Penbryn Beach is a fantastic walk for star grazing, as its rural location gets next to no light pollution. The beach is a fantastic place on a warm summer's evening for a leisurely stroll and I'd recommend bringing a star chart and a picnic blanket so you can lie back on the beach, listen to the waves and watch the stars. Bring a torch for the walk down to the beach through the woodland, which is a bit rugged but well worth it for all the different varieties of bats you'll see, and the barn owls you can sometimes hear really set the scene. Binoculars will enable you to get closer to the stars – such as the ribbons in the Milky Way – which can be harder to see with the naked eye
Paul Boland, Property Manager, National Trust

Route and directions

Distance: 3/4 mile plus up to a mile of beach walking

Start: National Trust Car Park at Llanborth Farm. Grid ref and map: OS Landranger 145 , OS Explorer 198, SN295521

1. From the car park, take the road with the farmhouse on the left and the farm buildings on the right.

2. Walk along the road until you reach the beach. An alterative route is to take the footpath through the woodland alongside the river to the beach – a good torch is advisable. From the car park take the footpath designated by the figure post at the woodland end of the car park – follow it down the steps and over the bridge. Follow the path through the woods to the beach.

Lay a blanket anywhere on the beach and take in the views of the wide open sky.

How to get there and local facilities

By bus: 600: Cardigan-Aberporth – Quay West. Last bus: Penbryn – Cardigan 5.50pm, Penbryn – New Quay 3.36pm By road: Take M40 then A40 to Carmarthen, then A484, A487 to Penbryn. There's a WC in the car park

Terrain and accessibility

The walk along the tarmac road is ¼ mile. There is a steep climb down to the beach and back up to the car park.

The walk along the footpath in the woods is ½ mile with several steep steps and moderately rough terrain. The beach is over a mile long depending on the tide. Tarmac road from car park to beach – step gradient – cars may use the road to drop passengers off at the turning circle near the beach.

© Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey. All rights reserved.

• Visit the National Trust website: nationaltrust.org.uk/walks