About Penhein

Penhein House & Farm

Penhein House

 ‘I grew up sharing the magic of Penhein with friends and family who came to stay.  These experiences informed my vision for Penhein Glamping: sharing happy times in nature with others.’  Helen

On the lower slopes of a Welsh hill, surrounded by ancient woodland, sits Penhein House and farm, approached first by a beautiful drive, flanked by mature trees, which twists and winds uphill from the Domesday village of Llanvair Discoed, in Monmouthshire.

After a final bend to the left, the drive levels out on to historic parkland. Ahead is Penhein House, a stone Grade II-listed Georgian farmhouse, built in 1815, with its ha-ha, walled garden, farm buildings, barns and well-preserved 18^th Century stone Lime Kilns.

Penhein’s highest boundary lies 850 feet above sea level; from the house there is a panoramic view south over Cuhere and Coombe woods, to the Severn Estuary.

Penhein Farm

Penhein’s farm consists of 250 acres of ancient copses, meadows, patchwork fields, valley streams, hedgerows and grassy uplands that tumble down to Castroggi Brook, which meanders the length of Cwm valley.  The farmland also neighbours Cuhere and Coombe woods; Coombe is a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is home to tree species dating back 1000s of years.

Penhein farm has always been run with conservation and ecology front of mind. Over 30 years ago, Helen’s father established woodland corridors between the farm’s fields, in order to link wildlife habitats and protect Penhein’s flora and fauna.

This forward-thinking conservation initiative (at a time when few farmers were doing similar!) substantially enhanced  – and continues to enhance – the farm’s biodiversity. Wildlife abounds at Penhein: there are barn owls and tawny owls, house martins and swallows as well as red foxes, fallow deer, stoats, moles, squirrels and rabbits.  Weasels patrol the long grass and brown hares graze along the field boundaries.  Buzzards soar on daytime thermals and pipistrelle bats the size of pound coins hunt at dusk.

‘The team take great pride in supporting and caring for the natural environment, carrying out extensive tree and hedgerow planting as well as ensuring their animal neighbours have a place to call home.’ Green Tourism GOLD Award, report

Penhein has been a working farm for generations, and is still very much so today; during a stay at the glampsite guests will find sheep and cattle grazing in the fields and there is a variety of farming activities taking place throughout the farming year, from vaccinating sheep to topping weeds to general maintenance such as fence repairs.

In 2021, Helen acquired her first flock of Texel x Lleyn sheep, a hardy cross-breed of Welsh mountain Ewes. The flock is now 100-strong and Helen has established a ‘lambing live’ initiative, so guests who stay at Penhein during March/April can take part in traditional lambing activities: gathering up newborn lambs, bottle feeding, shadowing Helen in various tasks, witnessing live births and developing a feel for a day in the life of a sheep farm.

The farm is home to black-coated, white-tailed Berkshire pigs, also known as ‘The Lady’s Pig’ for their size and easy-going temperament. They are reared outdoors and produce delicious sausages (taste-verified by Penhein’s guests!).

Penhein makes ‘haylage’ – which is a mix of hay and silage. Penhein’s grass is not cut until late July, which allows different grass species to seed before harvesting.  The grass is then tedded, rowed up, baled and wrapped.

Penhein has 12 beehives, which are managed by Wye Valley Meadery.

‘My brother and I love helping on the farm and the glampsite – feeding the pigs, rounding up the rams, helping to mend the fences . …’  

Archie Hearn, 12, – the next generation