Wildwatch Cottage
Nestled in a peaceful valley amid unspoilt wild countryside with abundant wildlife throughout the year,
Wildwatch Cottage is an ideal base for birdwatchers, naturalists, wildlife photographers and walkers.
Wildlife
There is always wildlife to observe whatever the time of year, even from the breakfast table. All around the buildings we have incorporated safe nesting and roosting places for birds and bats – pied wagtails, redstarts, spotted and pied flycatchers, blue and great tits, swallows and house martins, pipistrelle and long-eared bats. Many other birds and small mammals are encouraged by feeding, badgers, foxes and owls can be heard at night and you never know what might fly overhead - red kite, peregrine, goshawk, …...
Enjoy our own 10 acre nature reserve with its exceptionally rich and diverse habitats of woodland, meadow, marsh, streams and ponds for you to enjoy before setting off to explore the adjoining RSPB Carngafallt Nature Reserve, the nearby Elan Valley and the National Trust’s Abergwesyn Common.
Wildlife through the year
January to March
is the best time to see birds of prey, red kites, buzzards and peregrines, kestrels, sparrowhawks and even the elusive goshawks are more in evidence early in the year.
April to mid-June
is the time to see the smaller birds, including our summer visitors, the pied flycatchers, redstarts, wood warblers and tree pipits, swallows, house martins and cuckoos, as well as the resident woodpeckers, nuthatches, wagtails and dippers, to hear their songs and watch them as they busily go about their nesting activities.
June through into September
the wildflowers, butterflies and other creatures abound in the meadows and wet pastures. You can see a wonderful variety of hay meadow flowers including orchids, fritillary butterflies and colourful day-flying moths, dragonflies and damselflies and at dusk mice, bats, badgers and owls come out.
October to December
brings colder weather but with it sparkling frosts and the beauty of autumn colours that provide a stunning backdrop to our magnificent scenery. Snow is actually rare but when it does fall it brings a magical transformation and an even more peaceful atmosphere to this “sanctuary in the hills”.
About Us
We are Richard and Pam Knight and we have lived here at The Cwm in mid Wales for over 30 years. No longer a working farmstead, we renovated the old farmhouse to provide our family home, developed the land into a nature reserve and converted the granary building into a self-catering cottage.
Richard, now retired, was RSPB Warden of Carngafallt Reserve and is an accomplished field naturalist with an intimate knowledge and enthusiasm for the wildlife and countryside on his “own patch”. Pam shares his love of nature and works from home making sculptures of birds and other wildlife subjects.
If you have any questions about wildlife or need any bird watching advice during your stay we are always happy to help.
Comfortable, clean and warm accommodation for two people with consideration for all those small details important in ensuring a trouble free, relaxing and enjoyable stay.
It has its own small garden with outdoor seating and parking is adjacent to the property.
Accommodation
The cottage has an open plan sitting room with kitchen and dining area. One step up leads to a spacious bedroom with either a king-size or twin beds and the bathroom with toilet, basin and bath with a powered shower over the bath.
There is an electric oven and hob, microwave and fridge, a colour TV and DVD player and a radio/CD player. Heating is by electric oil-filled radiators and a wood stove to provide that extra cosy atmosphere in cooler times.
There is no WiFi but good mobile signal, especially for O2 and Vodafone.
For the Naturalist
For the wildlife enthusiast there is equipment available to use: a portable hide, moth trap, microscope, sweep nets and pond-dipping nets and a wide selection of natural history reference books.
If you have any questions about wildlife or need any advice we are usually around and happy to help. We can also arrange to escort you for a day or half-day bird watching and looking at other wildlife.
Booking
The cottage is available from February until November. The cost for 2024 is £690.00 per week, shorter lettings may be available out of season, please enquire.
The cost includes electricity charges, a supply of logs for the wood stove
and provision of bed linen. We do not provide towels.
We are sorry but we cannot accommodate dogs.
Smoking is not allowed in or around the property.
Change over day is usually Friday but this can sometimes be flexible so do
please contact us on 01597 811169 to ask about availability and booking.
Availability
We are very sorry not to have an availability calendar or facilities to book over the internet but do please give us a call on 01597 811169.
If we are not around to answer your call, please leave your name and number and any message and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Location
Wildwatch Cottage is located close to the Elan Valley, a couple of miles beyond the village of Llanwrthwl, about 5 miles from Rhayader, 10 miles from Llandrindod Wells and 12 miles from Builth Wells.
