Pen y Bwlch

View prices & book 9.7 108 reviews
Visitor image of one of the fields
Visitor image of their pitch
Campsite
View from the camping field

  • Off-grid grass pitches with fabulous views of Snowdonia National Park
  • A 15-minute drive to Caernarfon and Snowdon Mountain Railway
  • Barn with showers, drying area and storage for bikes or kayaks
Set in truly spectacular Caernarfon countryside, Pen y Bwlch overlooks mountains and rivers whichever way you turn. Just on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, this is a secluded retreat with lots of space that lends itself equally well to romantic getaways and relaxed family breaks. Off grid this place most certainly is, but it’s also only a 15-minute drive from Llanberis, at the foot of Snowdon – and the gateway to walking, cycling and climbing adventures in the national park – a bonus for all you active types out there. A round up of simple facilities includes an eco-composting toilet near the camping field and a hot shower in the barn a short walk away, where you can also dry your clothes (this is Wales, remember, so rain does sometimes appear) – and there’s also room to store your bikes and kayaks. It’s worth noting that open fires aren’t permitted in this untamed part of Snowdonia, so firepit-style barbecues aren’t allowed. And as this site is all about relaxing in nature, you'll be asked not to play loud music after 8pm.

Campground type

Tent sites 3
Rent a tent 3
Open now
Opens 18 April
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • At least one of the party members must be aged 21 or over.
  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.

Languages spoken

English

Welsh

Open from Fri, 18 Apr to

No availability here for your search criteria

Reviews

  • 88%
    10
  • 1%
    9
  • 7%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 0%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 0%
    4
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    3
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    2
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    1
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
9
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
9
Cleanliness
9
Wifi
7

98% would recommend this campground to a friend

97% would stay here again

What customers say

Spectacular Snowdonia views! Friendly owners, basic but clean facilities (warm showers!). Remote, exposed pitches offer a 'wild camping' vibe. Gear carrying needed. Highly recommended for views & hospitality. Many will return.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 11
Arrival date (latest first)

Fantastic friendly campsite with incredible views

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
8
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
No rating
Wifi
No rating
Kieran A.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked The location is perfect. We climbed Snowdon in the day and cooked our dinner looking up at it in the evening. Truly stunning setting. The campsite is small but really peaceful.

Disliked Not a dislike but would’ve loved a few plugs in the main barn and maybe a little fridge to store cold food.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Far from the madding crowd

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
No rating
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Lisa S.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Loved the small scale size of the campsite.
Loved the spectacular views.
Loved the friendly hosts.
Loved the simplicity and basic camping approach.
Loved the warm shower.
Excellent campsite - far from the madding crowds but easy to reach main tourist attractions.

Disliked Be aware there is a walk from the car park to the camp spot (beautiful walk).
Didn't see a way to charge a phone (great to let go of such things).

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent campsite with stunning scenery and lovely helpful owners.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Louise C.

Bell tent

Liked Everything was amazing ,we had a great time.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice and quiet, lovely view…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
No rating
Customer service
No rating
Child friendliness
No rating
Cleanliness
No rating
Wifi
No rating
Marjan S.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Nice and quiet, lovely view

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic location and view, great friendly…

Overall

9 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
9
Facilities / Activities
5
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
1
Tom W.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Fantastic location and view, great friendly owner

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great campsite, excellent customer service. Beautiful…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
10
Hayden S.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Great campsite, excellent customer service. Beautiful scenery.

Disliked Nothing. Everything was to our expectation and above

Recommend to friends Visit again

This was the 3rd time I've stayed with my kids and we loved it.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Alex M.

Bell tent

Liked All of it.

Disliked None of it.

Recommend to friends Visit again

amazing !!

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
7
Accommodation
7
Facilities / Activities
5
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
6
Wifi
No rating
karen c.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked probably the best campsite for views that you will ever get. this one will be hard to beat. Just beautiful and very peaceful .feels remote yet only a 10 min drive down into llanberis. we thoroughly enjoyed our stay

Disliked can't really say its dislikes becsuse we didn't use them but the facilities are extremely basic snd to be fair dont match the price tag to camp .. but if your looking to csmp without noisy campers pitching up right next to you and want to avoid the typical csmpsite noise car doors slamming etc etc then this place id recommend.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great value for money and gorgeous site

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
9
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
7
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
8
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
Mel G.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked The most beautiful views I’ve ever seen from a campsite. Really well maintained and very friendly welcome from the owner.

Disliked The toilet and shower was a bit oddly situated inside the barn where people can sit and wash up. Luckily no-one else on site so wasn’t an issue.
Bit of a trek from car to tent - but we always take a lot of stuff camping!!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Lovely spot out of the way

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
10
Value for money
10
Accommodation
10
Facilities / Activities
10
Customer service
10
Child friendliness
10
Cleanliness
10
Wifi
No rating
James P.

Unpowered grass tent site

Liked Beautiful view of Snowdon and over the lake; Johnny and Beth were lovely and so friendly; very much out of the way, felt like we were wild camping

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundry Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed No dogs allowed

Themes

Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Remote location Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump point Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Farm Tiny (1-10 sites)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Climbing nearby Cycling nearby Horse riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Pen y Bwlch

Cwm y Glo

Caernarfon

Gwynedd

Wales

LL55 4ED

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

53.13332°N
4.1672°W

Route directions

Please do not follow the postcode on Google Maps as it will send you in the wrong direction. Use the postcode LL55 4RF. Continue up past Brynteg, which will be on your right. Stay on that road for about a mile. You will climb a hill where you will go over a cattle grid. Turn immediately right and you have arrived at the site.

Nearest transport

Coach
7.2 km Bus Station
10.9 km Bus Station
11.9 km Povey's Garage
Rail
10.1 km Bangor (Gwynedd) Rail Station
10.1 km Llanfairpwll Rail Station
18.5 km Llanfairfechan Rail Station
Ferry
36.6 km Holyhead Ferry Terminal
46.7 km Barmouth Ferry Landing
47.2 km Porth Penrhyn Ferry Landing
Airport
28 km Anglesey Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Active types, get set to get busy. From this site, you can canoe on Llyn Padarn lake (10 minutes’ drive) or walk to waterfalls from Betws y Coed (40 minutes). And don’t forget that all the walking, climbing and cycling prospects of Snowdonia National Park (40 minutes) are to hand, as well as rounds of golf (10 minutes). If you’re after something to get the adrenaline flowing, zoom down zipwires at Zip World Penrhyn Quarry (25 minutes), or try subterranean climbing and abseiling routes at Zip World Slate Caverns (an hour). If you need a rest after all that activity, climb on board the Snowdon Mountain Railway (15 minutes) for a relaxing and scenic tootle up to the summit of the highest mountain in Wales. Brush up on local history with a nose around National Trust-owned Penrhyn Castle and Gardens (25 minutes) or take a tour of medieval Caernarfon Castle (15 minutes). The Welsh mining heritage is showcased at the National Slate Museum (15 minutes), and a trip over the Menai Straits to Anglesey (35 minutes) turns up spectacular waterside gardens at Plas Newydd House (half an hour).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Morfa Dinlle 12.7 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Llanddwyn 14.8 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Llanfairfechan 19 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
Llanddona 19.5 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
St Davids - Benllech 20.4 km Sea ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Snowdon Mountain Railway 3.7 km

National Slate Museum 3.7 km

Caernarfon Castle 7.4 km

Penrhyn Castle 8.4 km

Beaumaris Castle 15.2 km

National Trust

Plas Newydd Country House and Gardens 8.6 km

Ty^ Mawr Wybrnant 23.5 km

Bodnant Garden 26.9 km

Aberconwy House 27.9 km

Plas yn Rhiw 45.9 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Ceunant Bach - Moel Eilio - Foel Goch 3.5 km

Gwastadnant - Elidir Fach - Elidir Fawr - Gwastadnant 7 km

Bethesda - Ogwen 8.6 km

Gyrn Wigau and Foel Grach 9.5 km

Ogwen Cottage - Llyn Bochlwyd - Glyder Fach - Glyder Fawr - Devil's Kitchen 9.8 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Want to know more about camping in Gwynedd?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Pen y Bwlch have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Pen y Bwlch dog friendly? No View all features
  • What attractions are near Pen y Bwlch? Active types, get set to get busy. From this site, you can canoe on Llyn Padarn lake (10 minutes’ drive) or walk to waterfalls from Betws y Coed (40 minutes). And don’t … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Pen y Bwlch?
    Camping and caravan
    Arrive:  4 p.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  Anytime
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  4 p.m. –  7 p.m.
    Depart by:  Anytime
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Pen y Bwlch? From $45.84 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.