Now that the nights are drawing in and the weather is getting colder, Tyncornel is a welcoming place to visit.

Arriving at Tyncornel after dark, you will see the only lights for miles around. The hostel is waiting to welcome you for an autumn visit. Inside the wood burning stove makes the common room very cosy. Outside, the leaves and bracken are changing colour, looking very attractive when you go walking. If the sky is clear, the hostel is a great place for looking at the stars.

A new shepherd’s hut has been built at Tyncornel hostel in the Cambrian mountains of mid Wales. The hut offers self-contained accommodation for small groups (3 adults, or a family of four with two children). It has its own living space, kitchenette and shower/toilet room, and it enjoys stunning views of the surrounding scenery. It’s open from 1 April 2023. Tyncornel also still offers dormitory accommodation, private rooms, and camping spaces as before.

The shepherd’s hut is spacious (6 x 3.5 metres) and it provides self-contained accommodation for families and small groups. Its position in the garden provides stunning views across the beautiful Doethie valley to the surrounding hills. It’s an ideal base from which to explore this part of the the Cambrian Mountains. The Cambrian Way long-distance path goes right past the hut, and there are other excellent paths and tracks too.

Furniture includes a double bed, a bed settee, a dining table, and four chairs. The kitchenette has a fridge, a microwave/grill, a cooking hob, toaster and kettle. The en-suite shower room has an electric power shower, washbasin, and toilet. There’s underfloor electric heating. The water supply comes from a mountain spring, and it’s filtered and UV-purified.

When we had the hut built, we also took the opportunity to make other improvements at Tyncornel. The garden has been widened and flattened to maintain plenty of space for camping now that we’ve got the hut. The electricity supply has been upgraded to provide plenty of capacity for both the hostel and the hut, with reserve capacity for an electric vehicle charging point which we plan to add in the near future.