With my partner for company, we parked up high in the wilderness in deepest Wales and walked. We walked so far, across such difficult terrain we had to have breaks just to regain our breath. Fourty minutes of relentless treking under a hot sun and eventually we made our way across two rivers and several barbed wire fences and found River Cottage. From images i'd seen prior to going it seemed worth it. On reflection it probably wasn't but at least it was a good workout and calorie burner!

Surprisingly this cottage was once very well sealed and still had some of the original boards up. However a couple had decayed and fallen off leaving window points as gaping holes to allow the elements inside to cause their usual chaos.

Inside nothing much remained. In the kitchen, the obligitory range cooker still remained and a rather quaint vintage clothes roller press. Obviously no tumble dryers around when this cottage was still a home. The walls were decayed and falling to pieces, and one glance up at the ceilings throughout the downstairs made me wary of going upstairs. Two other rooms downstairs with not much inside except for fireplaces and an old clock still perched on one of the mantlepieces. Other than that, personal items were few and far between. At the back of the cottage was a utility room with kitchen utensils still inside and a vintage water barrel. Real rustic reminders of simple living many years ago.

Up the wooden staircase and I was met with gaping holes in the hallway floor. Standing at the top of the stairs I deliberated for a good five minutes weather to chance it. I knew the best things were in the bedrooms but wasn't particularly in the mood for a floor to collapse! Did I walk all this way after 3 hours driving not to go in the bedrooms with their vintage beds in place and personal artefacts still inside? In the end I erred on the side of caution and didn't chance it. After all, my partner was outside asleep in the nearby field. Any accident at this point and I'd be in trouble so I declined the temptation. A single shot was taken from the top of the stairs into one of the bedrooms. I guess, I will never know what I missed in reality.

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I doubt this cottage would ever be renovated. It is so far off any road, so far out in the wilderness that it could really only be used as a holiday hideaway for someone who wants complete silence, away from traffic, away from humans. Maybe an author who wants absolute solitude to write his/her words.

On to the next one that day, that was to be glorious, a real gem, River Cottage was not what I expected but still a quaint little cottage in a wonderful location.