Penbeili is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, and an artist’s inspiration. On one side, the mountains and woods of wild Wales: on the other the coast, home to dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds. Ceredigion has high cliffs, coves, inlets and beaches, and covers 60 miles of the Welsh coastal path.

Near your cottage you’ll find beautiful woodland walks where you might encounter anything from a Red Kite swooping overhead to something a little more domesticated, like our cat sunning himself in the undergrowth. A great way to spot some of our diverse wildlife here is to cycle along Route 82 of the National Cycle Network, which passes through Llandysul and on to Newcastle Emlyn (with its castle ruins).

The National Botanic Gardens of Wales in Carmarthenshire has a rich 400-year history. Once a magnificent Regency park, today it houses the Apothecary’s Garden and Hall, the Bee Garden and a Back to Nature space. It also has the world’s largest single-span glasshouse, and a tropical butterfly house.

At Aberglasney House you’ll find a C18th yew tunnel and the Ninfarium, which houses exotic and sub-tropical plants under a glass ceiling in the ruined heart of the mansion. There are plants here from Asia and the Cloister Garden, which is surrounded by a solid stone three-sided arcaded walkway.

In Cardigan you’ll find the Welsh Wildlife Centre, where you can visit the living landscapes of Wales and get up close and personal with animals furred, feathered and scaled! Dogs are permitted, but must be kept on a lead.

A little way from your home from home, the Ynyslas National Nature Reserve is a remarkable place, of shifting sand, rare insects and the songs of linnets in the older dunes: at low tide, an ancient submerged forest reveals itself to you. In this place, you are truly in the land of legends.