Start your Welsh holiday here...
Cwmcroiddur - pronounced ‘coom-croy-ther’.
Translated, Cwmcroiddur means ‘valley of clear water’
Hundreds of years ago, Cwmcroiddur started life as a tiny hill farm. It’s now a small country estate a kilometre from the picturesque village of Cilycwm.
The ancient stone buildings at Cwmcroiddur radiate a timeless atmosphere. Two of our properties are available to rent. The first, Croiddur Barn is a magnificent converted farm building with a feeling of immense space and calm. It features unusual roof timbers, large windows, a comfortable lounge area and a balcony overlooking the whole interior. The second, Barcud Cottage, is actually the oldest building at Cwmcroiddur. It’s an ancient Welsh Longhouse with massive exposed beams and walls a metre thick that give it a cosy, intimate feel.
Cwmcroiddur is a perfect choice for a holiday break. We are centrally located, so there’s straightforward access to the coast to the north, west and south and many great places to visit. There’s also plenty to see and do locally.
This part of Carmarthenshire is secluded, but not isolated - this is one of the quietest parts of Wales - the lack of traffic lets you hear the breeze in the trees, the birdsong and the burbling of the Nant Croiddur stream. The air’s clean and there’s no light pollution – so you can see more stars here than almost anywhere in the UK. All this makes Cwmcroiddur a unique place to ease the stress of everyday life. As a bonus, Cilycwm, with its excellent pub is an easy walk away.
To the south, Cwmcroiddur overlooks one of the prettiest valleys in Wales, but to the north is real wilderness. With the mountains literally on the back doorstep, we can boast easy access to excellent walking, bird watching and mountain-biking country.
There are plenty of activities for children, from a visit to the Red Kite Feeding Centre, to a trip down a gold mine. You can buy fresh local produce in the historic droving town of Llandovery, or travel to nearby Llandeilo, Brecon or Crickhowell for galleries, tea rooms and specialist shops.
Cwmcroiddur is a great place to chill out, to spend time with family and friends and take a break from the nine to five. There’s excellent walking, bird-watching, mountain biking, riding and fishing close by. There are lots of activities for children to enjoy, from a visit to the Red Kite Feeding Centre, to a trip down a gold mine. You can stock up on fresh local produce in Llandovery, with its weekly farmer’s market, or travel to Llandeilo, Brecon or Crickhowell for galleries, tea rooms and specialist shops, a whole world away from the average high street.
Apart from the wild country that surrounds us at Cwmcroiddur, we have 22 acres of land including 5 acres of gardens and fields. There are also 17 acres of woodland laced with paths and tracks, including a circular walk that makes an excellent appetiser! The Croiddur stream runs through the grounds and there's a large pond in a secluded part of the gardens surrounded by trees - a great place to have a drink and watch the birds and dragonflies on a summer's evening.
There are newts in the pond, grayling in the stream and a goshawk in the woods. Our water comes from a spring under a spreading oak tree on the mountain behind the house and we are very aware of the impact we make on this beautiful landscape. So, with your help, we recycle all our glass, paper, metal, card and plastics. Any leftover peelings go in the compost heap. (We’re planning a permaculture garden.) We’ve installed a solar hot water system in the barn and created access to the wood so that we can burn our own wood in the log fires and ranges.
Our aim is to create a place where people and the landscape, leisure and work are in balance. We hope you enjoy visiting this place as much as we enjoy living and working here.
