Discover a collection of holiday cottages, farmhouses, barn conversions, and glamping pods, set on working farms within 10 miles of the coast in Ceredigion. A farm stay by the coast gives you the best of both worlds – laid-back rural charm and beautiful countryside with easy access to coastal walks, beach days, watersports, and stunning sea views.
Ceredigion runs along the western edge of Wales, where 60 miles of rugged coastline face directly into the Atlantic and the sweep of Cardigan Bay arcs from the Pembrokeshire border in the south to the Dyfi Estuary in the north. It is most beautiful stretches of coast in Wales with a landscape of steep-sided cliffs, hidden coves, quaint fishing villages, and some of the most diverse marine wildlife in Britain.
Mwnt is Ceredigion’s most loved hidden beach, a perfect stretch of golden sand reached by descending a steep grassy headland, overlooked by the tiny medieval Church of the Holy Cross, and backed by the dome-shaped hill of Foel y Mwnt. It is one of the best beaches to spot dolphins in Wales and one of the most beautiful in Britain. Llangrannog, a tiny village of whitewashed cottages clustered around a beach of sand and pebbles beneath craggy cliffs, was once a holiday destination for Edward Elgar, and today remains one of the most characterful beaches on the Welsh coast. Tresaith has a Blue Flag beach with a waterfall tumbling from the cliffs onto the sand and is excellent for swimming and sailing. Borth, at the northern end of the county, has three miles of gently shelving golden sand. the longest beach in Ceredigion, and is popular with families and windsurfers.
The harbour beach at New Quay is the hub for wildlife boat trips into Cardigan Bay, the richest cetacean waters in Britain. Sea kayaking along the Ceredigion coast, particularly around the cliffs and coves of the south, is outstanding with the combination of dramatic scenery and the possibility of dolphin encounters. Several beaches are also good for surfing, windsurfing and bodyboarding, while rock pooling reveals some of the best intertidal habitats in Wales.
Cardigan Bay is home to the largest resident population of bottlenose dolphins in Britain. An estimated 250 individuals inhabit the bay and are regularly seen from the coast path and from boat trips. Gwbert, at the mouth of the Teifi, also hosts a thriving community of dolphins, along with grey seals swimming over from Cardigan Island, coastal birds including choughs, gannets, razorbills, and guillemots, and occasional visitors such as basking sharks, orcas, and minke whales. The Dyfi National Nature Reserve at the northern end of the county protects the largest dune system in Wales as well as important marsh and estuary habitats.
The stretch between Llangrannog and New Quay of the Ceredigion Coast Path, passing the iconic tidal island of Ynys Lochtyn, is arguably the most spectacular section of the entire Wales Coast Path. It has a wealth of wildlife, geological, and archaeological features throughout, and the combination of clifftop views north to Snowdonia and south to Pembrokeshire on a clear day is breathtaking.
Cwmtydu, a tiny beach reached by a narrow lane through farmland, was once a smugglers’ harbour used to land contraband brandy and tobacco from France. The cove is almost completely enclosed and invisible from the sea, exactly the qualities that made it valuable to the men who once worked it in darkness. Backed by cliffs with a National Trust trail running along the top, it’s the ideal place for a bracing walk with outstanding views in either direction.
