Camping Near Dolgellau – Cefn Coed
Cefn Coed sits just outside Dolgellau in beautiful North Wales and leans fully into the wild camping, off-grid way of camping. With mountain views, woodland walks and the Mawdacch Estuary a stone’s throw away, you’re spoiled for beautiful places.
The campsite offers a range of pitches, and there was even a small Romany-style caravan. We had a pitch to ourselves in one of the meadows, with friends in a campervan and us in a tent, and it was amazing to have so much space – I think I’m spoiled now for future trips!
Being off-grid, it was a proper back-to-basics stay, but the campsite did amazingly good Thai food on site, which felt like a real treat when you can’t be bothered to cook over a campfire.
The one downside was the toilet block. With only a handful of toilets to go round and ours being a fair walk from the field, it wasn’t the easiest at 2am or with kids, so worth bearing in mind if you’re pitched further out.
Edit to add – since we visited I think the facilities have had an upgrade, and there is more on site now. Check out the Cefn Coed website.
We also had Storm Betty roll through on our second to last night, battering the site with wind and rain. We had to park our car inside the tent porch to act as some kind of aerodynamic wind deflector – luckily we have a big tent and a small car! Our tent survived remarkably unscathed but others weren’t so lucky.
The Weekend
Dol Gledr walk
A good hill walk straight from the campsite, with the kind of views that make a climb worthwhile.
Barmouth Beach
A proper change of pace after the walk, and an easy drive over to the coast for some time on the sand.
Y Sospan, Dolgellau
Rather than cooking on our last night (or having yet another Thai takeaway from the campsite), we headed out into Dolgellau and had a delicious meal at Y Sospan.
I’d definitely return to Cefn Coed – it was a really peaceful getaway (despite the storm!), with just the right amount of wildness.
For more North Wales camping ideas you might like:
