Merthyr Mawr
TUCKED between coast and countryside near Bridgend, Merthyr Mawr is a postcard-pretty estate village of honeyed stone and thatched cottages beside the River Ogmore, a tranquil base for exploring one of Wales’s most remarkable wild places.
Just beyond the garden walls lies Merthyr Mawr Warren National Nature Reserve, 840 acres of rolling dunes and scrub, crowned by the ‘Big Dipper’ — the highest sand dune in Wales, rising to around 61 metres.
Often described as the second-tallest sand dune in Europe, the Big Dipper anchors a landscape alive with seasonal orchids, dune pansies and butterflies, and miles of soft-sand walking that feels surprisingly desert-like for south Wales.
History is woven into the sand here. On the fringe of the reserve, ivy-draped Candleston Castle — a ruined 14th-Century fortified manor — hints at centuries of life on this shifting edge of land and sea, while the Wales Coast Path threads close by on its way towards Ogmore and Porthcawl.
Candleston Woods is a campsite and event space for exclusive hire set within a 100-acre wood by the sea. Brimming with wildlife and steeped in history, the woods offer the perfect setting for a wide range of events, such as Street Food Circus’s popular Forest Feastival.
The dunes’ cinematic sweep has even doubled for Arabia: sequences of David Lean’s classic Lawrence of Arabia were filmed among these ridges, a testament to their otherworldly scale and light.
Back in the village, St Teilo’s 19th-Century parish church stands on a medieval site, and quiet lanes lead past immaculate gardens where time seems to slow to the pace of birdsong and breeze.
Whether you come for a barefoot climb up the Big Dipper, a family wander to the ruins, or simply to soak up the serenity of a place often missed by tour buses, Merthyr Mawr delivers a rare blend of natural drama and gentle, lived-in charm — a little pocket of Wales that feels both wild and warmly welcoming.