About Fronlwyd Escapes
We are Vicky and Ads: a Welsh woman, an Englishman, parents to teenagers, hosts, gardeners, maintenance crew and, fairly often, the family taxi service. Fronlwyd is not simply where we run two holiday lets. It is where our family lives and the place around which much of our life now revolves.
How it began
We already knew one another before we both ended up travelling in New Zealand, but that was where we got together. While looking after a backpackers' lodge in Wānaka, we began talking about the sort of life we might build one day and the kind of place we would love to share with other people.
I was born in South Wales, while Ads is English. After New Zealand we returned to the UK and lived and worked in Bristol, but the idea of making a home in the Welsh countryside never quite went away.
Then we found Fronlwyd. It was beautiful, full of character and came with rather a lot to do. In other words, it felt like the place for us.
Fronlwyd today
Over time, Fronlwyd has become home to two very different stays. The Longhouse is made for families and friends who want to gather around one table, while Beneath the Stars is a private escape for two in its own wildflower orchard.
They share the same quiet valley, dark skies and slightly untamed landscape. We are close enough if guests need us, but we are not hovering around with a clipboard. The places are yours to enjoy.
A little wild around the edges
Fronlwyd is cared for, but it is not manicured into submission. Parts of the land are allowed to grow long, fallen wood becomes habitat and the seasons decide how much of the garden looks neat at any particular moment.
That approach means sharing the place with red kites, owls, woodpeckers, bats, foxes, hares and countless smaller visitors. On summer evenings the whole place seems to hum; at night, guests often hear the owls while sitting in the hot tub.
Ads puts a huge amount of work into the garden and grounds. Nature, naturally, retains the final say.
The people behind the place
There is no distant management company behind Fronlwyd. The messages, gardening, maintenance, ideas and inevitable emergency dashes for supplies all come back to the two of us.
Ads works full time as a project manager, handles much of the booking admin and then somehow finds time for the daily maintenance, garden and endless practical jobs that come with an old house and two places to stay. He is happiest at Fronlwyd, usually with a job underway and another three waiting.
Vicky was born in South Wales and founded Newtown Food Surplus, rescuing good food for local communities. She also has a habit of bringing home rescue animals, sometimes to Ads's dismay, especially when it involves containing Barry, a half-tonne pig. Our two dogs, Anita and Holly, are also part of life at Fronlwyd. Vicky is usually thinking about what would make a stay more memorable, researching the history of the house or planning where everyone ought to walk, eat or explore next.
Come and make yourself at home
Whether you are bringing everyone together in the Longhouse or disappearing Beneath the Stars for a few days, we want Fronlwyd to feel comfortable, private and easy to settle into. We hope you enjoy this valley every bit as much as we do.
View our stays