- Sleeps 4
- No pets
Facilities
- Free Parking on Premises
- Hot Tub
- Non Smoking
- Open Fire / Wood Burner
Pant y Rhedyn is a smallholding in the hills above Abergele, and it does not look like anywhere else on this site. You can sleep in a green geodesic dome, or in a horsebox that has been converted into a small home, or bring a tent or a camper van.
The name means bracken hollow, and the ground behind the house runs up into rough grazing with views out towards the coast.
Where you sleep
The dome is the one most people come for. It is a proper geodesic frame with a clear panel in the roof, a bed, a sitting area with a sofa, rugs on the floor and bunting round the inside. You lie in bed and look at the sky.
The horsebox is a converted lorry called Fern, with a wood-clad interior, bench seating, a small kitchen and a wood burner. It sits on its own deck with a planted border round it.
There is also the guesthouse in the old Welsh long house, and pitches for tents and camper vans with electric hook-up.
The hot tubs and the animals
The hot tubs are wood-fired, in wooden barrels with a chimney beside them, set on decking facing the view. They take a while to heat, which is rather the point — you feed the fire and wait, and it becomes part of the evening.
The owners keep alpacas, pigs, sheep and hens, and guests are welcome to go and meet them. The alpacas in particular have a habit of coming to the fence to see who has arrived.
Around Abergele
Abergele is a couple of miles down the hill, with Gwrych Castle standing on the wooded slope above the town. It is a nineteenth-century mock castle set in 250 acres, now being restored, and most people know it from television.
The coast at Pensarn is three miles off, on the North Wales coastal cycle route that runs from Talacre to Penmaenmawr. Rhyl and Colwyn Bay are each a short drive along the front.
Inland, the Clwydian Range starts behind you and the Elwy valley runs south towards St Asaph and its small cathedral.
The Welsh Mountain Zoo sits above Colwyn Bay, ten minutes along the coast, and the Bodelwyddan Castle grounds are a similar distance the other way.
What a stay is like
It is a working smallholding, so expect mud on the track and a cockerel in the morning. The pitches and the dome are spread out, so you are not sitting in anyone’s lap.
Bring layers. The site is up on the hill and the wind comes off the sea, which is glorious in the tub and less so at breakfast.
Who it suits
People who want something with character rather than something standard. It is a working smallholding, not a hotel, and the appeal is the dome, the fire, the animals and the quiet.
Guests score it 9.8 out of 10 on Booking.com across 49 reviews.
Prices
Prices start at £102 a night when taken over a week, worked out from £712 for seven nights in November. Shorter stays cost more per night — two nights in the same month came out at £106 each.
A £12 membership fee is included in the price rather than added on top.
Common questions
What can you stay in at Pant y Rhedyn?
A geodesic dome, a converted horsebox, the guesthouse, or your own tent or camper van on a pitch.
Are the hot tubs wood-fired?
Yes, wooden barrel tubs heated by a fire beside them.
Are there animals on the site?
Alpacas, pigs, sheep and hens, and guests are welcome to meet them.
How far is the coast?
Pensarn beach is about three miles down the hill.
What does a night cost?
From £102 a night on a week’s stay, a little more for a short break.
Are dogs allowed on site?
No. Pant y Rhedyn does not take dogs.
