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UK

Glamping in Wales UK: Riverside Pods Review

by Jumana MP December 7, 2021
written by Jumana MP December 7, 2021 6.8K views
Glamping in Wales, Riverside Pods Review
6.8K

Who does not dream of a countryside get away these days? Glamping in the nature? Even better! Being a tiny house and outdoor lover, glamping has been big on my bucket list and I fulfilled my first glamping experience in the cutest site in the Welsh countryside- Riverside pods in Llandovery in Carmarthenshire. Riverside pods are a budget friendly glamping site at the riverside of river Bran in the south of Wales, in a small charming town called Llandovery. The glamping site hosts 4 luxury pods inside the popular Erwlon camping and caravan park. Being one of the green most parts of the UK, glamping in Wales UK is a perfect choice. Check out the riverside pods review with my first glamping experience and be motivated to go on your glamping adventure.

In this blog:
  1. Riverside Pods, Llandovery Review
    • Location Review
    • How to Get to Riverside Pods?
    • Check-in Experience
  2. Our Glamping Experience in River Side Pods
    • Meeting our Riverside Pod: Otter Den
    • Spending an evening in riverside pods
    • Fire Pit Experience in Riverside Pods
    • Sleeping Review
    • Waking up in Riverside pods
    • Erwlon Campsite Facilities
  3. Where to Eat Nearby Riverside Pods
  4. Things To Do Nearby Riverside Pods
    • Welsh Countryside
    • Welsh Coastlines
    • Other Attractions to cover by road
    • Pin It!

Riverside Pods, Llandovery Review

We found this stunning glamping site in the south of Wales, while planning a road trip around the South of the UK. It was recommended to me by one of my travel community friends from Wales. As I had never glamped before and was a big item on my list, I decided to find glamping sites for my road trip, as they are convenient exclusive accommodations and a safer option for the Covid19 pandemic time. Getting too excited seeing the pictures, I contacted the river side pods team on their Instagram to organize my stay. The owners are very friendly and welcoming. We worked out their availability and changed our itinerary to accommodate a stay in Riverside pods, to fulfil that adrenaline rush I got seeing their Instagram posts. Everything about Riverside pods was as perfect as a I imagined with lovely hospitality throughout. I give them a 5 star rating and wish them best of luck, before I deep dive into why. Thanks Riverside pods!

Location Review

Llandovery is a little cute village very close to the left side of the Brecon Beacons national park. The town is a perfect base for visiting South Wales, with an hour drive to Pembrokeshire and Brecon Beacons national park. The pods are situated in a well established camping site ERWLON.

Nearby towns: Llangadog, llandeilo, Brecon

Facilities: Dog friendly glamping pods just by the riverside, with its own ensuite bathroom and kitchen. The facilities are modern with TV, a nice sofa bed and dining facilities. Each pod has hot water for showering and a heated floor. They also provide camping fire pits as an add-on which is a lot of fun. The glamping pod overlooks rolling hills and waking up here was like a dream. The campsite is open 24 hours and there is a dedicated reception. Additional bedding can be requested as well, so 4 people can easily sleep in these pods.

READ: Best Scenic Drives in the UK for your UK Road Trip Bucket list

Wales Road Trip Glamping River Side Pods
South Wales Road Trip, Glamping River Side Pods

Review Star: 😊😊😊😊😊

How to Get to Riverside Pods?

Direction: The Riverside Pods site is easily spotted on Google Maps. Once you get to the ERWLON campsite entrance, which is marked on the road, you will notice the reception building. The team provides an information leaflet with all details you could need for your stay. You just need to ring the reception for organizing your arrival time and they have a professional system to check you in.

Glamp site location: As the name suggests, these pods are by the river and are located in a dedicated area at the end of the campsite with not much noise. Though you pass through caravans and other facilities when you enter, the glamping site has its own secluded area.

Riverside pods reception
Reception of the erwlon campsite

Check-in Experience

The campsite manager was very warm and welcoming and flexible with our arrival time. As they live on the site, it is easy to reach out to them if there is an issue. The owners of the riverside pods are also available to interact on social media etc. The glamping pods have a personal touch to them and the room was very clean. I also loved that there were some yummy Welsh cakes to welcome us to Wales!

Erwlon caravan park riverside pods
Campsite with the riverside pods

Our Glamping Experience in River Side Pods

Meeting our Riverside Pod: Otter Den

We were a group of 4, and we stayed in two pods. I stayed in Otter Den, so I shall review this pod. The pods are all similar. My first impression was pretty much as I expected, I loved the setting and the river sound was very evident as we approached.

Otters Den, Riverside pods glamping pod
Otters Den, Riverside pods, Wales

The patio is gorgeous with the stunning river view. As it was raining when we arrived (what a surprise for southern UK :p), my initial attempt at sitting outside failed miserably as everything was soaking wet, but hey I had some great moments in the following, drier, days. A perfect setting to sip a coffee and write or read a book isn’t it?

Riverside pods Front View of river
Riverside view of the Riverside Pods

This is the first view of the interior of the pod, gorgeous! I loved the purple theme, maybe something to ask the owners when you book if you are into colours! My friends had orange colour. The underfloor heating was too cozy for the weather and I put on the kettle as soon as I finished my mandatory photo shoot.

Riverside pods glamping pod interior
Interior of the glamping pod, Riverside pods

The kitchen is as well equipped as a typical studio, I have to say it brought my student studio memories back. There are all essentials you would need to cook – salt, pepper and oil. Toaster, kettle, cutlery, pans, gas hob, fridge and microwave!

Riverside pods galmping pod kitchen
Kitchen, Riverside pods

There is a good sized double mattress with Egyptian cotton line. The bed has a spring mattress with underbed storage. I particularly love the bed window, which has a nice view as the day light changes. Note that the wadrobe has a blind for this window for bed time.

Riverside pods bed
Glamping Bed, Riverside pods

Spending an evening in riverside pods

On our first day, we decided to cook at the pod as we were too late to find somewhere to eat. We poured ourselves a warm English tea while cooking a beef fry with spinach. There is a co-op nearby for buying ingredients if needed.

Cooking at riversdie pods
Cooking dinner in riverside pods

It was a memorable evening eating some home cooked food and watching TV. The pod also had cards which reminded me of some of my best card-playing buddies in Holland. How I wished I could play cards in groups, we could not gather and play in groups as we were still under covid pandemic restrictions with no two households allowed in one room.

erwlon caravn park riverside pods 1
riverside_pods_tables

Fire Pit Experience in Riverside Pods

After dinner, we embarked on some playing with fire initiatives, with the fire pits to keep us warm. The campsite manager had given us a fantastic training as well as a set of instructions on how to light the fire pit, which was a successful mission, added with some of our own gimmicks! Read on!

We set the pot with the wood chunks and lit it up carefully. Initially, it was just like the genie emerging from Aladdin’s lamp filled with smoke.

Glamping fire pit
glamping fire flames

As we blew the smoke away and applied our very own fire strategies, we succeeded to get the flames and enjoyed this warmth. The moment the fire came up we were transported to a Hobbit setting.

Glamping fire experience in riverside pods
Fire pit experience in riverside pods

It was time for our very own night art technique to write our location with light onto our photo. Marc and I had once done this shot during our road trip to Tromso in winter, a road trip explicitly done with a mission of chasing Northern lights. We introduced this to our friends from Romania this time and tried to get a WALES printed photo. Though it was hard to take this shot, our friend Kris had perfected the art in a few attempts and here is the final outcome of my picture.

light art writing wales
Wales location light art in front of riverside pods, Llandovery

Now that we all have left our light marks in the land of Wales, it was bed time for the road trippers who have been driving between 4-5 hours in South of England for 10 days.

Sleeping Review

Sleeping here was great, the bed was smooth and rooms were dark. Don’t forget to spot the bed window blind provided in the cabinet. There was the sound of the river flowing that could disturb someone, but hey, we are here for that ultimate camping experience. If you don’t like the sound, here is my best hack for soundproofing your ears while sleeping.

Waking up in Riverside pods

Waking up in the riverside pods was like waking up to a dream. I have pictured this moment many, many times in my life, opening a door right to the view of a meadow with river flowing in front of you.

riverside pods glamping outside view 1 of 1
Outside View from the Riverside pods

These are the moments that make you dream of being a writer living in a countryside setting like this – so peaceful and tranquil.

erwlon caravn park riverside pods patio
Riverside Pods Decking

Erwlon Campsite Facilities

Apart from the well equipped pod itself, there is sufficient parking space outside the pod and the campsite also provides bike storage upon request. Everything you could need for a perfect camping holiday is available.


Where to Eat Nearby Riverside Pods

Llandovery town is walking distance from the riverside pods and has all the amenities you would need for your stay.

Groceries, butchers and bakers: Co-operative, Spar, Matthews Family Butchers, La Patisserie
Pubs, Restaurants & Tea Rooms: The Castle Hotel, The Bear, Kings Head, White Hall Inn,
Pengawse Tea Rooms, Old Printing Office Café
Take-Away: Indian Lounge, Mayflower Chinese, Llandovery Kebab House, The Three Horse
Shoes Fish & Chips
Doctors/Hospital/Pharmacy: Llanfair Surgery (01550 720648), Llandovery Hospital (no A&E,
01550 722200), A.R & H Davies Pharmacy (01550 720269)
Post Office: Monday to Saturday 09:00-17:50
Fuel Station: Murco (not 24 hrs)
ATM: Lloyds Bank, Broad Street, Llandovery


Things To Do Nearby Riverside Pods

Recommended by Riverside Pods Team

Welsh Countryside

erwlon caravn park riverside pods sheep
Welsh Sheep Grazing nearby the riverside pods campsite
  • Brecon Baecons National Park
  • Llyn Brianne
  • Y Garn Goch
  • Brechfa Forest

Welsh Coastlines

Wales Road Trip along the coastline
  • Cefn Sidan
  • Pendine
  • Ferryside
  • Llansteffan
  • Scott’s Bay
  • Morfa Bychan
  • Telpyn Poin

Other Attractions to cover by road

  • Red Kite Feeding Station
  • Dolaucothi Goldmines
  • Llansteffan Castle
  • Aberglasney Gardens,
  • National Botanic Garden of Wales
  • Dinefwr Park
  • Dryslwyn Castle

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8 comments
Jumana MP

Jumana is a travel writer and technologist living in the United Kingdom, born and brought up in India. While she is busy with her full time job as a computer technologist, she is an active explorer during her spare time. She has been exploring states of India since she was 15 and then around the world since she moved to the west in her 20s. Her favourite travel style is “On the Road” and she has perfected the art of road trip planning, covering multiple famous and undiscovered routes around Europe, UK and USA. She is on a mission to road trip the planet and learn more about the cultures around the world.

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8 comments

Emma June 27, 2021 - 5:38 pm

What a cool experience. I love how cozy they look, but also seem to have everything you need, including that little patio area. I would definitely love to stay in one of these little pods. Such a great idea

Reply
Digitaldaybook June 28, 2021 - 1:27 am

I definitely love the country side charm! There’s such a pull to it!

Reply
Nina June 28, 2021 - 4:30 pm

We have pods like these in Canada and I’ve always wanted to stay in them!

Reply
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Hi, I am Jumana, a technologist and a road trip expert traveling the world in my spare time. My favourite travel style is “On the Road” and I have perfected the art of road trip planning, covering multiple scenic and undiscovered routes around Europe, UK and USA. I founded Planet Hopper Girl aiming to promote traveling as a lifestyle, the ultimate way to discover yourself and find freedom. Join us on the mission of hopping the planet!

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