Such is the huge choice of pristine beaches along the Cardigan Bay coastline, picking a village to stay in on your Welsh cottage holiday can be a difficult task. The village of Penbryn, around nine miles north of Cardigan, is a popular choice for walkers, surfers and people who simply come to enjoy this untouched, unspoiled pocket of west Wales.

The beach at Penbryn is a national treasure. The National Trust owns the beach, ensuring its cleanliness and safety, making it an ideal place for children to play. The beach was famously used as a location for the shooting of the James Bond film, ‘Die Another Day’.

The history of the Penbryn area stretches back thousands of years – a fact that is testified by the Corbalengi Stone. This giant stone monument dates back to the early Christian period and bears the Latin inscription ‘CORBALENGI IACIT ORDOVS’, meaning ‘Here lies Corbalengi the Ordovician’. The stone was moved from its original location on a nearby farm, revealing an urn full of ashes and roman coins beneath it.

Penbryn itself is made up largely of farms and self-catering holiday cottages, which are popular amongst tourists, particularly in spring and summer when Penbryn is one of the most spectacular spots for star gazing in the UK. The village, surrounding woodlands and the beach suffer from little to no light pollution, making for some dazzling skies.

Beach walks along the golden flat sands or the Penbryn dunes are a delight at any time of year.