The Moon
Conker
Powys, Wales
The Moon Conker sits in a sheltered glade with only the babbling brook and some friendly woodland creatures for company.
By recent guest Hazel
We think you’ll love…
In a glade near a babbling brook, this is a secret, hidden Conker.
A Dark-Skies Observatory: this Astro-Pod has more windows than her sister, and is perfect for watching the skies at night and feeling the enormity of the universe!
The Moon Conker was built to be kinder to the planet, so she is completely off grid, adding to the adventure.
Pizza Oven - adventure should have some perks, and making your own pizza to enjoy beneath the stars is certainly one - we’ll provide the dough ingredients, you bring the toppings!
A base of operations - the Moon Conker has her own base of operations called The Pentagon - a unique area where you can prepare food, wash up and enjoy the sound of the babbling brook.
An outdoor bathing experience - crank your water from the stream, heat it in the Ghillie Kettle (a bespoke design) and enjoy bathing beneath the stars - and then, if it’s a bit nippy, dash back into the Conker itself, which has a wood fire, and make yourself a cup of cocoa!
You should know…
The Moon Conker is situated in a hidden glade, and the steps are steep - they can be slippery in wet weather.
The toilet for the Moon Conker is situated about 350 yards from the Conker itself, for hygiene reasons (it legally must be 300 yards away from the stream) - it is accessed by crossing the stream and climbing to the top of a bank. As with the steps to the Moon Conker, the bank can become slippery during wet weather .
Unless by prior arrangement, the Moon Conker does not have access to a shower.
You’ll love the Moon Conker if…
You are an eco-lover who dreams of off-grid, carbon neutral living. You’re an adventurer who loves to be at one with nature and experience it in all its glory. You’re organised and like to be prepared - you’ve checked Katie’s Kit Bag and are bringing what you’ll need for your stay!
For availability visit our bookings page.
THE MOON cONKER in brief
The Moon Conker is a one-in-a-million astro-pod; an experiment in remote living with style.
Anjana and David say:
We always adapt our accommodation to fit the site so that we never repeat any a project. Thus, the whole site has come about quite organically as we don't want a homogenised site full of identical ‘units'; every new build is different in some way to that which has come before.
Here we seek to harness the energy of the river which runs along the valley floor, past the door of the Moon Conker, while looking to the skies - there are windows in the ceiling so you can enjoy the universe passing by as you lie cosily in bed!
High-tech orb situated in a woodland glade in our private mountain estate, with a babbling brook for company.
Sleeps two in a comfortable cosy double bed – leave your sleeping bags at home!
The Moon Conker comes again from the genius mind of Jag, who created the original Earth Conker using techniques from Bentley and Rolls Royce: with it’s in-built stove, it’s ideal for year-round escapes.
Perfect escape for creative thinking, wildlife-watching or a digital detox. A utopia for latter day Henry David Thoreau’s!
Follow the adventures of @chilldernessescapes and watch as we continually improve and refine this unique astro-pod.
‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach…’
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
an astro pod with style
You’ll find the Moon Conker nestling into the hillside of a little glade, with the beautiful, stylish, pentagon-shaped dining pod next to it. Close by, in a little oval of trees are the two outdoor baths, and the Ghillie Kettle which you can use to heat it (you can also use the underneath of it with the custom-made grill and turn it into a fire pit!). Cross the bridge over the stream and scramble up a bank, and you’ll find our Swedish-style composting toilet - we’ve made it into a bit of a throne so you can enjoy your morning ablutions - king of all you survey!
There is no running hot water in the Moon Conker - our current ethos is that of a pioneer or explorer - and so you can use the hand pump to get water from the stream and into the Ghillie Kettle, heating it there to use for an incredible outdoor bathing experience that you’ll never forget! Is it the negative ions? The pagan/Scandi vide? A bit of Welsh magic? We don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s incredible!
The kitchenette in the Pentagon is equipped with all the essentials: a gas stove, pots and pans, crockery, cafetière , mugs, glassware and cutlery. There is no fridge - we simply use the stainless steel boxes provided to put things like milk/wine/beer into and then pop them into the stream where Mother Nature will cool them down for you - no nasty chemicals or petrochemicals necessary!
Acting on feedback from our guests, we’ve also added a wood-fired pizza oven so you can dine in even more style!
Camping among the stars…
Staying at the Conker allows you to enjoy the the escapism of the wilderness with an experimental ‘back to basics but with style’ approach. But fear not – you’re not totally left to your own devices; on arrival you can expect bed linen, towels and a load of dry wood and kindling. There’s even a fire pit (made, explorer-style, from a repurposed washing drum!) and a pizza oven! You can enjoy off-grid living, without compromising on basic comforts.
Inside the Conker, you will find hotel quality mattresses and a modular bed which opens out into a table and chairs during the day. We’ll also provide a few, curated reads that we think any space explorer will need!
In the morning, awake to a musical outpouring of birdsong; at night, listen for the hooting of owls - and make use of the Conker’s extra, high-up windows to look at the stars as you drift off - we’re in the Cambrian Dark Skies Park. You will get great views of stars even at full moon due to the lack of light pollution. The Milky Way and the meteor showers can be outstanding on the right night.
For more information on where to look and what to look for, we recommend NASA’s free app, Star Walk 2 and Sky Wiki, as well as the Cambrian Dark Sky’s own page which is packed with information and ideas for activities (including some magical Sky Walks)
THINGS TO DO
Watch red kites rising on the thermals above and enjoy the silence. The only noise is the wind rushing through the trees in the valley below.
You can jump straight from the office into the wilderness without spending hours fighting with tent poles and guy ropes. The Conker is an ideal base for wildlife watching or creative thinking. You could even unwind with yoga on the deck.
CONCIERGE AND AMENITIES
You can walk straight out of your front door into the hills: the estate lies on the edge of the remote Elenydd region of mid-Wales.
The nearest shops are about 10 minutes' drive away in Newbridge-on-Wye, where you will find a well-stocked post office convenience store, artisan butcher, and the charming local. There is a large 24 hour supermarket in Llandrindod Wells.
Wild swimming close by the bridge over the River Wye
Location and getting there
The Red Kite Conker is situated on our private conservation estate in Powys, near Builth Wells and Newbridge-on-Wye. You can walk straight into the green mountains of the Elenydd, right behind the estate.
Access to the Red Kite Estate is via a private track off the B4358 road at the village of Llanafan Fawr between Newbridge-on-Wye and Llanwrtyd Wells.
