Dare Valley Country Park

View prices & book 9 625 reviews
Beautiful
Rainbow days
View of the lake
On the site

  • A scenic 500-acre site on an old colliery at the Brecon Beacons’ edge
  • A five-minute drive to Aberdare and 15 minutes to Penderyn Distillery
  • Playgrounds and cafeteria on site; walk to a family bike park
If you’re wanting a countryside Welsh holiday close to southern Wales’ mightiest mountain range, settle in for a few days or more at Dare Valley Country Park: this site in Mid Glamorgan sits on top of an old colliery a five-minute drive from the old mining town of Aberdare on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons. The whopping 500 acres of space at the park means wanders (among lush valley views) are par for the course, with trails leading off into the countryside straight from the site too. Within the country park, make your way to the Dare Valley Gravity Family Bike Park, which has uplift services. You might also be hard-pressed luring kids away from the two playgrounds (the biggest has a sandpit, slides and swings) or partners from a cafeteria that opens daily for freshly prepped breakfast, lunch and snacks... If they’re really not keen to come away from this scenic place, bribe them with the mountain biking trails at BikePark Wales, about 20 minutes away. For grownups, golf at a parkland course with manicured meadow lawns and mature oaks is less than a 10-minute drive from the site. And if you really need to bring out the big guns (for the big folk, that is)? There’s always the lure of a tour and tasting session at Penderyn Distillery Visitor Centre (within 15 minutes)… This whisky making centre’s in the southern part of the Brecon Beacons; travelling a touch further (half an hour in all from the site) leads right into the middle of the national park for ambles around green hills.

Site type

Caravan sites 16
Motorhome sites 16
Open all year
Opens

Tourist board rating

Please note
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Bookings must not be for more than 14 consecutive nights.
  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Reception is unmanned after 5 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.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 18 or over.
  • Swimming in the lake is not allowed.
  • If reception is closed on arrival: please contact the number provided on your booking confirmation.

Languages spoken

English

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

92%

would recommend this site to a friend

90%

would stay here again

  • 65%
    10
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    8
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Excellent site

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Steph H. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Friendly welcome. Clean facilities. Excellent cafe. Lovely park. Very quiet at night. Felt very safe

Disliked: The weather was a bit naff but there again it is late November

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely site, toilets/showers warm n clean. Cafe close by.

Overall 8/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 6
Carol D. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Stayed here before. It’s a lovely site set in a country park. Cafe nearby and food/service is great.
We stayed in Dec 24 so very few visitors, so quiet n peaceful.
We shall return in Spring 25.

Disliked: Admin office only open a couple of hours a day but this may be because it was out of season.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic location, great clean site with friendly, helpful staff. A great cafe, scenic…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Keith S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Fantastic location, great clean site with friendly, helpful staff.
A great cafe, scenic walks and cycle routes

Recommend to friends Visit again

Overall a very good stay.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 8
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 8
Wifi No rating
Lauryn G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Hard standing pitches for wetter months. Gate locked so you feel secure. Clean facilities.

Disliked: Very minor …. Mirrors in the toilets are slightly low!

Recommend to friends Visit again

The location is absolutely fabulous. We were able to get up in…

Overall 6/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 4
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: The location is absolutely fabulous. We were able to get up in the morning and walk up through the park to a lake at the base of the Brecon Beacons.

Disliked: We found it very difficult to pay the outstanding balance after paying deposit. We were sent a text asking us to ring a number to pay and failed to get through after trying for 3 days! Eventually we were able to pay in the cafe before leaving.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Security and peaceful location…

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Dave B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Security and peaceful location

Disliked: Busy during the day - popular tourist spot

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely site in Country Park. Beautiful setting.

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service No rating
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Well kept peaceful site. Amazing views. Very clean toilets and showers. Hot water!
Walks from site (leaflet available with 3 colour coded walks but you will need your own map too - no distance/time indicated and very few coloured signs en route!

Disliked: Bins were full.
No grey waste disposal.
Checking in process a bit chaotic but staff very pleasant.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely little site for camping, will be visiting again

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Jason M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass motorhome site

Liked: Clean site and facilties.
Well stocked cafe with plenty of options, dog friendly walks.
Great park for kids with plenty to keep them occupied.

Disliked: No wifi at site and signal can be abit hit and miss

Recommend to friends Visit again

A lovely stay.

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 10
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 4
Gail B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass caravan site

Liked: Beautiful setting with excellent clean facilities. Mathew who runs the site was fantastic and so helpful.

Disliked: Drive through residential roads with a long caravan was a bit scary to the entrance of the park

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely location, pitches were a good size and level, facilities were warm…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
joanna g. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered concrete and grass caravan site

Liked: Lovely location, pitches were a good size and level, facilities were warm and clean.
Our children loved the play areas and the pump track

Disliked: None

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

Baby-changing facilities 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 Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

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

Rules

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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Bush Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise

Utilities

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

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 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 Disabled facilities Level campground, no steep slopes Site close to accessible bathrooms

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horse riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Touring and motorhomes

Water hook-up points for caravans

Location

Dare Valley Country Park

Aberdare

Glamorgan

Wales

CF44 7RG

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

51.71267°N
-3.46943°W

Route directions

If you are using a satnav, please use the postcode CF44 7PS.

Nearest transport

Coach
1.9 km Bus Station
7.2 km Bus Station
16.9 km Lidl
Rail
1.8 km Aberdare Rail Station
4 km Cwmbach Rail Station
5.9 km Fernhill Rail Station
Ferry
32.3 km Cardiff Castle Waterbus Stop
33.1 km Taffs Mead Waterbus Stop
33.5 km Swansea Queens Dock Ferry Terminal
Airport
36.1 km Cardiff International Airport
43.2 km Swansea 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

Head about half an hour west of the site into the Brecon Beacons and get to the national park’s waterfall country, home to falls with nicely tongue-tripping names like Sgwd Gwladys (30 minutes’ drive) and Sgwd Yr Eira (35 minutes). The former’s just the place for wild swimming in a deep plunge pool surrounded by woodland... Drier times are to be had at stately piles about 35 minutes south of the park, including Caerphilly Castle with its massive moat and towers or smaller Castell Coch reconstructed in a fairytale style in the Victorian era by well-known architect William Burgess. Cardiff (40 minutes away) also has its own castle with renovations by Burgess – head to this swish city for cool concerts and sports events at the Principality Stadium or just check out the boutiques in the Victorian shopping arcades. For another architecturally intriguing manor home from a different era, the Tudor-style Tredegar House is 45 minutes away from the park.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Aberafan 27.4 km Estuary N/AGoodGoodGood
Trecco Bay Porthcawl 30.1 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Sandy Bay Porthcawl 30.3 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Rest Bay Porthcawl 30.5 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Southerndown 31.1 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Penderyn Distillery Visitor Centre 6.8 km

Brecon Mountain Railway 11.9 km

National Showcaves of Wales 19.6 km

Aberdulais Falls 21.6 km

Caerphilly Castle 22.8 km

National Trust

Aberdulais Falls 21.7 km

Aberdeunant 41 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Treherbert to Aberdare 6.4 km

Pontneddfechan - Hepste Waterfalls - Pontneddfechan 9.1 km

Pontneddfechan - Scwd Einion Gam Waterfall 9.9 km

Porth-yr-ogof, Nedd and Mellte Waterfalls 11.4 km

Waterfall Circuit 11.4 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 sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Glamorgan?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Dare Valley Country Park have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Dare Valley Country Park dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Dare Valley Country Park? Head about half an hour west of the site into the Brecon Beacons and get to the national park’s waterfall country, home to falls with nicely tongue-tripping names like Sgwd Gwladys (30 … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Dare Valley Country Park?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  6:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  3 p.m. –  6:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Dare Valley Country Park? From $61.32 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.