Spring Valley Lakes, Glynneath. August 5th-7th 2022
It was my birthday weekend, so we looked local to see what was about and came across this secluded campsite about 40 minute drive from us. I contacted them to find out if there was any availabilty, and luckily enough there was. They said just turn up and pay on arrival.
We arrived at 4pm, and was directed to our pitch, plenty enough room if you have awnings etc as you are allowed up to 10m per pitch in width. This was a perfct opportunity to try out our new Quechua Living Room from Decathlon. Product link can be found here.
The tent can either be used like we did or you could easily adapt it as an awning by having the wide opening against your van and placing the canopy over the roof and tied down with some bungees. For just under £100 with discount code you just can't go wrong.
The Friday afternnon/evening just comprised of getting set up, chilling and having a wander around to see what the campsite has to offer (see below for facilities).
After a peaceful sleep, the sun greeted us on Saturday morning, breakfast made in the new tent which was bliss rather than being cramped in a small T5. Claire fancied a bit of cold water wild swimming today so we headed down to one of the lakes, safe to say, the water was freezing but was so refreshing when we got back out.
In the afternoon, after a Pot Noodle, we decided to take a walk up to the local town of Glynneath to get a few supplies for a BBQ. We took the canal path up then took a detour back through a local recreational park. There was some stunning views and great wooded trails to be had.
Saturday evening, another chilled out night, veggie BBQ done on the Cadac, a cider and a bit of Netflix before hitting the pillow.
Sunday morning we was told there was absolutely no rush to be off site, by 5pm was fine which is a big bonus as there is nothing worse than having to rush to pack everything away and be gone.
Campsite Review
This place is huge & has so much potential. It is very family orientated, so if you are looking for a quiet break away or an adults only site then this place might not be for you. The hosts were great and if you're into water sports then you'll be spoilt for choice. A few suggestions based on our visit:
1. As this place is so big, maybe some more toilet/shower facilities. It was very busy this weekend (but not at full capacity), I feel just 2 toilets/showers & 1 compost toilet is just not enough as most of the time there was people waiting, especially in the morning.
2. Different camping zones, maybe have a family camping area and a quiet camping area. With the size on this site, this could easily be implemented. The way I looked at the site, there is 3 areas that could be split, rear field for family camping, at the front of the lakes by the toilets for the water sports type and the far area down the bottom to the left of the lakes the quiet area. We were placed in the rear field where a lot of families with children were, don't get me wrong, I really don't mind that and we did have a great stay, but sometimes people do like to get away (us included) and just chill out with some peace & quiet. If the site was split into different zones, then maybe there could be toilet/shower facilities placed in each zone which would then solve my suggestion 1
Would i return, definitely yes even without my suggestions. It's in an amazing location but myself I feel that it could be improved with a few tweaks.
The Campsite Facilites
2 huge private lakes where you can swim, SUP, kayak, ski, or any other form of watersports that take your fancy. Day visits are also allowed at a cost of £5 per day if you were not camping there. SUP boards, kayaks etc can also be hired there.
An on-site bar - a converted double decker bus which is an awesome touch.
Toilets/showers.
There is no on-site shop, this is a basic eco-friendly campsite so stock up on supplies or take a walk/drive to Glynneath which is about a 4 mile round trip. No EHU so solar or a good bank of batteries will be required.
Links to their website & Facebook page below
Happy travels guys, hopefully another blog up soon. Hit the subscribe button so you dont miss out.