Hendre Ddu Cottage

27/03/2025

Second in my 'what's pretty in the Cottage garden' series. Now these, I think were planted by a lady we had staying as a longer term tenant just before the COVID lockdown. I don't know what they are! But they are really lovely.
If anyone knows please tell me!

14/03/2025

People will often describe a day as beautiful when there's 'not a cloud in the sky' but I actually think pure blue skies are a bit boring. You need a few clouds for contrast and today there were some especially pretty ones over our valley.

08/03/2025

Sharing the love for our local caffi (dog friendly) also getting consistently 5* reviews 😍

We have three ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews this week. As a little Caffi, tucked away off the main road, reviews help us a lot. Thank you so much! ... Mae gennym ni dri ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ adolygiad yr wythnos hon. Fel Caffi bach, wedi'i guddio oddi ar y ffordd fawr, mae adolygiadau'n ein helpu ni'n fawr. Diolch yn fawr iawn. 💕

We open at 10am Saturday AND Sunday. See you soon! 🤩 ... Rydym yn agor am 10yb dydd Sadwrn A dydd Sul. Welwn ni chi cyn bo hir! 💛

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

07/03/2025

And another 5* review on Google.
These guests are the furthest flung so far as they had travelled from Bermuda!

03/03/2025

Can you believe it's March? I can't!
Remaining availability over the next few months of Spring 2025

Monday 17th March- Saturday 22nd, 5 nights, was £650 reduced to £600
Saturday 29th March- Friday 4th April, 6 nights, was £780 reduced to £700
MAY- Fully booked
JUNE - Fully booked
These offers always appear here first before I share them with the FB Groups. Please do like and share our posts 😃

02/03/2025

It’s officially lambing season across Wales which means the countryside will soon be full of newborn lambs finding their feet 🐾

These little animals are extremely fragile and can easily be separated from their mothers, especially if chased by dogs, causing stress, injury or sadly, even death.

Even if your dog doesn’t catch them, the fear and panic they experience alone can be seriously harmful to them🐑.

So, with so many lambs around, keeping dogs on leads near sheep is more important than ever.

Let’s all do our part to keep them safe!🐕‍🦺 🌿💚

28/02/2025

I try not to share too many serious posts on here, but sadly these issues are not getting fair coverage in our media. Holiday cottages like ours are a very small percentage of the total housing stock but you would think we are the entire reason local people move away.
It is very hard to keep our business afloat and each year we wonder if the latest Government measures will mean we have to give up.
It's nice to see some support from the visitor attractions 😊

We are joining other Welsh Tourism businesses in standing up for Tourism In Wales please read below why Tourism businesses are
doing this to to try to save Tourism in Wales.

🚨 No Celebrations for St David’s Day – Welsh Tourism in Crisis 🚨

On March 1st, Welsh tourism businesses will mark St David’s Day not with celebrations, but with a powerful message to the Welsh Government (WG). Flags will be lowered to half-mast, and attractions will close their doors in protest against policies that are damaging our industry.

Last December, the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) led a one-day strike, highlighting the impact of the WG’s anti-tourism stance. Now, the movement is growing. This time, we’re joined by North Wales Tourism and the Professional Association of Self Caterers in Wales, uniting to demand change before it’s too late.

🏴 Why are we protesting?

• Falling tourist numbers 📉
• The 182-day rule, which is crippling businesses 🏡
• The proposed tourism tax, which will affect Welsh residents just as much as visitors 💷

WAVA spokesperson Ashford Price warns:
👉 “60% of accommodation bookings in Wales are made by Welsh people for their own holidays—yet they’ll now be taxed for staying in their own country!”
👉 “Even babies in tents, caravans, or cottages will be taxed under these proposals!”

Jim Jones, CEO of North Wales Tourism, adds:
📢 “Despite countless attempts to engage with the Welsh Government, our concerns have been ignored. Many businesses are struggling to survive. That’s why we’re calling for flags to be lowered, symbolising the deep damage being done to one of Wales’ most vital industries.”

Alistair Handyside MBE, Executive Chair of PASC UK, stresses:
💬 “Hospitality businesses have faced a tsunami of taxes and regulations in recent years. Many are at breaking point, with mental health struggles widespread in the sector. An urgent review of these policies is needed now.”

⚠️ No Tourism = No Growth = No Future ⚠️

If you support Welsh tourism, join us on March 1st by lowering your flags and making your voice heard.

22/02/2025

These walks are very near the cottage and of course, very beautiful. I'm a bit old school and like paper maps, but I know people do rate their walking apps. If you try these out I'd love to know how you get on! And of course Dinas Mawddwy is home to the highly rated Caffi’r Hen Siop for a well deserved treat afterwards.

📍 Dinas Mawddwy

Did you know about the Hike Dinas Mawddwy App? With numerous trails around the area, all in one place 🗺️

📲 Google Play: https://shorturl.at/ildkI
📲 App Store: https://shorturl.at/otscv

18/02/2025

The valley was looking a little hazy and very beautiful today 😍

16/02/2025

I've ordered these tags for visiting dogs, let me know what you think! Would you use them? They have the cottage landline and my mobile on them. I've put them onto carabiner type hooks so they would be easy to clip on and off.

14/02/2025

The Cottage all ready for our next guests. Happy Valentines Day everyone (if it's your kind of thing 😆)

07/02/2025

Those that have stayed will know that the land around the cottage (nearly an acre) is quite 'natural' in places, great for exploring, sniffs for dogs, and wildlife.
We do have some lovely plants in there and I thought it would be nice to share updates on what's looking pretty. At the moment it is these lovely Cyclamen Coum. These flower in winter, when nothing else does. When I first planted them the badgers dug most of the bulbs up and I had to lay chicken wire over what was left. For a while it was touch and go! But now they have established they are a beautiful drift of pink opposite the deck 😍

06/02/2025

Being completely off grid, it can be a challenge to provide all the gizmos people like and expect. For example, a dishwasher and microwave would just use up way too much power. But very pleased to say we do now have a Pod Coffee machine! It takes Nespresso style aluminium capsules, both single and double. A jar of these is now supplied free as part of the welcome.

02/02/2025

Just a little reminder of where we are, as we have a few new followers. The cottage is semi-detached, yes, however this shows what I mean when I say that you can't see or hear any other households!

01/02/2025

We love this local business and you may have noticed the calendars up in the kitchen. We also love the moon. So had to share this offer!

To celebrate the Lunar New Year we're giving away A4 poster prints of this new 2025 Moon Calendar Design.

Ps. To claim your poster (one per household) just head over to our website.
Pps. We'll add £2.50 to cover postage or if you place an order over £5.00 you'll qualify for free p&p.
Ppps. Whilst stocks last!
Pppps. https://driftwooddesigns.co.uk/shop/products/free-moon-phases-2025/
Xx

23/01/2025

Another lovely 5* Review 🙂

★★★★★ "We had the pleasure of visiting Hendre Cottage for a week in betweeen Christmas and the New year. 27th December -3rd January On arrival there was a beautiful christmas tree, home made cake and Jam. The house was lovely and warm too, all week infact. The dogs were so excited to get o...

15/01/2025

Good afternoon all! We are now listed on Reactive Dog Holidays. This is a great new site for owners of reactive dogs which lists both holiday accommodation and secure fields with useful filters like fence height etc. Please visit and have a look around the site, many people have been asking for something like this for a very long time!!
Hopefully the dreaded algorithms will let me post the link...