Under The Thatch Accommodation - page 2
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A traditional shepherd's hut in a wonderfully secluded location in the Black Mountains.
Trehilyn Uchaf is one of Greg’s most environmentally friendly conversions and is now let through Under the Thatch whenever Rhys Jones is not there. Heated by a wood-pellet central heating system (so no oil used), the cottage is insulated with Welsh sheep’s wool – rather than fibreglass – much of the wood has come from local sustainably managed woodland and the roof and floor slabs are from materials local to Wales.
As a result of the boom in the West Wales housing market, by 2005 the prohibitively high prices of old cottages, and a general shortage of traditional cottages surviving in original form, meant Greg began to diversify and look at other projects. He renovated the traditional Romany caravan and purchased a Scandinavian style holiday cabin, which he restored with a period 1970s interior. Since then he has taken on a converted railway carriage, more cabins, and a 1940s Showman’s Wagon. The idea is that all the properties on his books are ‘architecturally significant, unusual or interesting, and a great place to spend a holiday’.
Greg now manages bookings for more than 30 properties in south-west Wales (just seven are thatched) and has plans to expand the business further. He has recently opened a ‘vegetarian cottage’ – Llwyn-Dryssi, near Llanllwni Mountain in West Wales. Guests are politely asked not to bring meat (or poultry/fish) – ‘to provide a genuinely meat free environment for dedicated vegetarians’. Greg also plans to open an off-grid barn conversion and more renovated thatched cottages.
Cosy and romantic, Llwyn-Dryssi (on Llanllwni Mountain) has a lovely thatched roof and old stone wallsMost, though not all of his properties, are run using environmentally friendly technologies: some have solar panels, others have reed-bed sewage systems, wood-chip boilers and recycled furnishings. Greg says he is also keen to encourage guests to come by public transport; some are within walking distance of train stations, and Greg offers a collection service for several properties. Yet he is cautious about over-hyping his environmental credentials.
‘We call ourselves a sustainable business, and although we are probably more environmentally conscious than most, the real reason we’re sustainable is in a social way.’
Unlike most holiday homes, Greg’s properties are let all year round, and where he judges any may not be occupied he drops their price until they are. He’d rather properties were used by visitors paying just above cost price than not being used at all. And with that comes a bargain or two: it’s not unusual for Greg to rent out a property for as little as £35 a night.
It’s a policy that Greg introduced to counter the second-home culture. ‘The average occupancy in Wales for self-catering cottages is around 35 per cent, which is shocking considering this means these places are basically empty for most of the year. Some of the prices being charged are shocking too. It’s those high prices forcing people on to cheap flights and cheap package tours abroad, which is causing huge environmental damage.
‘Sadly, in Pembrokeshire there are villages whereby nobody lives – they’re ghost villages. Every single house is a second home or holiday cottage which is empty, and that’s why all the local facilities close in the winter.’
Greg’s enlightened flexible pricing scheme is certainly working – occupancy across the board is more than 90 per cent – and consequently, Greg says, his properties ‘contribute to the local economy rather than to its decline’. Though his business grew initially by word of mouth throughout south-west Wales, its reputation has now spread far and wide. Under the Thatch has won a Wales Sustainability Award and in 2007 won the Guardian and Observer’s Ethical Travel Award.
Back at the gypsy caravan it is obvious self-catering guests that can bring genuine benefits to the local economy – as long as they shop locally. The village of Rhydlewis benefits not only from guests staying at the caravan, but also at Ty’r Gôf (The Blacksmith’s Cottage) – a small thatched cottage for two that Greg has also brought back into the community. Guests can buy smoked salmon, trout, mackerel, bacon and local cheeses from a small traditional smokery, while the Rhydlewis village shop is a 10-minute walk away. On our final afternoon, we visited a local pub by Llangrannog Bay, a short drive away, and in the evening ate dinner outside the cabin in a cocoon of comfort, a world from anywhere, listening to the sounds of the river and the forest. I wasn’t surprised to be told subsequently by Greg that the caravan is occupied by guests every day of the year. Lucky them, and lucky Rhydlewis.
An edited version of this article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Ecologist magazine.
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