Stone Cottage in Stunning Valley

Located in the stunning and remote 'Artists Valley' (with Beavers!) this charming Self Contained House is in a 75 acre conservation and permaculture site. With unparalleled views, an ideal base for walking, enjoying nature and rural family retreats. The space Hi folks :0) We hope this finds you all well and happy x An hours walk to the nearest road, this place is for honest folk who are looking for a simple rural retreat. The Cottage is not glamorous - a simple cowshed conversion done in the 80's - and updated as much as we can manage right now, but warm, cosy and equipped with everything you should need! Ideal as well for riding groups who can stay overnight and keep horses in the field. From beach to us it is a gorgeous days ride! 'Lavender Cottage' is a modern conversion of the original outbuildings, so is stone on the outside but nicely decorated, more modern and well insulated inside. Although simply furnished, (we are running a conservation project that is subsidised by the Cottages - so we are mostly skint!) it has new glazing and carpets and is easy to heat. It is a fully self-contained Cottage with an open plan kitchen/diner and lounge and has a small bathroom downstairs and has 2 large double bedrooms above. The Cottage adjoins the main buildings on one side and faces South looking out onto the bird enclosure and Valley beyond. Anyone who may have problems with a cockerel 'going off' in the morning - consider yourself warned ;) The kitchen is bright, clean and homely with an electric cooker, new fridge, a washing machine and a separate older freezer under the stairs. You also have a microwave, toaster, tea towels and kettle etc... Clothes will dry well on the radiators, but if you need to use a tumble-dryer for soggy emergencies, please ask me at the main house :) We have stocked the kitchen with all the cooking utensils and crockery that you should need (please let us know if anything is missing:) and we are building up a 'rolling stock' of core cooking condiments, oil, tea and spices so that guests should only need to bring their main ingredients with them and should be all set! The little bathroom has a new shower (not a 'power shower' as we are half way up a mountain and our water is gravity fed from spring!) but no bath tub :( - hopefully, that will not bother too many people x Towels and toilet tissue are supplied. The circular dining table will seat 4 people if you choose to eat indoors.... otherwise, why not try a BBQ over the fire pit next to the stream or sit on the patio?! The open plan lounge has a 3 seater sofa and two comfy armchairs - ideal for a family or group of friends to relax at the end of a days exploring! There is a TV (connected to a 'Freesat' box) which receives the main 'Freeview' channels and a DVD player. An eclectic selection of DVDs is in the Cottage (for adults and children)... or bring some from home? x Upstairs, there is one VERY large double room (facing South) with a Kingsize bed and a smaller child's bed. The mattress is brand new and very comfy! The second double room has a gorgeous old-fashioned but smaller double bed and one single bed. The sleeping arrangements would be suitable for two couples, a group of friends or a family with children, and are pretty flexible too if things need moving around a bit. For young families -please let us know if need to borrow our travel cot :) Please note that the £7 per night surcharge for extra guests also applies however small the people are, so BABIES AND TODDLERS ARE COUNTED AS AN EXTRA GUEST. Over the past few years we have found that families with young children tend to use more heating and hot water, need travel cots and often more cleaning x We love hosting children so have remarkable facilities for young families - toys, instruments and games, super gentle and friendly animals, a fire pit for toasting marshmallows, kayaks and food that can be foraged on site! ... to make all this possible and enable inspiring and memorable family holidays, all we ask is a small surcharge of £7 per night per person to cover costs. PLEASE ENTER 'INFANTS' as 'CHILREN OVER 2' in the booking process to make sure it all goes through correctly (I am in an ongoing discussion with Airbnb about all this) It is uncomfortable for us and for you if I to have to ask guests for a surcharge for their little one after a booking request is made :0( Lets all continue making this place special for folk of all ages! The central heating works very well and runs on LPG (Liquid Gas) in cannisters - you can switch the heating on and off as you prefer. Although there is little Wifi in Lavender Cottage right now, there is however, a good signal in the new Breakfast Room and WiFi all around site. Our connection here at the end of the Valley can on occasion, be temperamental - so just in case, best not to rely on it for life and death situations... but it is normally more than adequate to check emails, download films and make internet video calls. In addition to exploring the whole Permaculture and Conservation site, you would also be able to make the most of our new 'Breakfast Room' - a 10 metre Conservatory with glass on 3 sides, tables and chairs to sit at and comfy sofas at the other end. This gorgeous space is for use by everyone at Blaeneinion and is perfect to relax in or check emails on wetter days - please see the photos :) There are lots of plants, a piano, a stereo system, some childrens toys (wooden Brio train set has been very popular!) jigsaws and a growing and eclectic mixture of books to enjoy. It is a great spot to enjoy looking out at the stars in the evening or enjoying a glass of wine after a long days walking and exploring :) The breakfast room gets super-hot on Summer days and comfortably warmed too by even the merest sunshine even in Winter.... the stone wall internally retains heat like a big storage heater well into the evenings. We encourage folk to minimise car use - and are very happy to provide a taxi service to and from the station at Machynlleth within reasonable hours for £14 each way if you need it. Please get in touch PRIOR TO BOOKING if this is of interest. As a taxi would normally cost twice as much, and offerring this service takes at least an hour of my time (without compensation), please ensure that your train journey arrival time is mutually agreed and that if you need to do a shopping trip, that time is factored in too so that we are all home by 7pm at the latest. 7pm is when our check-in finishes (to preserve my sanity!) Otherwise, there are some reliable taxi firms in Machynlleth who would be happy to help for a much larger fee. Also an apology that we cannot accept pets on site - we love animals and have lost both poultry and wild birds and animals from dog attacks. Even the most well-behaved dogs leave a strong scent which deters the wild animals from coming near the house... and although we know it's not their fault, we just have to be strict on this issue. We hope you can understand. Guest access Blaeneinion is an idyllic setting - 75 acres at the head of Artists Valley in Mid West Wales. We have planted over 34,000 native saplings in the past 9 years. There is a young 2.5 acre Forest Garden with 100 fruit and nut cultivars and around 800 small soft fruit bushes. Summer 2016 we finished rabbit-proofing the whole garden and are now adding in more perennial edibles and 'bee plants' including Rhubarb and Globe Artichokes. Blaeneinion has a productive vegetable garden and has been supplying around 200 portions of organically produced veggies to a local box scheme and shop each week (Jun-Nov) for 4 years. There are usually some winter greens, spicy salads and root crops all year round. (Although a spinal Op this year - 2017, has meant production is less than normal... please bear with me x) The poly tunnel and geodesic dome supply us with most herbs, winter salads and oriental greens even in January!. If you would like some fresh produce, please ask for help to harvest, and make a donation - most things are around £2 per portion. We have geese, ducks and chickens, super-friendly cats that will try to move in with you if you let them, a stream for paddling and a fire pit for al-fresco cooking in the front garden, which we heartily encourage folk to use. There is usually (a little damp) wood scrap available for the fire free of charge - otherwise, you can buy a barrow from us or collect some in the woods ;) It is a lovely place to hang out with children (rope swing is awesome!) and just exploring the local area, mushroom foraging or looking for lichens, insects or bilberries, preparing meals together or fashioning ornate staffs from local wood can fill your day in a rewarding and simple way. From the Cottage, there are breathtaking walks into the Cambrian Mountains and through Plynlimon, and we are within 45 minutes drive of Cadair Idris and on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park for those who enjoy climbing or a scramble. Close to Ynyslas RSPB reserve and the Dyfi Osprey project, there is wildlife everywhere - there are Buzzards, Kites and Owls on site! In the summer, we have several pairs of nesting swallows and redstarts. Mammals here include polecats, stoats, foxes, badgers (a naughty mink) and even naughtier rabbits everywhere (who eat our saplings), and of course there are opportunities to watch our pair of Eurasian Beavers at dusk and dawn in their 2.5 acre enclosure every day. If you prefer the sea, we are 15 minutes drive from Borth and Ynylas beaches (great surfing!) or you can enjoy nestling into the sheltered sand dunes for picnics and BBQs. In the warmer months, there are opportunities to collect Samphire from the esturine mud. There are boat trips out of Aberystwyth and Barmouth from which you can see dolphins in Cardigan Bay. The historic market town of Machynlleth is 20 minutes drive from the house, and has some fantastic old buildings, bookshops, antique shops and a lively local street market every Wednesday. The world famous Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is just outside Machynlleth, and is a 25 minute drive from the Cottage. For those who get withdrawals and need a 'civilisation' fix, the University town of Aberystwyth is 30 mins drive away, with cinemas, restaurants, the National Library of Wales and the famous Arts Centre. Aberystwyth is a charming seaside town with donkeys and a cafe on the beach in summer, and all the banks/supermarkets etc... that anyone may need access to. There are a few delightful steam railways still operating locally - well worth a trip to Devils Bridge, beautiful Dolgellau, 'Blue Lake' and to watch the sunset from Cae Du campsite! So whether you are after a quiet retreat walking, reading or cycling - or if you would just like an affordable 'base' from which to explore the local area, there is a wealth of options!. Other things to note If you do decide to bring your car, please go easy up and down the track - there are lovely old ladies, small children and dogs walking.... From the main road (A487) in Furnace take the 'Artists Valley' turning into a single land tarmac road and drive for 3 miles until the very end. (You will see our wooden sign a mile before you reach Blaeneinion) There are frequent 'passing places' along the track should you meet someone coming the other way, and most folk are happy to reverse :) If you are using GPS to get here, we have the coordinates, but they will not display on the site - so please ring or email us and we can send them to you. Most Sat Navs will only direct you to a neighbouring property a mile down the road...... so keep going :) The picturesque 3 mile single lane track to Blaeneinion is council-maintained tarmac and sound - but not for the faint hearted! If you are an especially nervous driver.... maybe it is not for you?! In the past 5 years of hosting, we have had a handful of guests who found it very challenging to drive along a road so remote with Valley drops to one side.... so please do not decide to come and then leave negative feedback about 'location' because of the track - it is one of things we especially love and we hope you will too! Check-in is strictly between 3pm and 7pm, after this time, there may not be anyone to show you around until the next morning. If you can only arrive later in the evening for whatever reason, please call us and make an arrangement - and we will try to accommodate your plans. In the Summer months, there are midges here for an hour or so at dusk (and they are really annoying!), so it may be a good idea to bring an insect repellent if you want to watch the beavers or sit out in the early evenings :) We have other listings on site and can accommodate extended family groups or retreats of up to 13 people if needed - depending upon availability.