The Royston

The Royston

, Llwynaire, Llanbrynmair, Powys.

The Royston is a laid-back contemporary guest house in what was a stunning gentleman’s country house. Built in 1880 as a replica of the original owner’s London home, it is set in 10 acres or rural pasture just outside Llanbrynmair in the heart of Mid Wales. After a thorough restoration and modernisation, The Royston is a stylish mix of Victorian period features and contemporary fabrics and finishes that imbues it with an authentic relaxed charm.

If you’re not planning on venturing out, there’s plenty to discover in the gardens and surrounding farmland. Visit the kitchen garden that provides much of the food for breakfast and dinner, pop in on the hens who will be providing your eggs, or pick up one of the fire pit kits and settle down with a glass of something to watch the sun go down over the Cambrian mountains.

The guest lounge is a cosy place to curl up with a good book, bask in the warmth of a log fire or simply look out of the window at the impressive views. There’s an honesty bar in the lounge stocked with spirits, mixers, wine and local and international beers.

Breakfast and dinner at The Royston is all about simple, homemade, local fare. Some is grown on the Royston’s own land and other seasonal produce comes from local suppliers wherever possible. Meals are served in the downstairs dining room. Guests planning on going out for the day can also order a packed lunch or picnic to take with them.

Each of The Royston’s bedrooms has its own unique character and style, featuring original artwork and a carefully chosen mix of vintage and designer furniture. Every room has impressive views of the Cambrian mountains or the kitchen garden, fields and surrounding hills. All the rooms have king-size or bigger beds, luxury bed linen (non-allergenic on request), tea and coffee making facilities, a hairdryer, bathrobes, slippers, original feature fireplace and complimentary wi-fi. The bigger rooms have mountain views and comfy armchairs in the bay window to make the most of that view. Clive and Rob are quite sure that the views far exceed anything that could possibly appear on television so there are no TVs in the rooms.

Two of the bedrooms have hard floors instead of carpet and are able to cater for well-behaved not-too-big visiting dogs. For them there is also a trough outside the rear entrance so the remnants of Welsh countryside can be rinsed off before they come in. Dogs are not allowed in the guest lounge.

The scenery of Mid Wales and the west coast are so renowned that we really don’t need to go into details here. Beyond that though there is just about every imaginable activity available from mountain biking to rally driving, riding Europe’s longest zip wire to walking with alpacas, fly fishing to kayaking. Just a few of the places to visit are the Snowdonia National Park, Devil’s Bridge Falls, the Elan valley, Powis Castle and Portmeirion.