Adventure Playground

Our exciting natural children’s playground is one of our most popular adventures for our youger guests. They particularly love the balance bars, tunnel and bridge. It has been rigorously tested by our in-house design team (aka Bastie and Archie) and has been deemed ‘brilliant’. Nestled in the glampsite itself, this is the perfect way for children to while away some happy hours while you enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee.

Arty Crafty Printing

Create your own unique magical memory of your stay at Penhein.  Design and create a momento from the inspirational setting of the farm, woodland and amazing views.  A view of the river on a tea towel?  One of the buzzards on a notebook? Or a postcard of your tent and campfire?  Under the expert tutelage of Rachel Cadman, an inspirational local artist and tutor, whether you’re a complete beginner or experienced in printmaking, you’ll come away from this session with newfound skills and a special souvenir of Penhein.

Botanical Gin Foraging

In the most delightful and civilised foraging experience imaginable, our forager Adele Nozedar will take you into the heavenly wilds of Penhein for a short forage to find ingredients which might go nicely into a gin. You will then return to base where you’ll find out a great deal of weird and wonderful info about this elegant drink, whilst enjoying a free cocktail (or maybe two). Adele will show you how to make your own unique blend of botanicals gin (or vodka) using foliage, petals, berries and bark from Penhein, supplemented by her own considerable collection of herbs and spices from all over the world. Finally, blend all your ingredients into a 300 ml jar to take home!

Botanical Perfumes Workshop

Join forager Adele Nozedar in a fascinating exploration of the sense of smell, culminating in you making your own unique signature perfume (or aftershave, or beard oil!).
Plant-lover Adele, who also runs the Botanical Gin and Forest and Feast workshops here, is passionate about getting people out into nature to experience the sensual delights of the outdoors. Having realised that our best-loved commercial perfumes use plant fragrances as a key ingredient, she invented the ‘sensory forage’, designed to make you really start to use your sense of smell.
Enjoy a tour around the grounds of Penhein, followed by a lesson in how to make perfume – and then enjoy playing with over 30 different oils to make your own!
Each participant will take home a 10ml bottle of his or her own fragrance, including the recipe for how to make it again.

Build a Den

Find the stacks of wood and coils of rope within the glampsite which are all you need to start building your Penhein den.

Bushcraft for Adults

Ever wanted to go wild and learn to live off the land? Fed up with hearing about Bear Grylls?  Then our bushcraft course is for you! Our ex-military instructors will help you make shelters, build fires (without matches!), forage and prep your wild food on our land.  Just remember that the sheep aren’t on the menu!

For those who are extra adventurous, why not test your mettle in our Bush Tucker trials?  Anyone want to be crowned king or queen of the woodland?  £10 per person, additional 30 mins to your bushcraft adventure.

Bushcraft for Juniors

Our Junior Bushcraft course is specially aimed at the children – a fun way to learn survival skills and give mums and dads a few hours off! They will learn about – and have a go at –  building different shelters and lighting fires without matches (multiple different ways) in the woods on our farm. A great way to experience what nature has to offer.

For those who are extra adventurous, have a go at our Bush Tucker trials?  Want to be crowned prince or princess of the woodland?  £7.50 per child, additional 30 mins to their bushcraft adventure.

Given the age range we aim to work with two separate groups based on age where possible. If there are less than two children interested we will check with other guests to see if anyone else would like to join in.

Campfire Cookery for Children

Brought to Penhein by the wonderful Flying Pig cookery school led by Natasha, this is a fun, hands-on cookery class for children who want to learn more about outdoor cookery and other cooking skills. The session will include the preparing and making of 2-3 delicious goodies, such as Chapatti, Welsh Cawl or other seasonal vegetable soup, and Welsh cakes, to enjoy around the campfire (and take away if there are any leftovers!).
All of the ingredients needed to make the dishes (including some that may be foraged from Penhein) are included, as is a recipe card to take home.
Classes last 2 ½ hours and are aimed at children aged 6+, but younger children can attend if accompanied by an adult.
Please notify us of any dietary requirements when booking.

Clay Pigeon Shooting

Clay pigeon shooting is a wonderful way to have a great time at Penhein. Starting with a safety talk, you will then have tuition with practise clays. The group will then either be divided into teams or (if a smaller group) individuals for an exciting competition to see who can shoot the most clays. The shooting is run by Nigel and Stuart Hart of Hart Events. Their team are experienced clay shooters and are members of the Welsh Clay Target Shooting Association so you are in safe hands!
*If less than 4 in your party are interested, contact us and we will see if other guests are interested in joining in.

Discover the Lime Kilns

See if you can find the 18th Century lime kilns on the farm.

Explore our Nature Trails with NEW Bluebell Walk for 2019

We’ve got 450 acres for you to explore from the top of Gray Hill to the Castroggi Stream 300 feet below with woodlands and meadows galore in between.  New for 2019, a trail featuring the very best of the garlic and bluebells which will be at their best in April and May.  Please leave the gates as you find them, open if open, closed if closed.

Exploring with the Young Explorers Activity Pack

Let the children go off exploring around the site, with this great Young Explorers Activity pack to help with the fun.  Filled with lots of things to do, see and collect there’s plenty to keep them occupied and interested. The pack includes a Scavenger hunt, Word search, Dot-to-dot, an Eye Spy chart and a Woodland Letter Search (spot the letters dotted around the glampsite and make the word). It is all based on nature, and it comes in a practical plastic folder with a set of crayons that they can use as their creative juices start to flow!

Forage and Feast Day

Set off to explore the wild wonders of Penhein, looking at the woods, meadows, watersides and more. Immerse yourself in nature by making friends with the plants that many of us see on an everyday basis but don’t really think about. Find out the tales these plants have to tell! Take a break by a babbling brook and enjoy a cup of wild tea and maybe a slice of even wilder cake….
Back at base, your wild harvest will be used in your lunch or supper, cooked over a fire using additional ingredients, and washed down with wild cordials pre-prepared by well known forager, author and educator Adele Nozedar. Children always welcome.

Forest Bathing

Forest Bathing – or, to give it its ‘proper’ name, Shinrun yoku – is a Japanese practice of some antiquity, although it has only recently been given a name in response to humanity’s increasing feeling of separation from the natural world.  Put simply, Forest Bathing is a mindful activity in which the beauty, tranquility and energising properties of wooded areas is acknowledged. Although we all know that being amongst trees makes you feel good, Forest Bathing also explains the science of the practise, explaining in clear terms exactly what it it about trees that makes us feel so peaceful and alert at the same time. Think of it as a cool drink of water for the soul as you realise that humans are a part of nature too..   Join author forager and all-round outdoorsy person Adele Nozedar in an exploration of the woods at Penhein; you’ll feel relaxed, energised and happy – and you really will be able to see the woods for the trees! This course is available from May.

Geocaching in Wentwood

If you enjoy Geocaching, Wentwood is a great place to go. Our farm adjoins Wentwood Forest (which is over 1,000 acres) so you won’t even need to get in the car.
Wentwood Forest comprises of some areas of ancient woodland (at least 400 years old) as well as some conifer plantations. It was once a hunting preserve of Chepstow Castle and stretched from the River Wye to the River Usk. It has a long recorded history and a number of heritage sites that give clues to the past uses of the forest, so while you’re looking for the caches there’s lots to see.

Healing Power of Nature at Penhein

Have you ever noticed how calm and peaceful you feel when you walk through woodland or sit quietly next to a lake or river? Humans have a deep bond with nature – something we neglect with our busy modern lives, yet science shows that nature has the power to prevent and even cure illness and promote wellness. Discover the fascinating hidden world of nature and tap into the extraordinary healing power of the natural environment. Join biologist and writer Dr Ruth Searle for a mix of talks and practical sessions in the beautiful Penhein countryside.  This fun, family friendly course will help you discover your deeply-rooted connection to nature and show you how to tap into its extraordinary healing power. This course is available from June onwards.

Paddle in Castrogi Stream

Head down to the stream at the bottom of the valley for paddling, poo sticks and dam building.

Penhein Treasure Hunt

We have two versions of this, both best suited for groups, one suitable for groups with children and the other just for adults.
Both are a classic blend of general knowledge clues and creative tasks and are designed to get you thinking out of the box and off the wall…the keyword here is fun! This is a true test of teamwork, creativity and problem solving skills, making it one of our most entertaining events for adventurous and determined teams. The adventure begins the moment the teams open their sealed envelopes and fire up their team’s collective brain power!
This is for a maximum of four teams, each team with a maximum of six team mates, and you get to explore the best of the Penhein estate.
We’ll start you off and be there at the end to judge who is the best team and present the prize!
*Don’t worry if you are just one team, you can have just as much fun working all the clues out amongst yourselves.

Play or picnic in our wildflower meadow

Just below our woodland glampsite is the 8 acre wildflower hay meadow that you can play around in, enjoy a picnic or simply lie back, watch and listen as nature goes by.

Walk up Grey Hill

Grey Hill adjoins our farm and is a lovely walk, finishing up with magnificent panoramic views across South Wales from the summit.

Willow Weaving

Amanda Rayner is an experienced willow weaver, she has been creating natural products for homes and gardens for over 20 years.  Her passion to share the skill of this ancient craft has resulted in her creating a series of excellent workshops which she runs all over the UK and are extremely popular.  We are fortunate that she is based very close to us and are delighted that she has agreed to offer her courses here at Penhein.  Amanda has selected six different willow weaving classes to run at Penhein, so choose the one that most appeals your group. If you are interested, let us know and we will check Amanda’s availability for you.

Weaving Workshop Options – all half a day except Frame Basket Weaving

• Willow dragonflies and butterflies
• Bird feeders and birds nests
• Willow hearts
• Willow stars
• Wooden  base mini basket
• Frame basket weaving – all day

*The minimum age is 10, but we do suggest that at this age they are joined by a parent/adult to help.

Wine Tasting at Penhein

We are delighted to welcome Tom Innes of Fingal-Rock Wine Merchants to our team of advisors at Penhein. Tom has personally selected our wines for 2019 and he has agreed to run wine tasting courses as well, so we are really excited. Tom is as well known in Monmouth as in London where he provides his regular clientele with a handpicked selection of first class wines. Tom’s wine tastings are all about discovering new wines to tickle your taste buds. You will be trying between 6 – 8 different wines during the session, and he can put together a bespoke choice for you on request (e.g. all Red, all Sparkling, all French etc). Full of interesting information, there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and to buy some of the wine you are trying.