Camping in Gower Peninsula

Gower is one of the best camping destinations in Britain, and it knows it. The peninsula supports a cluster of long-established, family-run sites, several of them on working farms that have been taking tents since the 1920s. What you get for your money here is position: clifftop pitches above Three Cliffs Bay, dune-backed fields a few hundred yards from Rhossili's three miles of sand, and headland sites where the sun goes down straight into the Atlantic.

The terrain is mostly gently sloping farmland on limestone, which drains well and stays firm after rain — a genuine advantage over the boggier parts of Wales. Pitches are usually generous grass, with hardstanding available at the larger parks for motorhomes and caravans. The catch is wind. Gower's south and west coasts are fully exposed to Atlantic weather with no shelter for three thousand miles, so bring proper pegs, guy out everything and pick a pitch with a hedge if there is any forecast at all. Sea fog can roll in on summer mornings and burn off by ten.

Be clear about the law: wild camping is not legal in Wales without the landowner's permission. Common land on Cefn Bryn and Rhossili Down is not an exception, and the National Trust, which owns a large share of the coastline here, actively discourages it. There are enough good campsites within a few miles of every major beach that there is no real need.

The season generally runs from late March or early April to the end of October, with a handful of sites open all year. May, June and September are the sweet spot — long days, settled weather, warm sea and none of the August crush. July and August are excellent but busy, and the best sites are booked out by spring, with some opening the following year's diary as early as the previous autumn. Book ahead and arrive early enough to get your pegs in before the light goes.