Gwlad tidings: Four homes in the wilds of Wales
There’s a singular magic about the Welsh countryside. Perhaps it’s the tangible legacy of Celtic mythology, or the mist-wreathed mountains, or the dense hedgerows thick with wildflowers, or the golden beaches backed by precipitous dunes ... We could go on. Our four extraordinary offerings here celebrate the Welsh great outdoors in all its green glory
- Writer
- Sophie Sims
Pant Y Ffynnon, Llanfynydd, Carmarthenshire
Burrowed into an exceptionally unspoilt part of west Wales, this sunshine-yellow, late 18th-century cottage puts on a riotously cheery face. Its golden frontage is the result of an ochre-coloured limewash that enhances the tactile texture of the walls beneath. Reached via a quiet, winding country path, the approach will almost certainly never fail to win a smile.
Inside, the designer Hilton Marlton has chosen a more muted colour scheme for the well-proportioned rooms. His sublime renovation has left many original features intact, including the time-worn flags underfoot in the kitchen which bear witness to the house’s long life. By comparison, new life springs in the sprawling, 12-acre plot, which encompasses ancient woodland, sleepy meadows and herbaceous borders abuzz with local pollinators.
Bronllys Castle, Bronllys, Powys
On the northern periphery of the Brecon Beacons lies Bronllys Castle, a Grade II*-listed Georgian home set amid rambling grounds that roll down to the River Llynfi. Among the buildings dotted about the site is a Grade I-listed medieval motte-and-bailey castle under the guardianship of Cadw, Wales’s historic environment services.
It’s thought that Bronllys Castle occupies the pre-Norman court, or ‘llys’, of the princes of Brycheiniog. The surviving keep was built in the 13th century and is among the best-preserved examples of the round tower fortifications that were once scattered across England and Wales. While much is known about the ancestry of the house and its many outbuildings, there is much yet to be discovered and added to in its present iteration, which, with some updating required, offers much scope to carve out a castell of one’s own.
Gorllan, Eglwyswrw, Pembrokeshire
This cossetting abode takes us to Eglwyswrw, a dinky pocket of the Welsh coast that punches well above its weight with its substantial number of historic and listed buildings. Beyond is the ancient woodland at Pengelli Forest, while t the myths of King Arthur are palpable in and around the Preseli Mountains.
More than just a brilliant foothold to explore the expansive, largely unchanged landscape that ensconces the village, the house is a peaceful retreat in its own regard, with its warming wood-burning stove and original timber beams that date to the house’s construction in 1726 (a date written on the house’s exterior). Upstairs in the bedroom is a well-placed skylight set into the slope of the roof – an atmospheric addition to spot the blanket of stars studded into the big Pembrokeshire skies.
High Haven, Lambston, Pembrokeshire
Further south in Pembrokeshire is High Haven, a Grade II-listed church that has been gently converted into the home it is today over hundreds of years. First came the 12th-century church of St Ismael’s (named after the sixth-century Welsh saint, FYI); later 18th and 19th-century restorations, although restrained, included an Arts and Crafts roof, the beams of which still peak through today. Most recently, a reimagining by its architect owners, founders of the practice FreeState, has produced ethereal spaces dedicated to showcasing the contours of the building.
Positioned centre stage is an exquisite Romanesque oolite font beneath an early Gothic archway, now cleverly repurposed as a spot for flowers or candles. Reuse is a core tenet of the house, with an antique oak altar ingeniously used as a kitchen countertop in the spot where the original altar table would likely have been. In other aspects, the house has barely changed at all – the working 1807 chapel bell sits above the house and rings in the salty sea air.
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