Hot tub, garden and grounds
There’s a wild and wonderful wilderness that flows across this remote valley, and you can call an acre of it your very own when you stay at Mountain Lodge. Previous guests have likened the setting to Narnia (snow not guaranteed) and the views simply ‘incredible’. Digest them over a garden barbecue.
Tickle your toes paddling in your own stretch of river, take the trails through the landscape, explore acres of woods. As if the Brecon Beacons setting weren’t enough, we’ve even laid on a spring-fed hot tub that seats eight. Gaze at the glittering skies by night or spark up the firepit for marshmallows and happy chit-chat.
Living spaces
The setting’s romantic and rustic, but this is no bothy. Superfast Starlink Wi-Fi whistles around the place at 200Mbps and you’ve got Netflix on tap. Or leave it off and experience a magical digital detox. The Inglenook fireplace looks like a stage as the flames dance theatrically from the logs. Choose your own reception room according to mood: super-sociable or ready to recharge.
Pick a book from the bulging bookcase. Play table football or darts in the games room. Dip into the DVDs. Party it up with the Bluetooth. Wherever you choose to hang out, Mountain Lodge offers spaces that are cosy-comfortable and built for entertaining. Get together at last and have a blast.
Cooking and dining
Cook on the two-oven electric Aga and built-in electric oven. Stock the two large fridge-freezers with goodies from the local supermarkets, Tesco deliveries, Small Farms Butchers, Castle Greengrocer and Flour and Time in Hay-on-Wye. Get your happy juice from Chester’s Wine Merchants.
One-off celebration or maybe you fancy a feet-up, no-holds-barred, no-hobs-touched, fully catered break? Call up our pro chefs from Pavenee, sit back and admire the views through the happy prism of Prosecco. Tuck into takeaways such as Red Indigo for superior Indian or fish and chips from Hay Takeaway.
Take the Black Hill circular walk and wind up in The Bulls Head in Craswall for braised shoulder of hogget or Cornish mackerel. Order your drinks from the hole-in-the-wall bar. Tuck into pork pies and crusty cobs at The Blue Boar, washed down with a Polly Donkin oatmeal stout. Or eat from the seasonal menu at Chapters.
Load up your plates with calamari and patatas bravas at Tomatitos Tapas in Hay-on-Wye. Fancy tasting a Michelin star? The beef, game and seafood menus at The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny look simple but come with plenty of technical trickery. Or dine out high on the hog at Estrella Damm top-20 gastropub The Hardwick.
Bedrooms
If you love nothing more than a good night’s sleep, there’s not much in the Brecon Beacons to get in the way. Maybe the call of a lonely lapwing or the croak of a red grouse. Mountain Lodge sleeps up to 16 in six bedrooms. All rooms have space for a cot.
Bedroom one sleeps four in a superking and two singles, while bedroom two offers a superking. Bedrooms three and four are doubles and en-suite bedroom five provides a double and a bunk bed. Bedroom six (The Granary) is a double that’s external to the main house.
Happy hens
If you’re after the kind of hen or stag party that’s more wildlife than nightlife, trek this way. More spring water than spritzer, Mountain Lodge is the perfect escape from the modern world and the ideal retreat from which to plan the big day ahead. And if you do fancy a mojito or three, Hay-on-Wye is just 25 minutes away by car.
On site, attractions abound. Step this way for the spring-fed hot tub for eight, the games room for table football and darts, and Netflix on tap. Feed the Insta monster over the 200Mbps Starlink Wi-Fi. Or turn it off for a complete digital detox. See stars by the billions at night in the unpolluted skies and wind up your day wrapped in throws around the firepit.
Navigate the river with Wye Valley Canoes, meandering through miles of picturesque countryside and diverse wildlife, through the bustling market towns of Hay-on-Wye, Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth. Trek the Black Mountains by pony with The Grange at Capel-y-Ffin. Or ride the forest trails with bikes from Drover Cycles.
Into adventure? Pick from archery, clay-pigeon shooting, abseiling, land-carting, paddleboarding, raft-building, white-water rafting and more at Black Mountain Adventure. Then head into Hereford for those well-deserved cocktails at Déjà vu, Lupa and Charles’ Bar.
What people say
Food, book and jazz festivals
Ride the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway and tuck in at the Furnace Sidings Tea Rooms. Cruise the canal on electric-day-boat tours or walk with llamas through Ewyas Harold. Head to Abergavenny for food, Hay for books and Penderyn Distillery for the hard stuff. Shoot pigeons, shoot for pins, aim for the food, book and jazz festivals.
