-
About Us
...the story of an evolving vision...
Smugglers Cove
A beautiful location on the mid Wales coast offering a selection of holiday options alongside a working boatyard, moorings and creatives. The types of stay available include holiday cottage accomodation alongside spectacular water's edge camping and glamping boats. Please enjoy reading about them all below. Smugglers Cove also has artists and craftsmen in residence, working from various buildings, including for instance acclaimed sculptor, Steve Howlett http://www.stevehowlett.com/ and the legendary, Giles Thaxton http://madebygiles.co.uk/. We are a family and a pet friendly establishment with a relaxed atmosphere set in beautiful surroundings.
Smugglers Cove Cottages
Sympathetically renovated in 2006 to a design by eco architects ‘Simmonds Mills’ & with assistance from the Wales Tourist Board, the converted Chapel and Cottages are furnished in comfortable country style, with log burners, beautiful features & a four poster bed in Chapel House. There is full gas central heating, bolstered by solar thermal collectors, solid tiled floors on the ground floor & exposed wooden floorboards on the upper floor. Both Chapel House & Quarry Cottage have open plan kitchens, dining area & lounges with the kitchen in Chapel House being large enough to cater for all the party with a dining table large enough for the whole party to be seated around together as one. Four of the bedrooms in Chapel House are on the ground floor with easy ground floor access.
Outside there are seating areas, a private BBQ with natural amphitheatre & exclusive access through to our boatyard and onto the Dyfi Estuary foreshore & tidal beach. For boat lovers, there is a slipway, hardstanding & moorings to store, renovate, repair, launch and moor your pride and joy/s.
Smugglers Cove Camping
Along the coastal footpath, a hundred meters from the boatyard, three individual camping pitches offer the very best spots on the Dyfi’s banks and, tucked beneath the tree line, they provide ultimate waterside privacy in a positively dreamy location. Called Dyfi, Dulas, Angell and Angell, the pitches are big enough for larger tents but we insist that tents are pitched at the opposite end to where the previous camper's tent was pitched in order to give the grass time to recover. There is a shower and toilet block in the boatyard carpark (also where the bins are located) and a sink with cold feed on the foreshore side of the railway line. Fire pits are provided for each pitch and must not be moved.
The Boy John
The Boy John is 40’ long and 13’ wide, with good standing headroom. The main space has a kitchen/bar area with 2 ring gas hob; a piano and a wood burning stove, with seating along the sides for 12 people. The space is lit with fairy lights and spot lights, using solar generated electricity. Beyond, the stern cabin has a double bed and is lined with boards that follow the lines of the hull, which gives it a real nautical feel. Upstairs the wheelhouse is glazed and there is a bench seat that turns into a double bed, you can sit outside on deck enjoying amazing views of the estuary but children are not allowed in this area. The bins, toilet and shower block are located a short walk the others side of the railway line in the turfed roof wooden building.
Smugglers Cove Boatyard
A small sustainable resource on the banks of the river Dyfi, Smugglers Cove Boatyard has up to 15 swinging moorings available in the tidal estuary on the north side of the river. There is a concrete slipway and some dry winter storage along with hoisting facilities on the foreshore side of the railway line which is easily accessed via the car park. Further dry winter storage is also available on the north side of the railway line. Other facilities such as power washing are available on request, see the Rates page for further information. There is a toilet and shower block available for boat owning customers.