That's it! We are ready to take bookings for short breaks in our shepherd's hut from 1 June onwards. It is very exciting!

In May, we have three couples who have been selected to be our "guinea pigs" and we eagerly await their arrival, comments and feedback, which will be important to us as we embark on this glamping adventure.

Situated in its own private field with stunning views across the rolling hills of Mid-Wales and Shropshire, our shepherd’s hut is the perfect hideaway for an off-grid glamping experience with low impact on the environment. It is our aim to …

Spring has sprung! Everywhere I look, there is new life… in the fields, the grass has started to grow; in the garden, there are daffodils, crocus, primroses and even some early tulips; the hawthorn is growing new shoots; birds are becoming more active preparing for the breeding season; next door’s first lambs are bleating and bouncing about. I am getting ready to welcome our own lambs next month, gathering all the kit that I may need for their safe arrival. Our sunroom is currently being turned into a nursery with trays of seedlings in the propagators. We have had some …

Imbolc, the half-way point in the Wheel of the Year between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, is nearly here and Nature is stirring... Waking up from its Winter sleep, it is preparing for Spring and the start of the growing season.

Here on our smallholding, the broad beans sown in November have germinated and are sprouting up from the soil. The garlic too. The rhubarb is growing again. There are dainty snowdrops emerging victoriously after Winter. Daffodils are also popping up through the ground here and there. The many bulbs I planted in pots in the Autumn are …

As the new year begins, it is time to reveal our exciting project for 2017: we have a shepherd's hut and will soon be offering holidays and retreats.

Last Summer, we came across a local craftsman who was selling a shepherd's hut he had built himself, a new wooden structure on an old hay trailer chassis, with big lorry wheels. We immediately liked it and started the process to obtain the necessary planning permission from the local authority to site the hut in one of our fields. At the end of October, after an anxious two months submitting paperwork and …

Today is the Winter Solstice marking the point in the year when the Sun reaches its most southernly position, giving us the shortest amount of daylight. The Sun rises but barely makes it over the horizon at this time of year. I have been out most days at sunset over these past couple of weeks, taking hay to our sheep at that time, and on clear days, I have been treated to the most delightful show of pinks and light yellows.

Have you noticed the qualities of sunlight at Midwinter? It is pale, weak, fragile and hesitant. Not at all …

When I awoke this morning to the news that Donald Trump was going to be the USA's president, my heart sank. I felt the same earlier this year when the news came that the UK had voted to leave the EU. Actually, it is a feeling I regularly experience when I connect with the troubled world we live in. It is easy for me to feel despair, sadness and anger in the face of all the challenges, difficulties and inequalities affecting the human race and all the animosity, hatred and aggression that ensue. The language in the media has been …

Halloween here yesterday was an uneventful affair: neither the commercialised side of this festival - with all its spook, blood and gore - nor trick-or-treat'ers found their way up to our remote location!

Halloween, Samhain (ancient Pagan Celtic festival meaning “Summer’s end” in Gaelic), Nos Galan Gaeaf and Calan Gaeaf (Welsh for “the first of Winter” interestingly) and the Christian All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day celebrations all intertwine at this time of year. Traditionally now is the time when the harvest is in and our pantries - and freezers! - are filling up; we remember our dead and …

Today is the Autumn Equinox, a celestial event when all points on the Earth, as it travels along its trajectory around the Sun, receive equal amount of day light and darkness. The long Summer days have gone and we are not yet at the time of long Winter nights… at the Equinox, we are in the middle of the Sun’s journey between Solstices. Our days are approximately the same length as our nights right now and with this, nature teaches us about balance and harmony.

During the Summer, our energy and focus tend to be on the world outside. With …

Yesterday, the Summer Solstice marked the shortest night and the longest day. Right now, we are experiencing a peak in the amount of daylight hours… We can still see some faint light when we go to bed in our West facing bedroom and the dawn chorus begins at around 4 am when the earliest of birds begin their singing and calling. Darkness has been squeezed out to a confined few hours which leaves plenty of time to connect with the fullness of Summer present all around us at the moment.

When I walk around our smallholding, all I can see …

On this first day of June, our little piece of Wales is bursting with signs of early Summer. New colours and scents are everywhere. Nights are short as we are only days away from the Summer Solstice and we have removed a layer from the duvet! Wild flowers line the sides of the lanes and turn our fields into colourful and abundant meadows. The air is filled with birds singing and calling. Our sheep have plenty of green grass to eat again and are seeking shade in the fields. Their fleeces come off next week and no doubt it will …