Though the idea of staying in an old boat in a Welsh field seems mad, our writer is captivated
It's a wild and windy night when we bump down the final section of the track to Morfa Isaf and fall from the car in an exhausted heap. We've driven through rain, wind, and fog over mountains to the very edge of Wales and have finally reached our destination: a field.
What's more, it's a dark, unlit field. Luckily, Mandy, the co-owner, hears the car, dashes out to take us through a gate, up a set of slightly treacherous-looking steps and guides us aboard. Yes, aboard. Because the latest offering from Under the Thatch, the award-winning Welsh cottage company, is a boat. "Sonia" is a decommissioned fishing boat, moored in a field near Llangrannog beach, with what Mandy assures us will, in the morning, be a sea view.
The whole thing seems like the barmier end of glamping, but then Mandy opens the cabin door and our frazzled nerves are immediately soothed. It's so small but perfectly formed: the portholes have been polished up; the woodwork – walls and floors – painted a tasteful grey; red cushions made from a vintage Welsh blanket line the benches; and, best of all, there's a woodburner throwing out light and heat.
It's supremely cosy. And as someone with deep log cabin longings (one of my all-time favourite websites is cabinporn.com with its fantastical huts in fantastical places), I absolutely love it.
The bed is tucked away in the bow, vaguely triangular, with a low, beamed ceiling. It's not for claustrophobes nor, it has to be said, for those who can't cope without an en suite. I have a hairy moment in the night when I need the loo and have to negotiate hatch, deck and a wet ladder in the dark. And though I swear I do consider walking the 50 metres to the neatly appointed (private) kitchen and bathroom facilities Mandy has created in an old barn, I give up and widdle in the field instead.
In the morning there really is a view of the sea, just a hundred metres or so away. And although the weather is still very Welsh – wet, blowy, threatening rain – there's rare breed Golwg-y-Môr bacon, large yellow eggs and bara brith (Welsh fruit loaf) in a breakfast hamper from the farm shop at Llwynhelyg to set us up for our walk.
This stretch of Cardigan Bay is dramatic: we head into Llangrannog village, then up and over the vast cliffs beyond. It's a magnificent, head-clearing walk, with seals bobbing in the sea below, and petrels in the skies above all the way to Newquay, where we catch the bus to poshed-up Aberaeron for dinner at The Hive, a cute restaurant on the quayside.
The food is good, locally sourced and deftly prepared, but we want to get back to the boat and spark up the log burner. It's a ridiculous idea, of course, a boat in a field, but it's also a bloody brilliant one.
• The trip was provided by Under the Thatch (underthethatch.co.uk). Sonia the boat sleeps four (bench seats in the cabin can be made into beds for small children) and costs from £229 for a short break