It’s no secret that South Wales’ (United Kingdom) valleys are home to one of the most beautiful walking routes and views, and over the last decade or so, they have blossomed from the colliery scars, an industry that made the area its most famous and lucrative.
According to a report, one of the latest developments in Rhondda’s tourism scene is a brand-new glamping pod site located in Blaenrhondda.
Fernhill Valley Farm has four charming, cozy and comfortable glamping pods located on what was the site of the Fernhill Collie, hence the name, and what was a short-lived Wild West theme park which is part of Rhondda’s recent folklore.
Its position at the top of Rhondda Fawr, tucked between the towering Rhigos and the Pen Pych mountains, isn’t all that remote, but it’s an excellent distance away from the valley’s end village Blaenrhondda. The tranquility and scenery, however, are unparalleled.
According to its website, Fernhill Valley Farm offers an escape to the outdoors. You may enjoy the surrounding walks and bike trails in style in one of their luxury glamping pods. The new zip world resort also awaits within a short distance.
You will also wake up to sunrise over the mountains, relax with breakfast on your patio and enjoy the evening with toasted marshmallows over your own private firepit.
The Batten family now owns the site; dad Andy, with sons Gavin and Lee, developed the area since they purchased it at an auction in 2017.
Alongside the four pods, which were opened to guests in October, the three hope to expand the number of pods and five pitches for touring caravans.
Although there’s still plenty of work to be done at Fernhill, the three talked about the chance to build a glamping site in Blaenrhondda.
“We were buying houses, renovating them, and then renting them out, and this land came up in auction,” said Gavin, 38.
“We’ve always been in the market looking for property or land, so when this came up, we bought it, knowing that we could do something with it. We didn’t really have a plan for the land, but then we took a walk around and saw all the waterfalls at the back and places to walk, and I thought this part of the Rhondda was completely different to the bit we live in, where you’ve got the rows of houses and the town, so that’s where the tourism part came from it. Then we went to the council to discuss plans, and they asked us to develop a master plan. We put something together, which was half houses and then half tourism. And they seem to like the idea,” he continued.
“So then we just pushed on to the glamping pods. It was a gamble, but we’ve taken people around the site, and they are blown away by the scenery.”
The initial plan was to construct one glamping tent for guests, but it was evident that it would be just the same work to construct one as to construct four.
“We’ve had people from Kent, Manchester, and a lot of people from abroad staying in the UK, visiting here,” Gavin added.
“We didn’t know what to expect when we started taking bookings, we stayed up here too, and we were nervous [about] what people would think. But the comments have been really good. They’ve all said about the views, the proximity to the walks around Pen Pych and the waterfalls and up to Pen y Fan. And at the start, as soon as we knew Zip World was coming, that gave us the confidence to push on with the tourism side here,” Gavin ended
Isn’t the glamping site in Rhondda Valley just remarkable? The Batten family’s dedication and attention to detail truly make it extraordinary. What’s your perspective on it?