Glamping before it had a name
Eco Retreats offers canvas holidays in a tipi or yurt — a wonderfully relaxing way to escape the pressures of modern life. The site is located in a breathtakingly beautiful valley, deep in the heart of the Dyfi Forest, one of the UK's largest forests. The business has been offering "glamping" holidays since 2004 — before the phrase was even coined — and each tipi or yurt sits in its own secluded, spacious spot, spread out over more than 50 acres. Whether you're coming with the whole family, with a partner or seeking a peaceful retreat by yourself, the space is there to relax and reconnect — far removed, as the owners put it, from the outside world.
Inside your tipi or yurt
Eco Retreats combines the joy of living deep in the natural world with the luxury of a well-equipped and lovingly furnished space: a fire both inside and out, sheepskin rugs, romantic fabrics and a comfy double bed, with your own private loo and shower facilities just outside. The site is several miles from the nearest houses, so there is no electricity and no wi-fi — instead you get the streams and the woods, the crackle of the fire and the great outdoors to roam free.
Holistic therapy and switching off
To help you fully unwind, Eco Retreats also offers holistic therapy: as part of the full package you can receive a gentle therapy session, usually Reiki, and take part in a twilight meditation. The owners are passionate in their commitment to the environment — in particular the land where they are based — and hope to give guests the chance to rediscover the magic of nature.
Furnace, the estuary and the Biosphere
The retreat's postal address is Furnace, a hamlet on the A487 south of the Dyfi estuary between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth — all of it inside Wales's UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere. Nearby Eglwys-fach is home to the RSPB Ynys-hir reserve, where BBC Springwatch was filmed from 2011 to 2013 — estuary mudflats, oak woods, five hides and red kites overhead — and to Ynyshir, Wales's only two-Michelin-star restaurant, should you fancy a spectacular contrast to campfire cooking. The Llyfnant Valley offers a lovely easy riverside walk close by, and at Cors Dyfi towards Machynlleth ospreys have nested every summer since 2011, watched from the £1.4m 360 Observatory. Machynlleth itself — with its Wednesday market and the Owain Glyndŵr Parliament House — is a short drive up the A487.
Practical Information
There is no electricity or wi-fi on site — that is the point — and each tipi or yurt has private loo and shower facilities just outside. Details were supplied by the business — please contact Eco Retreats to confirm current prices, packages and availability.
Eco Retreats, Plas Einion, Furnace, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 8PG
Telephone (UK): 01654 781375 · Telephone (International): +44 1654 781375
Website: www.ecoretreats.co.uk
Where the site is, and how to reach it
One thing to settle before booking: the business's own website now places the retreat in the Dyfi Forest about seven miles north-east of Machynlleth, and gives an office address at Ty Mawr, Aberangell — a different position from the Furnace address above, so confirm which applies. Its map marks only where the journey into the forest begins; the exact spot comes once you book, and the site is described as 25 minutes off the tarred road on a working organic farm. Plan on a car, and settle access in advance. Machynlleth is the railhead, with direct trains from Shrewsbury and Birmingham (see getting here).
What the owners point guests towards
Cadair Idris comes first on their own list: the unwaymarked Minffordd Path is about 6 miles there and back, 788 m of ascent and five hours. For mountain biking they name ClimachX and Coed y Brenin — ClimachX being the red-graded 15 km loop at Ceinws, with around 450 m of climbing and free parking. King Arthur's Labyrinth and the Corris Craft Centre, free to enter, are close by, and for the coast they point to Aberdyfi and the dunes at Ynyslas, beside Borth and its three miles of sand.
Three yurts, and no tipis at present
Its own pages now list three Mongolian yurts — Meadow, Ash Valley and River — described as the only three, spread over 50 acres. Each has a wood-burning stove and indoor cooking, a private eco-toilet, an outdoor hot shower and bath fed by spring water, and a campfire area. The season is given as April to October, and the booking form takes up to two adults and two children. No tipis appear on the current site, and no rates are published, so enquire direct about prices and what a stay includes.
Day trips