Dare Valley Country Park

View prices & book 9 661 reviews
Beautiful (added by manager 08 Aug 2022)
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.

Campground type

Camper sites 16
RV sites 16
Open all year
Opens

Tourist board rating

Please note
  • No bachelor/bachelorette 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 park 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

Campsite types & availability

Reviews

92%

would recommend this campground to a friend

90%

would stay here again

  • 66%
    10
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  • 23%
    8
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

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 cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

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 cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

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 cement/asphalt and grass travel trailer campsite

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 cement/asphalt and grass travel trailer campsite

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

Location, clean facilities and the cafe was lovely. My son absolutely loved…

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: Location, clean facilities and the cafe was lovely. My son absolutely loved the pump track and the bike trails

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

hardstanding pitch which was level. Toilet/showers great

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: Clean site and good facilities

Disliked: Only two water points

Recommend to friends Visit again

Ease of booking, ease of access, nice pitches, very quiet.…

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: Ease of booking, ease of access, nice pitches, very quiet.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely location with lovely long walks around the Valley and beautiful…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 6
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 4
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: Lovely location with lovely long walks around the Valley and beautiful scenery.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Still would come here again and again

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

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: The environment, the peacefulness, the caffi cwtsh nearby.

Disliked: The site has changed hands and now I think run by the council, so tried to sign in and less attention to shower block

Recommend to friends Visit again

A lovely setting and friendly staff in the reception which is not…

Overall 6/10
Location 8
Value for money 6
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 4
Wifi 2
David N. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Powered cement/asphalt and grass RV campsite

Liked: A lovely setting and friendly staff in the reception which is not where it was stated in the information provided. Some negatives below which I hope will help the staff in their running of the site as they told us they decided to take it on as the previous people had left

Disliked: Although we were given codes for the gate to the site and the toilet block neither were ever locked or shut. The toilet area was not particularly clean but that was mostly down to other campers who could not be bothered to flush toilets etc. it was also noisy at the weekend with groups of adults who did not control their dogs and teenage children who were riding an electric motorbike around the site and playing football running around our campervan. There did not appear to be any rules and no monitoring or security to get them to behave. We got the impression that not everyone bothered to pay but just turned up with one van parked on the site road! We would return as it’s a lovely area but probably not at a weekend.

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Baby-changing facilities Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Rallies welcome Scouts welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

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

Themes

Budget/backpacker Forest Hikers’ paradise Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Spectacular scenery

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) Propane/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 Horseback 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

Bus
1.2 mi Bus Station
4.5 mi Bus Station
10.5 mi Lidl
Rail
1.1 mi Aberdare Rail Station
2.5 mi Cwmbach Rail Station
3.6 mi Fernhill Rail Station
Ferry
20.1 mi Cardiff Castle Waterbus Stop
20.6 mi Taffs Mead Waterbus Stop
20.8 mi Swansea Queens Dock Ferry Terminal
Airport
22.4 mi Cardiff International Airport
26.8 mi 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 2020 2019 2018 2017
Aberafan 17.1 mi Estuary N/A Good Good Good
Trecco Bay Porthcawl 18.7 mi Sea Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Sandy Bay Porthcawl 18.8 mi Sea Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Rest Bay Porthcawl 18.9 mi Sea Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Southerndown 19.3 mi Sea Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Penderyn Distillery Visitor Centre 4.2 mi

Brecon Mountain Railway 7.4 mi

National Showcaves of Wales 12.2 mi

Aberdulais Falls 13.4 mi

Caerphilly Castle 14.2 mi

National Trust

Aberdulais Falls 13.5 mi

Aberdeunant 25.5 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

Treherbert to Aberdare 4 mi

Pontneddfechan - Hepste Waterfalls - Pontneddfechan 5.7 mi

Pontneddfechan - Scwd Einion Gam Waterfall 6.2 mi

Porth-yr-ogof, Nedd and Mellte Waterfalls 7.1 mi

Waterfall Circuit 7.1 mi

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 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?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  1 p.m. –  6:30 p.m.
    Depart by:  noon
    On-park 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 $36.28 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.