Birch Cottage - Eco Retreat

A beautifully restored stone cottage with private patio garden overlooking the stunning Wye Valley. This charming two-bedroom self-catering cottage has a master bedroom with kingsize bed, cosy living room with wood-burner, a light and spacious kitchen-dining area and a downstairs double bedroom. The cottage is 35 minutes walk from Tintern abbey and right on the famous Offa's Dyke footpath. It's the perfect place to find sanctuary from the modern world and to explore the surrounding beauty.

The space:

A 200 year old cottage which has been lovingly restored and modernised with an ecological approach - using natural, locally sourced and recycled materials.

The floors are underfloor heated and made from cob, using traditional and modern earthen flooring techniques to create a hard-wearing and beautiful floor that feels amazing to walk on. The stonework has been lovingly restored with traditional lime pointing and the roof with welsh slate. The kitchen is made from locally sourced ash slabs and recycled pallet wood, and combines rustic charm with all the modern appliances you would expect: fridges, freezer, dishwasher and washer-dryer.

Two fold-out futons in the living room mean that the cottage has a capacity to potentially sleep 8.

The heating system runs off renewable sources and is powered by two large solar thermal panels on the roof and a wood-burning stove with back boiler. Please note that in cold weather the wood-burning stove needs lighting everyday and needs frequent feeding with firewood (supplied free of charge) to keep the cottage from getting cold.

The cottage is furnished with traditional Balinese fabrics and pieces of furniture from Joe's travels, creating an exotic, soulful and earthy feel to the cottage.

I live on the land adjacent to the house in a yurt and I am available when needed for help or advice.

Other things to note:

Due to the unusual nature and construction of the cottage, it requires some care to ensure it stays in it's best condition and as such it is not suited for party groups or stag or hen parties.

The cottage is heated almost entirely by renewable sources. This means that the heating comes from the wood-burner boiler (which requires frequent feeding in cold weather). There is a woodstore in the patio garden and firewood is included in the price of your stay. Solar Panels on the roof provide hot water all year round and there is also a portable electric heater and back-up electric heating system for the water (so theres always hot-water coming out of the tap, even on cloudy days and when the wood-burner isn't on.)

The master bedroom sits just above the living room, and the staircase leading to it is situated in the living room (which can be seen in the second picture of the living room) and has a curtain that pulls across. Due to the nature of the thin wooden floor that separates the two rooms and the curtain across the staircase, sound-proofing between the rooms is quite poor. Please keep this in mind when planning sleeping arrangements (especially if one of your guests snores!).