The chap behind Popcorn Camping has found a perfect pitch in Pembrokeshire. It’s flat, grassy, well maintained and has a clubhouse nearby. It’s also got two towering goalposts. That’s because this perfect pitch is, first and foremost, a rugby pitch. But come the summer, when the season is over for St David’s RFC, it divides instead into 75 different pitches. Now, of course, we’re talking camping.
It’s a perfect timeshare arrangement; with the rugby club’s well-maintained field and clubhouse facilities being given new purpose in the summer. It’s the brainchild of events organiser Scott Doane, who under the Popcorn Camping brand, is opening sites in schools and on rugby pitches across the countryside. This one is in a great position, under a mile from the UK’s smallest city, St Davids. If you’re worried about being too near hustle and bustle, rest-assured St Davids it’s actually no bigger than a village, home to just 1,600 people. Its city status is thanks to its mighty cathedral, a place of pilgrimage since medieval times as the final resting place of Wales’ patron saint. For its short pop-up season Popcorn Camping is one of the closest campsites to it.
On site, despite the innovative idea, it’s a fairly traditional and back-to-basics affair. Cars are parked to one side with super-spacious (10m by 10m) pitches laid out between the goal posts. Washing-up sinks and a water tap are set up in the field, otherwise it’s a short walk to the newly-refurbished clubhouse for facilities, which include plentiful toilets and hot-water showers. Here convenience and connectivity trumps peace and quiet. There are roads and buildings nearby and you should expect some noise from traffic passing by but, as this place is more a base than a destination site, it’s more than likely that you’ll miss much of it while you’re out exploring the area. There’s certainly a lot to see.
This is the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and beyond the teeny, touristy centre of St Davids, the peninsula has plenty of other treasures. You can find out about them all at a visitor centre in the city. There are wildlife hotspots like St David’s Head and, off shore, the RSPB Reserve at Ramsey Island, reached by boat from St Justinians. For swimming head three miles to the beach at Solva and for surfing, there’s Newgale beach. There are plenty of options for coastal walks and other adventures with the Pembrokeshire Coast Path snaking its way around the peninsula and beyond.
