Hi all – I figured it out!
Finding the way for you to subscribe to the blog updates seemed quite complicated initially, and many of you had to leave a comment before the site gave you the option to subscribe… BUT…
I’ve now found the subscribe widget, and I can add it to any post. (Look at me learning!)
Type your email in this magic box and we trust the technology to do its work…

Lauren 🙂

Gwyn thinks he’s only a couple weeks away from submitting our full planning application…

Let’s not hold our breath…reminder to all that he said he’d have it ready by last summer…and then Christmas… and then the end of January…February… but he’s been working very hard and we’re not far off…REALLY this time…

We’ve got some words to finish writing, some pictures to make pretty… and then we’re hoping for a conversation with a planning officer just to ensure we’re ticking all the boxes we need to, and then we’re in…

In the meantime, Gwyn’s been hard at work with clearing more paths. We also had fun starting a dead hedge, and we’ve made plans to get a willow bed planted (Or ‘Basketry crop’ as we’ll say in our planning application…apparently conservative men from agricultural backgrounds of a certain age take a dislike to the word ‘willow’…)

I’ve made a couple fun videos for you to enjoy – and some pictures – and Spring is definitely on the way… though like last year we’re a few weeks behind everywhere else on our north facing hill.

Maybe…maybe in a couple weeks time I’ll be posting multiple exciting pictures and telling you we’re on our official wait for approval!

We hope your Christmas celebrations were wonderful, and you’ve welcomed in 2023 both happily and healthily! (We nearly manged healthily… colds came for us both with a vengeance this Christmas!)

Most things are quiet on the hill. Gwyn is happily scything away…and designing away!
We received as positive a feedback as we could expect from our pre-application. We’ve needed to have more surveys done to meet more planning policies – a tree survey, water and electric surveys… and so far it seems we don’t clash with the rest of the planning policy we’re applying under… though anything can happen when we submit the full application… so with some trepidation it’s full steam ahead to get it in by the end of this month.
Some of Gwyn’s developing sketches below… and Lauren’s imaginings!!

We’ve been enjoying other creative pursuits also… Lauren might try to set up some kind of shop this year… and Gwyn is continuing the alcohol and jam dream now our first cider is ready!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year to you – here’s hoping we get to see you all, enjoy some quality time together…and sample more fruits of the hill!

Gwyn + Lauren

The year has flown since our last update in April!!

Lots… and then not so much can happen in 6 months!
Spring was beautiful. When the Bluebells came out in force, we had blue glades and many a lovely photo opportunity.
Foxgloves came next… the tallest grew over 6ft!
Our first produce from the hill came in the form of Elderflowers, with which we’ve made over 12 litres of cordial, and had our first brewing experience making Elderflower champagne which was delicious.
Summer made our hillside an impassable mystery… our neat paths proved too narrow for the bracken that grows to beyond 6ft in height – and is a determined grower! Brambles are also very keen, along with large nettles!
Now that autumn is well on its way, we’re hoping to regain access, and re-establish the paths Gwyn spent so long cutting earlier in the year… they’ll be wider this time and cut with his new toy – a scythe!
We’ve had our second turn at brewing with Dai’s Bardsey Apples at the end of September… and have around 15 litres of Cider on the brew in the shed… the future is jam and alcohol…

Gwyn has been very busy developing a design for a home. He’s spent hours mapping the land, creating models, developing sketches and putting together a pre-planning application, which we eventually submitted in August. We’re still awaiting feedback. At this stage we thought this would take a month, but 3 later we’re still waiting! We’re checking in regularly! Pre-planning is a process we hope will eventually help us when we put in a full planning application. The feedback we get should give us an indication for whether we meet the policy requirements we’ve applied under, which indicates the likelihood of succeeding at the full planning level.
In the meantime, Gwyn continues to develop the design, and create more detailed plans in preparation for a full application. We’re being optimistic and ready to roll when we receive some feedback.

We’ve also been thinking about the first part of the hill (aside from a building site!) that we’d like to work on. We’re keen to grow fruit, start an orchard, and enjoy the view from this patch. Apples, pears, plums… sloes, gooseberries, blackcurrants…as well as making the most of the blackberries and Elder that’s already there! If we start now, in a few years we’ll be reaping the benefits… like I said… alcohol and jam…

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Lauren and Gwyn