Dugoed is the name of the valley where I live. It's rough translation means Black Wood. It's located on the edge of the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, close to the source of the Dyfi river. 

It's an incredibly beautiful place. I live in a converted barn next to the cottage owned by my parents. The cottage is set in 3/4 of an acre, where there are several outbuildings and workshops. The hills where we live are sheep country, but don't really produce fleece you want to spin with, most of it goes for carpet and house insulation. It's a tough environment to live in, and the sheep need to be hardy. 

The house dates back to the early 1800's, the exact date is something of a mystery. There are numerous dates carved in to the stones and timbers from around that time. 

One of the few things we do know about the house is that it was home to Robert Vaughn, who was one of the first pioneers to head west in America, and eventually settled in Montana. 

​When we bought the house in 2009 it had been rather neglected and the grounds were a wilderness. After 5 years of hard work the place has been restored to something of it's former glory.

My barn used to be a ruin, filled with rotting animal bedding and a hole in the roof. It's now my living and work space, thankfully with a water tight roof and with far more insulation. We now open out gardens every summer for The National Garden Scheme, you can arrange a visit through them, but the fibre studio is not open to members of the public during this time. https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/44562/dugoed-bach