Back to lockdown… we may be closed, but what have we been up to? Jan 2021

We hope you’re keeping well during these uncertain times. We’re missing welcoming you to our little spot in the Welsh hills. It’s been very strange indeed to have to close our business for most of this year and we understand it has been upsetting for those of you who’ve cancelled holidays. Thanks for your understanding and support, especially to those who have rescheduled dates.

What do you do when you’re put in lockdown and have to close your business? This is the first stretch of time that we haven’t had any guests here at Llwynbwch since we opened in 2012 & it has definitely been very strange! We thought we’d write a little update about what we’ve been up to behind the scenes this year…

During the first lockdown we spent some time repainting and refreshing in Llwynbwch Barn. We also set up the barn, the cabins & communal space so that guests can now check themselves in when they arrive and can access firewood without our help. We feel this has worked well, although we genuinely miss meeting and greeting everyone. We miss our little chats, finding out where you’ve driven from for your holiday, whether you’re celebrating something special and if you’ve ever been to this beautiful area before. We hope that the welcome info we’ve put together works & that you have enough info for ideas of places to visit, eat and explore. Please do let us know if you have any suggestions.

We also worked hard to extend the car parking area for the cabins, meaning the walk from your car to your cabin is now shorter. This, of course meant having fun with diggers!

In spring 2020 we were excited to be finalising our plans to apply for planning permission to extend Under Starry Skies, with the addition of a new off-grid building to house a communal space for the cabins – a cooking & chilling space and two shower rooms. This is something we’d been working towards for a long time and with the news of a new virus bringing social distancing with it, it suddenly seemed even more important. Sadly, our planning application took way longer than expected, meaning we didn’t receive our decision until December 2020. We’re happy to have finally started works, now that we have permission.

Late spring/ early summer brought the wildflowers, sunshine and a few guests while we were able to open, which was so lovely. We also had our yearly visit from Butterfly Conservation Wales, who confirmed multiple larval webs for the endangered Marsh Fritillary butterfly. We did indeed go on to see many Marsh Fritillaries and a larger amount of Orange-tips than we have in past years.

October half term was spent processing firewood – I’m sure our kids loved helping us! In November we welcomed the Exmoor ponies, who are settling well and helping us with our land management. Along with juggling homeschooling for our kids, we also continue with the general upkeep of the farm – keeping pathways clear, weeding and bramble bashing and all the other things that need care and attention. Adam’s other job is touring Sound engineer and production manager. He was out on tour in Europe in early March 2020 and returned swiftly as the pandemic shut down venues and shows. He spent much of the summer doing carpentry jobs locally & we’re very grateful that he’s now found new additional work with a local environmental water management company, whilst Lou has temporarily returned to teaching in a local primary. We may be closed, but we’re keeping busy and we’re really looking forward to being able to reopen sometime soon!