Tyllwyd

Camping next to a major mine working may not sound like the most appealing idea, but pitch your tent at Tyllwyd Campsite at Cwmystwyth (what a lovely name!) in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains and you’ll be in for a very pleasant surprise. The campsite lies just a short distance from what is considered to be the most important non-ferrous metal mining site in Wales, where humans have scratched away to extract lead, silver and zinc since the Bronze Age. The remains here date back to the eighteenth century, when mining activity here was at its height; James Raw, the current owner of Tyllwyd Farm and the eponymous campsite, is descended from folk who came here from the lead mining region of the Yorkshire Dales to run the Cwmystwyth mines in Victorian times.  (Spare a thought for the miners – most of them were dead of lead poisoning after a few years working here).  The spoil heaps and tumbledown buildings don't detract from the glorious landscapes of high, rolling hills and moors and tumbling, clear rivers. Indeed it's as far removed from the frenetic activity of a working mine as you can get and makes a perfect place to get away from it all. Whether it’s chilling out on the banks of the River Ytwyth, which runs beside the site as it wends its way to the coast (at Aberystwyth of course), poking around amongst the mine workings, or hiking and mountain biking in the surrounding hills, this is the Cambrian Mountain range at its best.