Alumna Helen Hearn (Micklethwait, DH 1992) has created luxury glamping site, Penhein Glamping, on the family farm where she grew up in rural Monmouthshire.

Nestled in a secluded wood, her beautiful tents are cosy and warm and kitted out with everything you could need to feel at home in the great outdoors. Glamping at Penhein combines the rustic practicalities of a campsite with the luxury of a boutique hotel and the comforts of home, offering a surprisingly different camping experience.

‘I wanted to create a place that exists in harmony with nature and is environmentally and visually low-impact.’

Helen was living and working in London and pregnant with her first child, when her father decided he needed to pass on the day-to-day running of the family farm. At the time she was HR Director for News International, where she loved the lightning-fast pace and the thrill of being on the pulse of news. But she had always dreamt of bringing up her family in the countryside and she was tired of managing the endless rounds of redundancies, as readers moved away from newsprint to digital news channels.

The time was right for a change. But she knew she would need to diversify to make the farm a success. A friend suggested a glampsite after returning from a fabulous holiday in one. So Helen got cracking on a marketing and business plan before she left London, hoping to get things up and running quickly. Four years later, after some unexpected delays in planning, which turned a promised eight-week process into two years, Helen opened the doors and welcomed her first guests in 2014.

'I’ve created something that feels quite special. It feels like my raison d’être.'

Ten years later and with her two boys on the team, she’s loving every minute. Running a working farm and a luxury glampsite means she doesn’t have much time to put her feet up, but she’s never looked back. She can’t fault the sense of satisfaction she’s gained from creating something that’s all her own. She looks back on her days in London as a very different life, perfect for that stage of her life, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

'I grew up sharing the magic of Penhein with friends and family who came to stay. These experiences informed my vision for Penhein Glamping: sharing happy times in nature with others.'

Visitors discover the magic of sleeping under canvas, as they escape to nature and leave the world behind. Eight elegant domed tents, similar to those used by the nomadic Shahsavan tribe of Northern Iran, are decorated in a rustic, country style. Fresh flowers sit on bedside tables stacked with vintage books; comfy beds (proper ones) are dressed in crisp white linen and colourful quilted bedspreads compliment hand block-printed motifs adorning timber-clad headboards. At the top of the tent, above a group of enchanting hanging tealights, is a skylight for stargazing from the comfort of your bed.

'I remember the excitement of sleeping here under the stars, listening to the drum of rain on canvas and the wind in the ash tops.'

Surrounded by idyllic views and far removed from daily life, it’s a calm, peaceful haven in which to reconnect with nature. Overlooking the sheep grazing fields that lead up to Wentwood Forest, to the south, there are magnificent views across the hills above Bath. And to the west there are spectacular sunsets over the Severn Estuary. After a day exploring the countryside, guests return to a warm and cosy tent in the evening, with a personal fire pit to barbecue supper and then tuck in for the night, where the only neighbours are the owls in the trees and the stars in the sky.

Along with many other accolades, Helen is delighted to have achieved recognition in the South East Wales Tourism Awards 2024, winning their award for going the extra mile in Environmental Sustainability and runner up in Best Glamping/Camping/Caravan site.

Penhein Glamping

Llanvair Discoed, Chepstow, South Wales NP16 6RB 

+44 (0)1633 400 581

enquiries@penhein.co.uk