The Cambrian Mountains has some of the world’s darkest skies. Jamie Carter takes its Astro Trail to see why Wales is a stargazer’s dream come true
Stargazing in solitude isn’t always easy in the Cambrian Mountains. “A few friends and I went up to the local Dark Sky Discovery Site to lie on blankets and watch a meteor shower, but there were so many sheep that we had to lie on the bonnet of the car instead!” says Linda Reid, who runs Glangwili Mansion (glangwilimansion.co.uk), a small luxury country house hotel in Llanllawddog in Carmarthenshire. “They must have thought we were the farmer coming to feed them.” Back at Glangwili Mansion there’s a feast, both gastronomical and astronomical, in the shape of the Stargazer Cabin in the lush hotel grounds. “We wanted to do something special so we created this cosy wilderness place with evening dining and spectacular skies,” says Linda.
Welcome to the Cambrian Mountains Astro Trail, a newly developed 80km-route around an undesignated rural landscape in Wales that covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys. Most stargazers visiting Wales will have heard about the International Dark Sky Reserves at Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons. “In Wales we’ve got the three designated dark-sky areas, but the Cambrian Mountains trumps them all,” says Allan Trow at Dark Sky Wales (darkskywalestrainingservices.co.uk), who runs stargazing and astrophotography events. “Its length and breadth is dark and it covers a massive swathe of our country.” In the northeast of the Cambrian region is the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, one of the three areas in Wales accredited by the International Dark-Sky Association.
Getting away from the lights
The trail through some of the UK’s darkest night skies takes in nine of the UK’s Dark Sky Discovery Sites (darkskydiscovery.org.uk) – six of them newly created – that are all Milky Way-class, with Bortle Class 2 night skies. “There were originally just three, including a couple of very remote, off-grid hostels in deep valleys called Hostel Dolgoch and Hostel Ty’n y Cornel,” says my host Dafydd Wyn Morgan, project manager for the Cambrian Mountains Initiative. “All were in Ceredigion so after some community engagement, we worked with Allan from Dark Sky Wales to create two to the south and four to the north in Powys and Carmarthenshire.” The top priority was darkness, of course, but second came accessibility. “I’ve heard stories of people going to some of these places and turning back because it’s just too dark for them,” he says, insisting that everyone visiting any Dark Sky Discovery Site should visit during the day before to build up their confidence. “If you go during the daytime you can also enjoy the amazing landscape: after all we like to call the Cambrian Mountains an area of astounding natural beauty!”
What these new Dark Sky Discovery Sites have in common is car parks, an instantly recognisable yellow-and-black badge and, around the new Moon, inky black night skies. Some are high viewpoints overlooking barren landscapes, such as Llanllwni Mountain near Brechfa and Pont ar Elan, where you can park a car and go stargazing with little chance of passing traffic. There are other Dark Sky Discovery Sites that are ready to become iconic astrophotography locations, such as The Arch/Y Bwa near Devil’s Bridge/Pontarfynach (pictured, below).
Spoilt for choice
With so much choice it’s impossible to choose the best place in the Cambrian Mountains to go stargazing, but there’s a stretch between Pontrhydfendigaid in Ceredigion and the Elan Valley in Powys that’s irresistible for anyone interested in wilderness locations and dark skies.
At Pontrhydfendigaid is the new Coed y Bont Dark Sky Discovery Site – consisting of a car park, picnic table and shelter at the entrance to community woodland – that’s very close to Strata Florida, a medieval abbey with an iconic entrance arch where generations of Welsh princes are buried.
The Cambrian Mountains Astro Trail also includes numerous places to stay under the darkest of night skies. Under Starry Skies (understarryskies.co.uk) has a barn and two delightfully secluded, off-grid wood cabins on an old dairy farm in Llansadwrn, while Chillderness (chillderness.co.uk) on the Red Kite Estate near Llanafan-fawr hosts two aerodynamically designed glamping pods called ‘Earth Conker’ (pictured above) and ‘Moon Conker’.
If glamping isn’t your style and you’re after a landscape to explore and photograph by day and by night, head to the Elan Valley, the only International Dark Sky Park in Wales thus far and the only private estate in the world to have such a designation. This vast 180 square kilometres of reservoirs, iconic dams, woodland, moorland and rivers provides an adventure playground for anyone after jaw-dropping nightscapes.
The closest town, Rhayader, is about 10 kilometres away and is good for places to eat, but for easy access to the night sky it’s best to stay on the Welsh Water/Dŵr Cymru-owned estate itself. “You can stay in Rhayader and get the best of both worlds, but for the ultimate experience stay on the estate itself because then you’re already there – you can pop in and out and sleep with the curtains open and stargaze from the comfort of your bed,” says Dafydd. Good choices within the estate include B&B at Penbont House (penbonthouse.co.uk) alongside Pen y Garreg Dam and self-catering at Hen Dŷ (elanvalley.org.uk/stay), part of a 16th-century longhouse. The latter is on the way to the remote Claerwen Dam, the largest of the Elan Valley’s six dams and a fine place to catch sunsets and starry panoramas. For a Victorian pump house in the foreground of a nightscape photograph, go to Garreg Ddu Dam (pictured, left, below).
It is best to visit the area after heavy rain when the reservoirs spill over and the dams look like vast waterfalls. Before you arrive, check with the Elan Valley Visitor Centre (elanvalley.org.uk/events) for stargazing events. Some are held at an immaculate new wooden hut above the reservoirs, which is aptly named ‘Cosmic Cwtsh’ (cwtsh is Welsh for cuddle, but also hideaway). This has slide-out windows, which are perfect for positioning a telescope.
Activities for all
Elan Valley is very well prepared for stargazers. At Craig Goch Dam there are information boards detailing everything from seasonal constellations to specialist binocular sights. Beyond is a remote mountain road above the reservoir to Pont Ar Elan, a new Dark Sky Discovery Site with spectacular views south towards Craig Goch or west across a landscape in which the the River Elan meanders. From here the old mountain road takes you west through the Ystwyth Valley where the self-catering cottage Esgair Wen and Tyllwyd Campsite (welshaccommodation.co.uk) are ideal for stargazing.
Ystwyth Valley leads to another intriguing location on the Cambrian Mountains Astro Trail: Devil’s Bridge, which is also called Pontarfynach.
On its outskirts is an extraordinary monument, The Arch or Y Bwa, a masonry arch built in 1810 to mark the Golden Jubilee of King George III. It now has a car park and picnic area, which marks the start of walks around the Hafod Estate (hafod.org), and an excellent new Dark Sky Discovery Site. Come in summer and you’ll see the Milky Way streaming down behind the Arch. A few minutes’ drive away is the Hafod Hotel (thehafod.co.uk).
Dark skies ahead
Almost nowhere else in Wales is as lightly-populated nor as dark as the Cambrian Mountains, but there are many other dark spots that stargazers can head to. “One of the best examples of a place working towards dark skies status is Pembrokeshire, where the streetlights go off at midnight – it’s phenomenal,” says Trow. One of the best locations in Pembrokeshire is St Justinian, which is about a 10-minute drive from St Davids. “Go to the headland there in August or September and you’ll have the Milky Way lined up with Ramsey Island right in front of you,” says Trow. “It’s a stunning location and one of the easiest places to photograph our Galaxy.” Broad Haven South Beach is another good option for Milky Way-viewing, as is Pendine Sands near Tenby and Rhossili Bay on the Gower Peninsula. Both Pembrokeshire and Gower are going for International Dark Sky Community status.
Meanwhile, the North Wales Dark Sky Partnership has Prosiect Nos (Night Project), a collaboration between Snowdonia National Park and three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): the Isle of Anglesey, the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley, and the Llŷn Peninsula. “All these areas are going for International Dark-Sky Association status over the next two years,” says Dani Robertson, Dark Sky Officer for Prosiect Nos (discoveryinthedark.wales/project-nos), who recently unveiled a mobile observatory van to take binoculars, telescopes, head torches, camping chairs and even wildlife cameras into rural communities to help them experience their dark night skies. “I’m yet to find anywhere darker than the Llŷn Peninsula,” she says, singling-out Mynydd Mawr at its southern tip, though just a couple of miles across Bardsey Sound is perhaps the very darkest place in the country. “Bardsey Island is only inhabited by 12 people and there’s no external light,” says Robertson about this remote home to grey seals, puffins and the nocturnally active Manx shearwater. “I would recommend staying there for a few nights to experience the night skies and the wildlife after dark.” Called Ynys Enlli in Welsh, Bardsey Island (bardsey.org) is up for the coveted status of Dark Sky Sanctuary, only a handful of which exist around the world.
With projects like these, it’s plain to see that despite Wales having the highest percentage of protected dark skies of anywhere in the world, there’s a lot more to come from the UK’s ‘dark-sky country.’
Find out more about the Cambrian Mountains Astro Trail at thecambrianmountains.co.uk/ discover-dark-skies
Jamie Carter is an astronomy and travel writer and author of A Stargazing Program for Beginners
The Astro Trail by day
There’s plenty to do in the Cambrian Mountains in daylight hours
One of the most popular areas in the region is Devil’s Bridge/Pontarfynach, which is about 19km east of Aberystwyth. “It’s one of the ultimate destinations for anyone with an interest in the night sky,” says Cambrian Mountains Initiative project manager Dafydd Wyn Morgan.
“It’s got everything you need, from accommodation, attractions and activities to places to eat and drink.” There’s a Victorian vibe here: Devil’s Bridge Falls (devilsbridgefalls.co.uk) in Rheidol Gorge has been visited since the 18th century, with William Wordsworth counted among the sightseers. Enter the turnstiles to reach the path, which also gets you the occasional view of three bridges built one on top of the other. Reach Devil’s Bridge car-free via the Vale of Rheidol Railway (rheidolrailway.co.uk) from Aberystwyth – between March and November. Opposite the station is Sarah Bunton Chocolates (sarahbunton.co.uk), whose goods include ‘Dark Skies Chocolate.’
During a trip along the Astro Trail you’re likely to come across Hathren Dark Skies Galaxy Brownies (hathren.co.uk), Dà Mhìle, Dark Skies Rum (damhile.co.uk) and Radnor Preserves’ Dark Skies Preserve (radnorpreserves.com), which uses silver flecks in the gin distilled by In the Welsh Wind to represent star-studded nebulae.
Burn off the calories on the 200-hectare Hafod Estate (hafod.org), a mecca for hiking, or by climbing Pumlumon Fawr, a 752m-peak in the Cambrian Mountains.
Cyclists are also catered for. Rent a bike in Rhayader or from the Elan Valley Visitor Centre and set off on trails around the estate. Intrepid riders can tackle the mountain road between the Elan Valley and Aberystwyth (National Cycle Network Route 81), through the Ystwyth Valley.
Meanwhile, bird-watchers can enjoy Cors Caron National Nature Reserve (naturalresources.wales), a wetland with a boardwalk between Pontrhydfendigaid and Tregaron in Ceredigion, and the Gigrin Red Kite Feeding Station (gigrin. uk) near Rhayader where you can make use of your binoculars or a long lens.
Dark-sky locations in Wales
Discover the best places to stargaze with our map showing dark-sky locations and areas affected by light pollution
