At Penhein Glamping eight luxurious Alachigh tents are tucked away in a secluded three acre wood and surrounded by fields and meadows in the Monmouthshire hills. Custom-made to keep you warm and dry, with wonderfully comfy beds, an en-suite loo, wood-burning stove, running water and a well-stocked kitchen, the tents at Penhein have everything you need to feel at home in the great outdoors. Three of them even have their own shower immediately outside their door. The others are allocated their own dedicated shower within a luxurious shower block with underfloor heating, hot monsoon showers and a roll-top bath.
This peaceful coppiced wood on the family-run farm is also home to two wonderful gathering places for guests. The first is Chehel Sotoun, a stunning grove within the glampsite covered with a sumptuous stretch marquee, in which to host group activities and meals or celebrate special occasions. With open sides for that outdoors party feel, tables and seating enough for all our guests and electricity as required, this wonderful space is available to all, perhaps for a picnic in the shade or to stay out of the rain, a perfect games space for children or an informal space for drinks and meeting up with other friends on site.
Then there is Petro, the communal tent (named after the boys’ great-grandfather’s farm in Iran), custom-built and kitted out for families and friends to enjoy getting together under canvas. Inside you’ll find electrical sockets, lamps, tables and chairs, bean bags, and lots of toys and games for entertainment. There’s a warming, wood-burning stove and, just outside, a large fire pit and huge BBQ both with sensational views across the meadows.
To cap it all off there is a separate cooking facility (fondly known as the ‘Cheat’s Kitchen’) for those not up for the culinary adventure of cooking on the wood-burning stove in each tent or fire pit just outside.
Beyond the glampsite, guests are free to roam the large farm, wandering down nature trails or scaling hills to the top of the valley, where they can enjoy magnificent views of the River Severn and surrounding countryside. Or enlist on one of the many activities run on the farm: there’s clay pigeon shooting, foraging or bushcraft amongst many others to choose from.
Penhein is run by the owner Helen Hearn, who is committed to providing an authentic yet fabulous camping experience for guests, complete with rustic charm and rural abandon but not without a few little luxuries and some home comforts. Top of the list of things to bring? An adventurous spirit!
For information: Penhein prices range from £147 per unit per night to £225 per unit per night according to season. Minimum stay 2 nights. Each of our Alachighs ('alla-cheeg') sleeps up to four, with a large comfy sofa bed for an extra adult or two small children if required.
