Travel / baby
Cottage in the Golden Valley
‘We must get out to the wilds of the country,’ she said. I said
The baby was but a few weeks old and the countryside beckoned. It was the freedom I sought; the sort that would allow baby cheeks to shout out to the world with her deceptively small but powerful little self. Plus, while pregnant and imagining my autumn baby, I had a vision of cosiness in a little cottage bolt hole. Blankets, an open fire, wild ponies at the bottom of the garden, deep green hills in the distance and the colour of autumn framing every picture. Just the tonic to being slam dunked into parenting. We wanted family time, so we went in search for it and found it by way of a beautiful little stone cottage in the ‘secretive’ Golden Valley, near Hay on Wye.
We found The Two Acres cottage, the most glorious little place, online. The sun was just setting as we rolled up and met the owners, the Engels – Matthew is a writer and journalist, Hilary transformed the cottage – living in an idyllic house next door. The view of the Black Mountains thickly set in the landscape felt very solid and grounding. The leaves were just turning to colours of vibrant orange and red, the apples were being squashed into juices, purees, ciders and pies, and the air was liberating as it rushed through me, as if in a hurry to say ‘hi, how ya doin’? So friendly it is, in the country.
Our cottage was semi-detached, and beside us a couple in a Porsche stayed in the glass fronted, more contemporary side to the building. Outside we had a little private garden with iron chairs and a table and just beyond the garden, lay an orchard, little stream and ponies. Then of course, those deep, dark, brooding mountains. Inside we had an open fire, which we used everyday, little functional kitchen and winding stairs to a classical, wooden beamed cottage bedroom. The view from the large bath held the breathtaking views of our country setting. Suffice to say, we spent lots of time bathing, lying and reading in our bed and basking in the joy of being parents to a gorgeous little popsicle.
is needed now More than ever
When we did venture out, we walked along and down tree lined and rabbit hole lanes, went to the local pub and travelled to Hay-on-Wye; the famous town of bookshops, antique shops, markets and delicious restaurants – loved Richard Booth’s Aladdin’s cave bookshop/restaurant. The winter festival was on – it was last November – so the town was festooned with creative winter decor. We found splendid knitted items for the baby in one of the shops, as well as a contemporary ceramic origami shaped bird for the mantlepiece.
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