Shepherd's Hut, Conwy Valley

Sleeps 2
No pets

Facilities

Free Parking on Premises
Kitchen
Non Smoking
Open Fire / Wood Burner
TV
WiFi

This is one hut in one field, on the slope above the Conwy estuary. From the bed you look down over grazing land to the estuary and the hills on the far side. The only traffic is the sheep and the cows on the other side of the fence.

The hut is timber-clad on the outside with the traditional curved roof, and it is a good deal more comfortable inside than the shepherds who gave it its name would recognise.

Inside the hut

There is a double bed set under the window, so the view is the first thing you see. A wood burner sits in the corner with logs stacked underneath it, and it heats the whole hut in about twenty minutes.

The kitchen has a hob, a microwave, a sink and a fridge, with cupboards and a kettle. The shower room is separate, with a proper shower, a heated towel rail and a flushing lavatory — not a compost arrangement in a shed.

A table and bench seating fold into a dining area, and there is a television on the wall for wet evenings.

Outside

The hut has its own decked area with a table and chairs, and a fire pit further out in the field for the evening. There is a stable door so you can stand and look out with the top half open.

Parking is on site and free, and the gate opens straight into the lane.

The Conwy valley

The valley runs south from Conwy town towards Betws-y-Coed, and it is one of the better drives in North Wales. Conwy itself has the castle and the complete ring of town walls, the quay, and the Smallest House in Great Britain down on the harbour front.

Bodnant Garden is on this side of the valley, eighty acres of terraces and a laburnum arch that draws crowds for a fortnight every spring. RSPB Conwy sits on the estuary at the bottom of the hill, on land made from the spoil of the tunnel under the river.

Betws-y-Coed is twenty minutes up the valley, and the Snowdonia mountains start immediately behind it. The Conwy Valley railway runs the same route from Llandudno Junction, which is a cheap and very pretty way to spend a morning.

Closer to hand, the walk up Conwy Mountain from the town takes about an hour. There is an iron age hillfort on the top and a view over the whole estuary and out to Anglesey.

Who it suits

Two people who want somewhere quiet with a fire and a view. It is not a site with facilities and there is nothing else on it — that is what people like about it.

Bring wellingtons. It is a field, and the gate and the fire pit both involve grass.

Guests score it 9.7 out of 10 on Booking.com across 153 reviews, which is among the highest we carry.

Prices

Prices start at £106 a night, taken from two nights in January. The rate moves quite a lot with the season, so the same hut in November came out nearer £160.