Treehouse in Wales experience with Living-Room

I’ll start by saying this…I have never camped. I can hear all the nomads and backpackers of the world collectively gasp, but yes…I have never camped. But after reading a recommendation from one of my favourite travel blogs, The Travel Hack late last year about a treehouse in Wales, I was intrigued to find out more…

Back to nature

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a bonafide city girl but there was something about the idillic little treehouse surrounded by woodland that made me want to abandon all my electronics and spend a relaxing weekend far away from the stresses and worries of everyday life.

I phoned up to make the booking with Living-Room and it turns out that everyone had the same idea. Initially approaching owner Mark last November, the nearest available weekend was June! But a June booking turned out to be perfect, the weather was starting to pick up and nature was in full bloom.

Getting to the treehouse

Upon arrival, Mark explained that there were several treehouses on the property but each had their area so we didn’t need to worry about anyone disturbing us. The property doubles up as an organic sheep farm so as we walked across the fields, the slightly skittish sheep avoided us whilst we did our best to avoid their ‘leavings’ and try to stay looking up at what was an incredible 360 view of the hills of Machynlleth, Wales.

After coming across the fields we came to a wooden bridge that took us over a beautiful little stream, another field and voila, we were at our treehouse. Well sort of, we had to climb what felt like the steepest vertical point in Wales whilst the treehouse winked at us from the top of the hill. It was kind of like setting your treadmill to the highest inclination and then trying to run…yeah…that!

Once we reached the top, we realised the trek was totally worth it (whilst gasping to get our breathe back) as we had the best view out of all the treehouses being the highest on the property.

The tour

After making our way up to the top, Mark took us up the stairs to the deck of the treehouse (omg another incline!) and showed us around.

“This is your fridge”, pointing to a box with a wooden top on it outside the front door. We find it’s so cold here in Machynlleth that food naturally refrigerates outside” (LOL). “This is the wood burner, start off with some smaller wood, build the fire up and then add bigger blocks. We have some ready for you here but you’ll need to chop more tomorrow. The fire needs to burn for an hour to make enough hot water for the day. You have a sink with running water, a gas hob and kitchenware for cooking. There is no electricity but plenty of candles for light when it goes dark.”

Moving back outside onto the deck Mark explained the rules for the compost toilet, “there is no plumbing so after using the toilet throw your paper and a bit of saw dust into the hole and close the lid.” And to be fair to them, it was set up like a normal downstairs toilet with a sink and everything so it was better than seeking refuge from the nearest bush on a normal camping trip!

We then moved downstairs where Mark demonstrated how to chop wood for the fire and showed us how the shower worked. A part from making wood chopping look effortless, the shower was surrounded by wooden panels for privacy and all we had to do was pull on a rope and let the water run until it was hot and it was lovely!

“Right, well I think that’s everything. There is a rope swing over there you can have a go on and a net hammock for you to stargaze tonight, if you need anything else just let us know.”

Relaxing inside the treehouse

After our tour we settled into the treehouse and found out what it truly meant to be relaxed. I thought I could only feel this relaxed laying out in the sun by a beach but I was wrong! The treehouse was so peaceful with just the sounds of nature and a gentle breeze rolling in. I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t miss having things like my phone, wifi and laptop!

After a lovely afternoon relaxing in the treehouse, we headed down to the local pub for a few drinks and some pub grub. Trundling across the fields back to the treehouse in the dark after dinner was a bit of a challenge (and a little spooky!) but seeing the treehouse all lit up in the darkened woods, made coming back extra cozy.

Exploring the woods

The next day, the plan was hit up one of the local towns for a day out but due to delays at the train station we opted for walk around Machynlleth which was about 10 shops either side of one street with a couple of pubs and a chip shop. Needless to say we were done in about an hour! But it was lovely to get out and see the village and it meant we had the rest of the day to explore the woods around the treehouse.

In the treehouse we found a guide to the different walks in the area and we took full advantage of the woods in bloom snapping pictures of everything!

Cyril the squirrel

As it turned out, we ended up having a third visitor for the weekend, Cyril the squirrel. Don’t be fooled by the cute little furry face folks, this guy bullied us no end! He dropped in to say hello as soon as we were arrived at the treehouse looking for food and then proceeded to let himself in when we cracked the door open to let some air in.

We didn’t want to run the risk of making him sick so decided against feeding him. But seeing as he was pestering us without having fed him we thought it was for the best so he didn’t keep us up all night running around on the roof of the treehouse.

Top tips when visiting the treehouse

-Go by car

We went by train and although the station is nearby it’s still £15 in a taxi to the treehouses. Luckily the owners were kind enough to pick us up and drop us off when we were checking in and out but it’s not part of the booking so if they’re busy, they can’t guarantee you a lift.

-Bring enough food for the weekend

The nearest supermarket is 20 minutes away in a car so make sure you bring enough food and drink to last you for the weekend. There’s no cooker but you will be able to slow cook jacket potatoes in the wood burner and use the hob to make pasta, chilli, soup etc.

-Prepare for the weather

Even in June we unfortunately had rain and it got chilly in the evenings so bring a waterproof jacket and some wellies or boots so you can walk across the fields without slipping.

-Take out some cash

Finding a cash point can be a nightmare in the countryside so have plenty of cash in your wallet just in case you need to make any small purchases, not everywhere takes card.

-Bring a portable charger

The whole idea behind the weekend was to be unplugged and relaxed but I just wanted to make sure that my phone didn’t die in case there was an emergency. A portable charger meant my phone was topped up and ready to use as soon as I had signal again once we’d left. We also used them to charge our iPad so we could watch a couple of movies in the evenings.

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend at the treehouse in Wales and thoroughly enjoyed being relaxed and tucked away in the serenity of the countryside. We felt right at home and I really enjoyed the experience. I swear I’m working up to the camping ;)

Have you ever stayed in a treehouse? If not, do you think you would give this a go? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.