Llanarth

Llanarth makes a low-key, well-placed base for a hotel or B&B stay on the Ceredigion coast, sitting on the A487 within easy reach of both Aberaeron and New Quay without the premium prices or crowds of the harbour towns themselves. Options directly in the village are limited given its small size, so many visitors choose a farmhouse B&B in the surrounding countryside or widen their search slightly to Aberaeron's Georgian townhouses and country inns, or the pubs and guesthouses of New Quay, both under fifteen minutes away by car. Staying inland at Llanarth also suits anyone touring the wider area, since Aberystwyth, Cardigan and the National Trust's Llanerchaeron estate are all within comfortable striking distance for day trips. Expect a genuinely rural welcome rather than a resort experience: this is a part of Wales that rewards a car, a decent pair of boots, and an appetite for quiet lanes and big coastal views rather than nightlife or large-scale attractions. Booking ahead in July and August is sensible, as the whole Ceredigion coast gets noticeably busier during the main dolphin-watching season, and many smaller guesthouses have only a handful of rooms.

Llanarth itself is a small village, so most of the attractions worth building a trip around lie a short drive away on the coast. Here is a realistic shortlist.

• New Quay dolphin watching — Cardigan Bay holds one of the largest resident populations of bottlenose dolphins in the UK, and New Quay's harbour wall and headland path are among the most reliable places in Britain to spot them from dry land; boat trips run through the summer months for a closer look.
• Aberaeron harbour — a planned Georgian town a few miles up the coast, known for its rainbow-painted harbourside houses and for the honey ice cream served at The Hive on the quayside.
• Ceredigion Coast Path — the long-distance path runs the length of this coastline, and the stretch between New Quay and Aberaeron is an easy, scenic day's walking with views out over the bay.
• Cwmtydu — a secluded shingle-and-rock cove south of New Quay with a smugglers'-cave history, popular for a quieter swim or a coastal walk.
• Llanarth's parish church of St David — worth a short stop for its medieval tower and the Bronze Age barrow, Crug Goch, on the common nearby.
• National Trust Llanerchaeron — a well-preserved 18th-century Welsh estate near Aberaeron, laid out by John Nash, with its home farm, walled gardens and parkland open to visitors.

For a village of its size, Llanarth is not well provided with its own restaurants, so most visitors head to Aberaeron or New Quay for eating out. Aberaeron's harbourside is the main draw, home to The Hive, well known for its honey ice cream made with local honey, alongside a handful of other cafes and pubs looking out over the water. New Quay has a good choice of harbourside pubs and fish-and-chip shops geared towards its steady stream of summer visitors, and both towns have small independent bakeries and delis worth seeking out for picnic supplies before a walk along the coast path.

Llanarth sits within easy reach of some of the most attractive camping and glamping country in Ceredigion, with the dramatic, largely undeveloped coastline around New Quay and Aberaeron just a few miles away. As in the rest of Wales, wild camping without the landowner's permission is not legal, so pitching up on the coast path, common land or farmland here requires either the owner's explicit agreement or a proper site; fortunately this stretch of coast has a good scattering of small campsites and glamping set-ups, many run by local farms making use of their sea views and proximity to the coast path. The terrain along the Ceredigion coast is a mix of gently rolling farmland and steep, cliff-backed coves, so sites tend to be either inland on flatter ground or perched above the bay with long views out over the water, and a decent wind break is worth having given how exposed some of the coastal pitches can be. The best camping season broadly matches the best time to visit, from May through September, when the weather is driest and mildest and the resident bottlenose dolphins of Cardigan Bay are at their most visible from the shore and from boat trips out of New Quay; outside these months conditions turn wet and windy and many smaller sites close for the winter. For those who would rather skip the tent, glamping options such as shepherd's huts, pods and static caravans have grown steadily along this coast in recent years, offering a more sheltered way to enjoy the same sea views and dark, quiet skies, and they are worth booking well ahead for peak summer weeks when demand along the whole New Quay to Aberaeron stretch is highest.