an electric hook-up
Motorhome pitches
Picnic area next to the play park

  • Afan Forest Park site with bike hire and pretty Glamorgan views
  • Afan Bike Park 15 minutes’ drive; National Showcaves Centre 45 minutes
  • Licensed café and restaurant; bike wash and repair shop; playground
Seeking outdoor adventure in the Afan Valley? Basecamp Wales is calling you… tucked away in the 3,900-hectare Afan Forest Park, this campsite offers a winning combination of comfort and a back-to-nature vibe, with spectacular views overlooking the Glamorgan valleys. Cycling enthusiasts are in good company here, as Afan Forest Park is renowned for its biking experiences, with single tracks winding through the woods, exposed trails on the hills, and the thrilling jumps and short runs at Afan Bike Park (15 minutes’ drive). Bikers can relax knowing there’s also a bike-hire service, wash station and repair hub on site for their use. But this scenic forest spot isn’t just about the bikes. The park also has plenty of walking trails, a play area for the youngest guests, and the chance to learn more about local history at the South Wales Miners Museum (five minutes’ walk). And after a day of fun-filled activity or simply relaxing with a good book, you can refuel at Base Café, where good food and drinks are served, enjoy a barbecue or cosy up around your campfire under the stars – and with minimal light pollution in the area, clear nights will bring you dazzling starry skies. Easily accessible from the M4 and Port Talbot (15 minutes’ drive), the site has all essential amenities, from 24/7 showers (tokens are available from staff in the café) and accessible bathrooms to free parking.

Campground type

Tent sites 10
RV & Motorhome sites 6
Open all year
Opens
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The campground/park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dog Act (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • A charge of GBP1.50 ($3.02) applies for the use of the shower.
  • Continental touring caravans (caravans built with the passenger door on the right-hand side) are not permitted.
  • Reception is unmanned after 4 p.m.. Please inform the campground while on your way there should you expect to arrive after this time so that the team can provide information about your unit/site.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the campground/park are unlit.
  • Extra cars may be brought but must be parked off-site; council-managed pay-and-display parking is available nearby.

Languages spoken

English

Welsh

Site types & availability

Reviews

  • 39%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 17%
    8
  • 5%
    7
  • 13%
    6
  • 1%
    5
  • 9%
    4
  • 1%
    3
  • 10%
    2
  • 2%
    1
Location
8
Value for money
7
Accommodation
7
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
8
Child friendliness
7
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
4

74% would recommend this campground to a friend

66% would stay here again

What customers say

Great spot for mountain biking & walking. Clean facilities, ace cafe food & service. Some pitches (esp. electric) are in the car park, can be tight/sloping. Showers limited when cafe's shut.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 8
Arrival date (latest first)

good communication, helped out with our late arrival, clean facilities and perfect…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Anonymous

Powered gravel motorhome site

Liked good communication, helped out with our late arrival, clean facilities and perfect access to afan forest for bike trials, we will be back

Recommend to friends Visit again

Don't let the reviews put you off.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
5
Yvonne H.

Powered gravel motorhome site

Liked Pristine toilets, beautiful scenery, bus into town, port talbot and neath. Mining museum, great cafe with Internet. Friendly and helpful staff. Lovely walks. We had electric hook up.

Disliked No phone signal, tv reception or Internet in the motorhome. A bit hard to navigate the entrance. The ehu is at the end of the public car park, first left before base camp.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Perfect for a cheap getaway not for fair weather campers

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
8
Accommodation
6
Facilities / Activities
8
Customer service
9
Child friendliness
5
Cleanliness
8
Wifi
3
A A.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Right on the mountain bike trails which were great. Cafe was excellent, not cheap but very nice. Although you can't park next to the tent you can park very close so not bad at all. People were very friendly and happy to help. Very good for the price. The location and views are amazing.

Disliked The pitch is on a slant so you have to pitch with that in mind. There is a steep hill to get to the facilities. Cafe only opened 10am-4pm so no chance of early breakfast or a late snack/drink. Not sure if use WiFi at the cafe as no signs

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would maybe stopover 1 night, but definatley not 3 again

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
7
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
5
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1
Margaret E.

Powered gravel motorhome site

Liked Great walks, museum very informative.

Disliked Not really a campsite, really just a one night stopover. Resturant closed different time each of the 3 nights we were there. Told us on arrival 9:30. Closed 8 first night, 6:30 second night and 6 third night. So be aware

Recommend to friends Visit again

Please remember It's a base camp not a holiday park.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
6
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Mark C.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Everything

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would stay again

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
7
Value for money
10
Accommodation
7
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
3
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1
Anonymous

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Great facilities, all spotless. Base camp Cafe is fantastic for breakfast or dinner. Well labeled walks and cycle paths and great park for the kids.

Disliked Needs to be managed better have some sort of rule no noise after 10 am etc we had people drinking running past the tent at 1am etc with the kids sleeping not ideal

Recommend to friends Visit again

Can't sit on a chair without falling over because of the hill

Overall

2 out of 10
Location
2
Value for money
4
Accommodation
1
Facilities / Activities
2
Customer service
1
Child friendliness
1
Cleanliness
2
Wifi
1
Anonymous

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked One star for the good on-site cafe which is reasonably priced and has a great menu/does deliveries on an evening

One star for the good toilet and shower facilities (albeit locked via a keybox on evenings which is a bit annoying and only get a five minute shower for £1.50)

Rope swing which entertained the kids a fair bit and the view is lovely

Disliked Firstly and most importantly, why book a campsite where you can't sit on a camping chair without falling over because of the slope. 3/3 children in attendance fell off their chairs because of it and multiple adults. The hill also makes sleeping a disaster, frequently waking up because of falling down the airbed.

Staff were OK at best. Not the warmest welcome in the world after a long drive, and, after we were ticked off a long list of guests, our party was given no instruction as to campsite rules and behaviour (something which I believe manifested itself during our stay but I will leave that until the end).

Car park is tiny holding four cars max. and is also at the bottom of the hill, so unless you want to trek up the hill and tear your legs to bits with tents and chairs, you have to rallycross your car up the bank to unload and pack away. There is also an overwhelming feeling of anyone being able to enter at any time and pitch a tent.

Another huge problem is the midges which hoard the site from around 9pm. After a long day of travelling, our party finally settled down for a BBQ at around 8am. We enjoyed one hour before the midges descended and you can't sit down without getting swamped. This then meant our party either shut themselves away in their tent, or shut themselves in their car until they were tired enough to attempt to sleep.

The toilet and shower facilities are decent enough, but are a trek from the hill where you camp, meaning you have to lug shower stuff/water there and back for a bit of comfort. As well as this, it's £1.50 a shower which is incineratingly hot (we were there during a heatwave) and lasts five minutes. As well as this, when I went to go and buy a shower token, the staff said none were available and therefore I wouldn't be able to shower until the following day.

Final point on the facilities, everything is kept under lock and key, so if you need the toilet on an evening or early in the morning, you have to fiddle around with a lock box to go for a wee. Again, if more was put in place to avoid the feeling of 'anyone can park here and camp', this would not be needed.

I understand camps can't decide who books and there are idiots everywhere, but 10 minutes after arriving we had a domestic between two separate camps, including one guest wishing death upon the other and screaming/pointing in his direction with multiple kids watching on. Again, there are idiots everywhere, but if rules were clearly laid out from the site, this may never have happened (the argument was over dogs). The same party also kept us awake until 1.30-2am with arguing and loud chatter.

With all of the above considered, our party decided to leave a night early because the experience was so tragic and we couldn't be bothered to take on the midges for a second evening.

If you want to be bitten to shreds, have ripped legs and roll down a hill as you sleep, this is the place to be.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good views in the morning. The staff were nice and helpful, liked…

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
5
Value for money
2
Accommodation
1
Facilities / Activities
3
Customer service
6
Child friendliness
1
Cleanliness
4
Wifi
1
Anonymous

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Good views in the morning. The staff were nice and helpful, liked the food from the café too. If you're passing through the area, have a coffee and a cake and then leave.

Disliked The camping section is just a field on a slope that anyone could just park up at if they wanted to. That's it. If you want anything else from your holiday/camping trip, you won't get it here. An insane number of midges take over this area on the evenings, making it almost impossible to even sit outside without getting bitten.

Recommend to friends Visit again

We would stay again but more geared up for hiking/cycling.

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
6
Value for money
10
Accommodation
6
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
6
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
5
Wifi
6
lynn k.

Powered gravel motorhome site

Liked The oilers and showers were very clean and well looked after. We had a hook up ( only 3 here) and was mainly in a big car park. Ideal if you want to go for a bike ride which can be hired and there’s a cafe on site open 10-4 where you get tokens for a 5 minute shower

Disliked Signage not good when you first arrive and don’t know where your going or what to expect

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would stay again

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
8
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
5
Debbie W.

Unpowered gravel motorhome site

Liked Loved the location, showers and toilets very clean and accessible via key coded locked after 8. Staff very friendly.

Disliked Pitches were uneven and difficult to level even with ramps. Signage to find actual campsite was confusing ending going up very steep hill with small turning area as followed the signs. So ensure when you arrive especially if in a campervan or motor home just park in the car park at bottom. And walk to cafe to book in

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Picnic table Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Camping 2.0

Jumbo tent sites

Themes

Budget/backpacker Bush Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump point Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby

Type

Small (11-25 sites)

Accessibility

Accessible parking at site Bathrooms: Large spacious shower Bathrooms: Large spacious toilet Bathrooms: Step-free access Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible shower Bathrooms: Wheelchair accessible toilet Bathrooms: Wide doorways (over 85 cm) Smooth, hard roads e.g. tarmac

Nearby leisure

Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Indoor pool nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Drainage hook-up points for caravans Motorhome service point

Location

Basecamp Wales

Afan Forest Park

Cynonville

Port Talbot

Glamorgan

Wales

SA13 3HG

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

51.64164°N
3.70462°W

Route directions

What3words for reception: novels.glee.stew.

Nearest transport

Coach
7.4 km Railway Station
7.6 km Bus Station
15.2 km Sarn Odeon
Rail
4.9 km Maesteg Rail Station
5.6 km Maesteg (Ewenny Road) Rail Station
6.7 km Garth (Bridgend) Rail Station
Ferry
15.7 km Swansea Queens Dock Ferry Terminal
40.1 km Cardiff Castle Waterbus Stop
40.2 km Barry Waterfront Ferry Terminal
Airport
25.6 km Swansea Airport
37.1 km Cardiff International Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Afan Forest Park (accessed from the site) has a diverse range of bike trails suitable for all skill levels, from a beginner-friendly short loop to a challenging black trail that can take several hours to complete. If you’re after even more thrills, you can launch yourself off an old colliery tower on a speeding zipwire at Zip World Top (half an hour’s drive). Hiking enthusiasts have plenty to explore in Afan Forest Park, with scenic trails winding through the forest landscape. For more adventurous treks, venture into the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park (40 minutes) to tackle the hike up to Four Falls waterfall. The Gower Peninsula (45 minutes) serves up spectacular coastal walks, and if it’s a beach day you’re after, the sandy coastline at Aberavon is 20 minutes by car. For rainy days or a change of pace, the South Wales Miners Museum (five minutes’ walk) gives a fascinating glimpse into the area’s rich industrial heritage. Other handy indoor options include the exotic habitats at Plantasia Tropical Zoo (half an hour’s drive), or you can delve deep into underground wonders at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales (45 minutes).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Aberafan 9.5 km Estuary N/AGoodGoodGood
Rest Bay Porthcawl 17.1 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Swansea Bay 18 km Estuary GoodGoodN/AGood
Sandy Bay Porthcawl 18.2 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Trecco Bay Porthcawl 18.4 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Aberdulais Falls 6.6 km

National Waterfront Museum 16.5 km

Penderyn Distillery Visitor Centre 18.6 km

National Showcaves of Wales 20.9 km

Carreg Cennen Castle 28.8 km

National Trust

Aberdulais Falls 6.6 km

Aberdeunant 33.6 km

Rhossili Visitor Centre and Shop 41.3 km

Watersmeet 47.1 km

Dolaucothi Gold Mines 48 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Abercregan - Glyncorrwg - Abercregan 3.2 km

Abercregan - Coed Morgannwg Way - Pontrhydyfen 3.2 km

Treherbert to Aberdare 12.1 km

Kenfig Pool - Kenfig Burrows - Sker Beach 14.1 km

Pontneddfechan - Scwd Einion Gam Waterfall 14.9 km

Local events

  • Green Man Festival (Thursday 14 August 2025 – Thursday 14 August 2025)

    Crickhowell, Wales 44.2 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Nearest campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in Glamorgan?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Basecamp Wales have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Basecamp Wales dog friendly? No View all features
  • What attractions are near Basecamp Wales? Afan Forest Park (accessed from the site) has a diverse range of bike trails suitable for all skill levels, from a beginner-friendly short loop to a challenging black trail that can take … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Basecamp Wales?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  noon –  Anytime
    Depart by:  noon
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Basecamp Wales? From $24.55 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.