JANE SLADE visits the award-winning country house hotel Llangoed Hall in the Brecon Beacons and discovers a slice of paradise
The gentle clink of a china teacup being settled into its saucer, the comforting crackle of flames dancing in the big stone fireplace, and squeak of oak floorboards was my background music as I sunk deeper into the comfy sofa.
All was missing was the rhythmic tick of a grandfather clock. I was in the hushed, plush morning room of Llangoed Hall, a country-house hotel near the Brecon Beacons in deepest Wales.
This is where you want to be if you want to escape the hurly burly of city life, curled up surrounded by plump cushions sipping tea from a Caverswall china cup (as you will find in Clarence House).
The Granthams of Downton Abbey would be very happy here. I can imagine Hugh Bonneville sliding his feet into one of the pairs of ‘Balmoral’ leather Hunter wellies, which are lined up in all sizes by the front door in preparation for a bracing walk.
And I can envisage Lady Edith sneaking out after sunset to ponder the vast star-studded sky; Llangoed Hall is in a Dark Sky Reserve surrounded by farmland and gently undulating countryside. There is no light pollution to mar the heavens on a cloudless, moonless night.
And Lady Mary would indulge her admirers with an inspection of the winter strawberries, sweet peas and oriental golden mustard cress in the herb and vegetable gardens round the back of the house.
It was Llangoed Hall’s dramatic frontage built by the Portmeiron architect Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis that attracted Sir Bernard Ashley in 1987 to establish it as a hotel after his designer wife Laura Ashley died.
He resurrected the ruined building, which was formerly the first seat of the Welsh parliament dating from 1632, and filled it with priceless paintings which remain. The Whistler Room boasts the largest privately-owned Whistler collection in Europe with one painting worth as much as £2.5 million.
There are pictures and photographs everywhere as well as framed thank you letters from Prince Charles and Princess Michael of Kent. But the ghost of Laura Ashley is ever-present.
The first item Laura made, a striped apron, is on display and one room (pictured above) is furnished in the original wallpaper she designed. The other rooms were all refurbished last year.
The colour palette is soft florals; blue vintage rose in the morning room printed on cotton and poplin.
But there’s satin, purple silk and damask materials woven through the furnishings too evoking decadence, richness and opulence.
And in the Grand Hall the chairs by the bay window are covered in a warm wool fabric to make you feel snug and cosy.
You get a real sense of being a guest in a private family house at Llangoed Hall. In a way you are. The incumbent Managing Director is Calum Milne, a descendent of Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne.
He has enjoyed perking up the 23 rooms and peppering the house with delicate regal touches. “Everything is royal warranted or British made,” he says.
He has even added a 1934 blue Bentley sports car which was possibly the vehicle that transported the Queen Mother to her marriage to the Duke of York. “The tell-tale sign is that it has a whisky decanter in the back,” he explains.
Our suite on the top floor was nothing short of opulent. It had two televisions and the bed was vast. The bathroom was very Downton-esque with a big roll top bath and delicious Penhaligan toiletries.
I loved the touch of the decanter of sherry and elderflower presse left on a tray in the sitting area. The rooms don’t have mini-bars; it’s all about service here. There’s even an honesty bar in the drawing room.
Four-star Llangoed Hall, voted AA Hotel of the Year 2014 – Wales, oozes romance from the grand hall with more plush comfy sofas out to the stunning countryside and down to the river Wye, which is excellent for salmon and trout fishing. Even the grand oak staircase and ruby-red carpet oozes romance from another era.
More than a base for Hay-on-Wye festival goers this is a romantic haven for honeymooners and popular spot for wedding receptions; it is also where the Foreign Secretary William Hague proposed to his Welsh wife Ffion 17 years ago; her family live locally.
My husband and I loved wandering around in our own time zone, strolling through the fields on a two-hour, self-guided walk to the Suspension Bridge.
We climbed over stiles and fences, and stopped and stared at the lofty silver birch, oak and beech trees and listened to the chaffinches and great tits.
We imagined picnics in the summer, playing tennis on the tennis court and falling asleep in the long grass.
We ambled back and played a game of snooker on the three-quarter size table in the snooker room surrounded by more memorabilia and photos of Sir Bernard Ashley’s marriage to his second wife Regine.
Dinner was the pièce de résistance. It began with nine different canapés which included goats cheese cannelloni, tempura lemon sole and tempura pork belly in hoisin sauce. The head chef Nick Brodie has devised an extensive and creative menu including a six-course tasting menu for £85 per person, an à la carte menu with pigeon, tuna, venison, and beef among the choices which change with the season, as well as tasty vegetarian options.
We opted for the nine-course tasting menu which we thought excellent value at £125 each and comprised a cocktail of divine dishes as: duck foix gras with green curry soup, steamed Scottish langoustine, charred leek, champagne butter and Oscietra caviar and Exotic Llangoed duck egg with panettone soldier. Breakfasts were similarly delicious accompanied by home-made jams and breads. My husband opted for the full Welsh with Larverbread (made of seaweed) and black pudding with choice of duck or hens eggs.
If you feel you need to explore the surrounding area of Powys there is plenty to do. The bo-ho market town of Hay, otherwise known as the ‘town of books’, is just nine miles away with its plethora of second hand bookshops, antique emporia, outdoor clothing shops, coffee shops, pubs and little restaurants. Since 1988 it has hosted an annual literary festival which attracts big-name authors and some 80,000 visitors over 10 days in late May early June. The 2014 festival is from 22 May – 1 June.
There’s also the Brecon Beacons for those who like hiking and the Elan valley where Barnes Wallis tested his bouncing bombs for the 1943 Dam busters raid.
For bookings visit www.llangoedhall.co.uk / 01874 754 525. Double rooms per night from £150. Llangoed Hall is AA Hotel of the Year 2014 – Wales.
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