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. 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.