Quiet Earth Eco Retreat St Dogmaels Pembrokeshire

Recently awarded 'Sustainable House of the Year' by AirBnB; Quiet Earth Eco Retreat is a natural haven. Grand Designs Eco home award winner 2008 is a two storey loadbearing straw bale house (first in the UK). A beautiful off grid home situated on a hilltop overlooking exquisite views of Cardigan estuary and offering a truly sustainable experience. Close to local beaches and the Pembrokeshire coastal footpath. We look forward to supporting your retreat and sharing the many gifts of this place. The space This straw bale eco retreat home was self built between 2003-05 and generated worldwide attention due to its unique nature. We are upgrading the home for this year's new bookings by adding some new comfortable mattresses along with a bit of painting and decorating. Please read the full description before booking! It is a beautiful and rustic , peaceful retreat centre, offering special time to relax in an untouched woodland upon a hill overlooking spectacular views of the Teifi estuary. There are various idyllic beaches within a couple of miles of here and many inspiring walks. We are two miles from the start of the Pembrokeshire coastal path. It is also an off grid home, powered by the sun and the wind and this is one of it's most important features, giving one the opportunity to experience living with the elements and being powered by them. Low energy appliances may be used with awareness such as occasional laptops etc. (no hairdryers/ straighteners or heating appliances). The Nature of this place does also invite the visitor to just enjoy being switched off for a while and to experience the gifts of the environment. Downstairs you will find a large open plan kitchen and living room with a wood stove which heats the whole house. We have a pantry and ceramic eco cooler which has served well for 25 years to keep groceries cool. There is a downstairs bathroom in a rounded stone turret with sunken bath and rain water harvested toilet. Water is solar heated and back boiler heated in the winter. The house offers a long conservatory to enjoy the stunning estuary views. Upstairs offers a beautiful and spacious open plan room which offers itself as a bedroom and studio for a couple or a space for family or occasionally a retreat space for a group of up to 8 with low futon style beds. We have also now opened up the large beautiful attic bedroom as an extra room with a double mattress and space for more. This is accessible by ladder. A third smaller bedroom has room for a single bed and opens to the studio bedroom. In the warmer months there occasionally is a self contained eco lodge too. The wood fired hot tub is at present not functioning . The woodland is terraced, with paths for visitors to explore . Care must be taken . We also encourage artists and writers in residence to spend time here working in a natural and supportive environment on a project. We can offer subsidy for this also at times. Please note; this is a natural straw bale/ clay built home and we hire a wonderful cleaner to scrub the place...we use no chemicals in the process.. it is perfectly clean in the best eco natural way possible. Yes, there can be spiders and insects around in the summer.. and a few natural cracks in the clay plaster . Please bear this in mind as a natural part of living close to Nature. Guest access Guests will have access to the house and land. There is no vehicle access to the house. Parking is in the village and then a 5-8 minute walk up through the woodland to our home. Space sharing is negotiable. We would have daily access to check the power meter once a day in the house. In the colder months we can offer a large basket of wood on arrival and then extra logs when required for £7 a basket. Other things to note This home supports sustainable living and invites visitors to also come and experience the fruits of living this way. We also run occasional retreats and courses here in sustainable/ conscious living and building. We are also happy to offer a tailor made retreat for a group including yoga,meditation, wild food forages, sacred geometry sand circle creating, silent walks and retreats too and more... Please express interest. Finally, whilst we endeavour to keep this place clean and hire great cleaners, this is a naturally made home in the middle of the woods and so please bear in mind when reviewing cleanliness that we do our very best to keep it to a woodland home quality.. and the spiders might weave their summer webs!