Tirylan House is a spacious six-bedroomed house situated near the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales, 2 to 3 miles from the town of Llandeilo. Apart from the main house, there is a converted barn that we have made into an annexe: this can be used for independent group retreats, or additional retreat accommodation. There are also 17 acres of land, currently pasture, that we are developing into a forest garden, along with reforesting. The site is secluded, apart from some neighbouring holiday cottages, and high up, with views over the Towy valley.
Downstairs in the house
Downstairs in the house we have a meditation room, library, sitting room, a kitchen-dining room, and a bathroom.
The meditation room is an open wood-floored space that can be used for meditation or bodywork.
The library is another wood-floored room surrounded by books, where you can study or have discussions by a wood fire. We have about 3000 books in all, particularly on religion (especially Buddhism and Christianity), Western Philosophy, Psychology, Language and Fiction.
The sitting room is a particularly spacious, light, wood-floored room, with windows on three sides. There are sofas for relaxation and chat, a piano and other musical instruments, and a space that can be used flexibly for talks, workshops or other activities.
The kitchen-dining room is a long room with plenty of space both for kitchen facilities and for dining. It’s also the centrepoint for retreats where we will have a noticeboard.
Upstairs in the house
Upstairs there are six bedrooms of varying sizes, plus two bathrooms and two landings. One of the landings houses our poetry corner – a place with a poetry bookshelf, a couple of comfortable chairs, and a noticeboard for sharing poetry. We hope this will be an invitation to engage with poetry while you are here.
Most accommodation in the house will be in rooms shared between two or three people, but we will also have a single room for those who need it. Whether you actually need to share a room will depend on the total number of people staying, and we will normally only put you either with a friend you came with or with someone else on the retreat of the same sex. There are no bunk beds or high-intensity dormitory-style sharing.
The Annexe
The annexe is a converted barn offering additional retreat accommodation. It includes a large meeting area with a stove, sleeping areas for a total of up to 5 people on the ground floor and on a mezzanine, a self-catering kitchen, and a bathroom. The annexe operates as an extension of the retreat centre, and people staying there will book with us as individuals, rather than renting the building. However, the annexe provides a separate focus space for independent groups to hold their own retreats and to cater for themselves. People staying in the annexe will also be able to use the facilities of the house. See our independent group retreats page for more about the annexe and more pictures.
The Land
Tirylan House has about 17 acres of land attached. We are creating a forest garden in part of it, to sustainably produce plant food for the retreat centre. The rest of the land is currently meadow with surrounding trees, and we intend to plant part of it with further trees. We intend the land to be an inspiring place to walk and spend time for retreatants.
