Blog Post
A Staycation In The Welsh Countryside
Clare Fisher • 1 August 2019
Hidden Valley Yurts & Lake House, Monmouthshire
So our job is literally to scour the globe looking for the most unique, quirky and luxurious accommodations and experiences, but we've been neglecting our home country, Wales. It is consistently ranked in the top ten most beautiful countries in the world, often making it into the top 5! Earlier this year, on deciding to make the UK our home base for the time being, we already committed to exploring it more while we are home, but so many people ask us, "where should we stay when we come to Wales?' and we never have an answer! With this in mind, we went out of our way to start searching for the countries coolest places and this is our first find!
Do you ever fantasize about picking up your dream luxury house and setting in down in nature with no one else around, nothing but the sounds of birds, fresh trickling water from the stream and the trees blowing in the wind? Well you will be happy to know that this is exactly what you get with The Lake House. The house is set on 80 acres of private meadow and woodland, next to a natural stream and it's own private lake.
Arrival
A few days before leaving for the Lake House, we received confirmation through the post. This also contained all the information we would need during our stay. Contact information, arrival and departure, directions, activities, the local area and much more. We had a few days to mull over everything and felt fully prepared leaving for this trip, you cant put a price on that!
The Lake House is self catering, with a fully equipped kitchen and I mean, if you want to cook a family Sunday roast, you won't want for any kitchen materials to do that. If you want to see a full list of everything in the house, click here.
You can either stop at a supermarket before you leave, arrange for a supermarket delivery straight to the house, or you can stop in one of the supermarkets in the area. Even though the nearest supermarket is roughly eight miles from the house, there are some local shops for necessities and of course there are a number of pubs serving great food in the local area. For a full list click here. Don't forget that you can also hire a private chef to come to the house, cook for you and even clean up afterwards! Whether you're a couple looking for a romantic meal or a family looking for an outdoor bbq, it can be arranged. Click here to read more about this. If you're looking for take out food, there is a Chinese in Chepstow that will deliver!
Modern sat navs or the maps on your phone, will get you where you need to be and then it's very well signposted. The phone signal in this area, as with any area in Wales this secluded, can be sketchy, so make sure to get the route up on your phone before you leave. You will have already given Mike the owner, a rough estimate of your arrival time and within minutes of pulling into the yurt car park, he will arrive in a super cool buggy, to take you and your bags to the house in style! It's only a short walk to the house but down a sloped gravel road, this will ensure your comfort if you don't fancy the trek!
Inside House & Grounds
Mike will help you with your bags if you need it, and show you around the house and all the appliances. If you stay through the summer months, you will likely be outside as much as possible enjoying the balcony, patio furniture and BBQ and if you're visiting through winter, you will enjoy cosying up with their blankets and log burning fire!
The Lake House has two bedrooms. In both rooms the large beds can be separated to make twin sleeping arrangements if needed, perfect for a family retreat or couples/group getaway. When we arrived, the rooms were set up perfectly for our family. If your family is a little bigger than four, The Lake House has a sofa bed so have a chat with the owner to see if they can accommodate you. The whole house is on one floor, which is perfect as you are never too far away from anything, including the children! The house is immaculate, so we really had that new and luxury feeling during our stay and there are no shoes to be worn inside, so it's clean when you arrive and stays that way through your stay.
The house decor, is the kind that really inspires you to make over your own home, or in our case, buy one! No expense has been spared, the finish is superb quality, there is only the best of everything with little touches that really made a difference! Like the coffee machine with fresh coffee beans to wake up to every morning, a smart TV with Netflix access, so Ian and I could continue with the series we were watching late at night haha, and a cupboard full of new and varied toys for children! It was like Christmas, Kallan and Maddie were so excited! Of course, looking at the grounds map below, you probably wont be able to get the kids inside.
Even though The Lake House is located on the same land as the Yurt Campsite, there is enough distance between them that you won't be able to see or hear anything. The area around the Lake House is private with a separate entrance. The owners ask that other guests don't wander here, so that you have privacy. Other than this, you and the yurt guests are free to wander and enjoy this incredible natural area and everything it has to offer! The owner's have limited the amount of yurts and capacity of guests overall, so that whether you're staying in the yurts or the Lake House, you will almost never bump into another person while exploring or enjoying a quiet walk!
If you fancy some company on your walks, the owners have hung a lead for their dog, Tilly, on the hook outside the front door of the Lake House! She is not allowed inside the house, so if you're asthmatic like Ian, you don't have to worry about triggers inside but you still get to enjoy her company! This was the biggest highlight for Kallan and Maddie. We all absolutely fell in love with her, she is so gentle and has such a beautiful temperament. You are likely to encounter other animals while you're out and about, like sheep and even highland cattle!
TIPS
- The lake house is open all year round, so depending on which time of year you go, make sure you wear and pack the right clothing. The lake house recommends wellies or appropriate shoes all year round, even in summer as we get rain all year round, but it's been dry lately, so we were fine in sandals.
- Keep an eye on the forecast for weather and temperatures, as it's only the way to know what you're going to get with the unpredictable British weather! The owners support you in the case of any severe weather conditions, by either rearranging or refunding you.
- If it's hot, you might want to take some sun cream, bug spray and/or long clothing. We don't have mosquito's but horseflies can be a pain. Through winter and spring, you're looking at cold or freezing and maybe even snowy conditions. Wintery walks will be beautiful, but you will need shoes with grips, warm clothing and thick coats!
- The floors inside are real wood, to avoid the chance of splinters, it is advisable to bring slippers or something similar, especially for children
Activities
You have plenty to keep you entertained while you're staying at the Lakehouse, especially if you have children. They will love finding the tree swing and the large open spaces. Don't forget to stargaze with them, if they've managed to stay awake! There is no light pollution due to the secluded area, so it's the perfect place to admire the natural twinkling lights above!
There are plenty of optional extras that can be arranged for you to enjoy on site to! Whether you're looking to enjoy a hot tub or you want to relax with a massage, it can be arranged. Just get in touch with the owner to see what's available or click here, to read more about some of the extra on site activities.
If you want to see what the local area has to offer, check out the Lake House 'Out And About' page. When you see all the fun activities, you will probably want to extended your stay! You can do everything from hiring bikes, to tours, to kayaking down the beautiful Wye River and much more! We stayed for just the weekend but we wish we had arranged a week. We managed to squeeze in a few hours at the treetop adventure at GoApe, but they have so much on site, we could have easily the spent the full day! We highly recommend this experience, it was so much fun for the whole family! Check out their website, if you want to see more! We also managed to visit Tintern Abbey, which is breathtakingly beautiful. We thought we would be in and out of here but again, we wish we had packed a picnic and spent the day.
You won't be stuck for things to do but you will probably find it tough deciding what to do with so much choice! Not a bad dilemma to have!
The Yurt Glamping Experience
We were lucky enough to get a tour of the grounds and the yurts during our stay, and we were blown away! We never thought we would find a place in Wales, or the UK, with such a bohemian feel. For a second, we actually felt like we were back in Bali and as the yurts are seasonal, only opening in the Summer, you're likely to have good temperatures and weather to match!
We managed to get some photos but you really have to see this place to fully appreciate how cool it is! We can't wait to pick our fresh eggs from the chicken coop every morning, pick the fresh herbs growing, cook our own pizzas in the traditional pizza oven and huddle around the fire in these traditional Mongolian yurts!
To learn more about the Yurts and Glamping experience, check out the website by clicking here.
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