16 hours ago
Beautiful Romany wagon tucked away in wildflower meadow by river with brown trout and otters
Beautiful Romany wagon tucked away in wildflower meadow by river with brown trout and otters
A truly unique 'tranquil and enchanting' site that sadly the owners are now forced to take to auction
Not your usual property for sale
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
Have you ever experienced the arguably very stressful scenario of buying a property without even seeing it in reality? Andrew Newland from Pontypridd and Alexandra from Mold have done it - three times - and one of the unseen purchases was as unique as the situation.
After spending 14 years living and teaching in Asia teaching in China, Thailand, Vietnam and lastly Hong Kong, the couple were ready to come home to Wales to re-establish roots for raising a family.
The pair were looking for a business to buy with their friends John and Rachel, and stumbled across surely one of the most wonderful and wild holiday lets in west Wales - a pocket of land that is home to a genuine Romany wagon as well as a wooden cabin and pretty slice of land. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
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The Romany Gypsy Wagon is joined on the site by a wooden chalet
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
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Andrew says: " We hadn't actually seen the place, we were still in Hong Kong when we bought it - we sent our in-laws as scouts and they had a good look around for us and they fell in love with the place - it's unique - just under an acre and where the wagon and cabin are and then separate flower meadow connected by a small bridge that we built and there's a section of river that flows through the site with trout and salmon and otters.
"Family and friends thought we were 'a bit mad' but they know us and in life we've taken the road less travelled, so it was very 'on brand' for us."
But as soon as the couple visited the site near Llangrannog, Ceredigion they were enchanted. Andrew remembers: " We were immediately taken by it - there was a storm, my wife was heavily pregnant with our second child and the phone signal is not very good and there's no WiFi but even with all that we fell in love with the place.
The site is 0.65 acres in size
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
"It's the silence - the fact it was totally cut off - such a difference to what we were used to, to Hong Kong - to come into that, a slice of heaven in Wales. It's where time slows down.
"I love the wagon most of all, it's almost womb-like! Because the cover is all insulated you're cosseted from sound as well so it's very much how I imagine what a womb is like. It's got a nice big comfy bed and heating, room under the bed to fit a dog bed too if visitors want to bring their dog away with them.
Idyllic and peaceful place to relax near Llangrannog, Ceredigion
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
"The wagon is one of the main reasons why the site got planning permission as a holiday let - because of the historical value of the wagon itself, it's a genuine vintage Romany wagon. And i t's a stunning location even if the weather is not great, you can still lie in bed, read a book with the top half of the wagon door open and watch the rain."
The site comes with a wooden cabin too that offers a kitchenette with bistro table and chairs and an amazing view from the kitchen sink, a shower room and a lounge which opens out onto a new raised deck area, one of the features the couple have worked on since owning the site, as well as tidying the foliage, renovating the paths, painting the wagon and building a bridge over the little river.
The Romany gypsy wagon looks very inviting
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
Andrew says: "You come out of the cabin in the morning with your coffee and you sit there and you feel like you're in the trees, you're well above the wagon and above the river so you're up mid-tree level - you're in amongst the birds - there are so many fantastic birds there - we fill the feeders and watch them and that's all you can hear, the bird song and the river."
But not seeing the site before they bought it was not the challenge for the couple. It is said by many people that timing is important with a property purchase and for Andrew and Alex it was bad timing - they came back to Wales and were the new owners of the site in December 2019, just a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Inside the wagon is comfortable and cosy
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
Andrew, a retrofit assessor, says the situation wiped out the first 18 months of running the tranquil and secluded site as a successful holiday let and led to a change of plan and location for the family.
He says: " We were going to come back home and set up a holistic fitness retreat, run it from the land and develop it further and have more accommodation but we had to make other plans and so I started a business near Chester so we ended up being based in north Wales."
The site also contains a wood chalet which is also part of the auction lot
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
The two couples ran the holiday let business via and trying to visit the site as much as possible to keep it maintained and also stay and enjoy it themselves occasionally.
Andrew says: "People love it as much as we do which is fantastic, everybody who comes to stay seems to have the same experience - people feel like they are transported back to a simpler time - lack of phone signal, lack of WiFi, it taps into a sense of nostalgia."
Inside the chalet and it's surprisingly spacious with a kitchenette and cost lounge
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
The site has even attracted the attention of TV presenter and celebrity Richard Hammond, who stayed back in 2007 before the two couples owned it and it was booked via company Under The Thatch, said: "It was only in the morning that I fully appreciated why this place is so popular.
"Although the caravan scores high on novelty points, it's the setting that's the real winner. Tucked away in the corner of a wild-flower meadow next to the river where brown trout and otter are protected as part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it's secluded and ridiculously picturesque."
The cute kitchen also has space to eat at a bistro table
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
However after a few years making the three to four hour journey from north Wales to this special spot near the Ceredigion coast it is with heavy hearts the two couples have decided to sell the site and pass on this idyllic and enchanting site on to a new owner, who has the chance to realise its potential to expand the business into the land and increase the size of the cabin, subject to planning of course, and if they want to.
Andrew says the experience has taught them the value of owning a holiday let and says if someone is thinking of purchasing the site, or any other unique property, they should consider what makes it distinctive in the first place, and cherish it. For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here
The chalet can even boast a shower room with full facilities
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
He says: "Try and maintain the character of the place. It would have been easy for us to tear the cabin down, to remove the wagon, and put on some standard glamping facility but we wanted to maintain the character of the place - we wanted to keep it authentic, that's what we strived for.
"Keep the authenticity of the place and then it rings true to everybody who comes. Oh, and make sure it's not a four hour drive away, get one closer to where you live!"
The 0.65 acre site, including the wagon and the cabin, is going to auction with a guide price of £99,000 with Auction House Wales with bidding opening on Monday June 23 at noon and finishing on Wednesday June 25 at 12.36pm, call 01633 212555 to find out more. Viewings are strictly via appointment with the local agent Morgan and Davies, Aberaeron, call 01545 571600 to find out more.
The chalet's wooden deck is a sun-kissed bonus feature perfect for alfresco dining or star-gazing
(Image: Morgan & Davies Aberaeron / Auction House Wales )
Andrew says: "Selling is definitely bittersweet for us. It holds a lot of emotional value, and parting with it isn't easy. That said, it's a necessary step for the next phase of our lives, which we're genuinely excited about.
"While there's some sadness and disappointment in letting it go, we're also happy knowing that someone else will have the chance to realise the full potential of the site. It's a special place, and we hope the new owners will love it as much as we have."
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