Hot tub, gardens and grounds
Even without the Black Mountains, there are plenty of attractions outdoors here. You’ll want to bring your rackets and balls for the tennis court, and you’ll need your swimming cossie for the six-person, wood-fired hot tub.
Beyond that, there’s plenty of exploring to be done in the three acres of landscaped gardens punctuated by wide-open spaces, intimate hideaways, meadows, woodlands, streams and a waterfall. Stay out all night to burn your bangers on the festoon-lit coal barbecue and watch the Milky Way do its luminous stuff.
Living spaces
Restored with love, care, and a dose of flair over 30 years, Black Mountain Farmhouse presents a big, beautiful home-from-home for large families and groups and even dogs. Chillax among original artwork, antique furniture, Countryfile floors and sofas you’ll sink into as you stream Netflix and Amazon Prime on the EE 4G Wi-Fi and the 66” TV.
But life here isn’t just super-comfortable: it’s fun, too. There’s a world of adventure out there among Wales’ big hills and valleys, but there’s no need to leave the house to get your fill of entertainment. Play table football and pool in the games room, or ride the diddy cars in the indoor play area.
So, party away – or escape for me-time with a book or Bluetooth music in the conservatory with its own fruiting grapevine. Or feed more logs onto the woodburner and nourish your soul on the piano. For families, friends, hens, stags, big groups, children, dogs and multigenerational malarkey, this is a big, beautiful pot of Welsh gold.
Cooking and dining
Cook like a country-house chef on the Aga with additional oven. Or simply book an actual country-house chef and put your feet up with a Prosecco. Keep the two big fridge/freezers full with meaty treats from the owners farm and the wine fridge with fizz from Chester’s in Abergavenny.
Mealtimes are huge, sprawling, sociable affairs here, with room for 18 around the grand dining-room table. Break the bread, pass the wine, make every meal a multigenerational chance for a huge catch-up. Or get outside in the big wild yonder to enjoy al-fresco dining with seating for 22 around the coal barbecue.
Takeaways? Enjoy a chippy supper from The Old Stables fish shop or book an in-house charcuterie, breakfast or BBQ boxes using grass-fed and free-range animals, raised on the regenerative farm nearby. Or pub it with stroganoff or tuna steak at The Temple Bar in Ewyas Harold or linguine or Monmouthshire pork loin at The Kilpeck Inn.
Head out to restaurants such as The Walnut Tree for fresh fish and shellfish, to The Black Bear for Otter Valley duck or hake, or to The Bull’s Head in Craswall, a typical drover’s inn with a roaring fire and a fine line in white pork belly and rib steak with beef-dripping chips.
Bedrooms
Black Mountain Farmhouse sleeps up to 22 in crisp white linen with luxurious throws, with dedicated bathrooms or en-suites ensuring hot showers with a powerful hotel-grade hot-water system.
In the older part of the house, the first floor offers two kingsize bedrooms with emperor beds and en-suite shower rooms (The Sugarloaf and Ysgryd Fawr), a twin room with two singles and en-suite bathroom (Ysgryd Fach), and a bunkbed room with an adjacent shower room (The Deri).
On the second floor, you’ll find two doubles with king beds and en-suite shower rooms (Bal Bach and Bal Mawr), while the newer part of the house features a double room with en-suite (Black Hill), and a twin room with two singles and a double that share an en-suite shower room (The Wye Suite).
Bag the Usk Lodge for a self-contained, open-plan hideaway with kingsize bed on the ground floor and two quirky, single sleeping cabins on a ladder-accessed mezzanine. It comes with its own shower-room and kitchenette.
Children welcome
The excitement begins on the journey. Maybe you’ll come over the Black Mountain Pass, topping out at 1617 feet above sea level and offering sudden hairpins and towering views of the Brecon Beacons. This area is seriously wild and the remote excitement just continues when you arrive.
There’s no need for kids to leave site to find a new activity every day. Surrounded by wide-open spaces and intimate hideaways, Black Mountain Farmhouse offers plenty of exploring to do among the three acres of on-site greenery. It’s a real multigenerational family escape for the whole family, yet it’s as connected as a city pad.
With EE 4G Wi-Fi on hand, you’ll stream Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on the 66” TV and post your pics to Instagram. Claim bragging rights with your troublesome topspin on the tennis court, shoot some hoops at the basketball net, play pool and table football in the games room, or ride the diddy cars in the play area.
Outside, light the chiminea in the evenings and eat your barbecue supper under the stars in the covered seating area lit by festoon lights. Older kids can jump into the wood-fired hot tub and pick out the Milky Way in the inky blackness. Or just chill with a book in the conservatory with its fruiting grapevine.
What people say
Bikes, pits and zips
A cheeky tipple at the Penderyn Distillery calls. Or golf at Raglan, walks up Sugarloaf, fishing in the Usk Valley or a little home pampering with Hannah Campbell. Kids can hire bikes from Drover Cycles and tackle Wales’ highest tarmac road, go underground at the Big Pit Museum or go wild for the swings and zips at Raglan Farm Park.
