In our series, Changemakers, we interview people who have shifted their work to focus on sustainable and ethical issues. We ask what inspired them to make the leap and what their biggest successes and challenges have been along the way.
Adam and Lou are the founders of Under Starry Skies, offering off-grid, nature-friendly stays in the heart of Wales’ first Dark Sky Reserve, just outside the Bannau Brecheiniog National Park. Located on an 80-acre farm dedicated to biodiversity, each cabin has its own private star-gazing deck and wildflower meadow. There’s also a couple of new additions to the flock: Onnen, a retro shepherds hut that’s parked up in its own meadow at the bottom of a grassy wildflower slope. Also, Llwynbwch Barn, originally a hay barn, that has been thoughtfully converted using traditional methods and has its own private garden.
Live Frankly: When did you launch Under Starry Skies, and why?
Adam and Lou: We set up in 2012 as part of a big move for our family, into a new home, new area and new country! We were looking for a change, to simplify, to live at a slower pace, live with the land surrounded by nature, and to spend more time together.
Tell us what Under Starry Skies does in your own words
We offer guests simple, unique places to stay in a beautiful, peaceful part of West Wales. Llwynbwch dates back to 1800 when it was a rural farm. It has been a nature reserve since 2000, with 80 acres of wildflower meadows and woodland.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Our typical day starts with coffee before getting our teens off to school and taking an energising dog walk with our beautiful, bonkers lurcher, Murphy.
On changeover days we work together, cleaning, prepping, cutting kindling, gathering firewood, maintaining pathways and the surrounding land. There’s lots of mowing, helped by our four Exmoor ponies Bear, Nora, Jasper and Rosemarie. We both love being outside, so we prefer these days to the admin ones that come with running a small business.
We love welcoming our guests, whether they make their way here by car or we greet them at the local train station. We love showing them round the site and chatting about where they’ve travelled from or suggesting local places to visit, walk, wild swim…
What were you doing before this?
Lou was a freelance Artist Educator, working with children, young people and adults through museums and galleries. Adam was a freelance Sound Engineer, touring with music artists worldwide.
What did you love about your previous work? What did not sit right with you?
Lou: I loved meeting people and the creative side of leading practical workshops. I also loved being in the galleries and museums, seeing new exhibitions and helping to introduce groups to ideas and artworks.
Adam: I enjoyed the creativity of working with lots of amazing artists and crew and travelling all over the world. I carried on doing this until a couple of years ago, with the income helping to building Under Starry Skies. We’re now lucky to be here full-time as the business supports itself.
What didn’t sit right with me, and many of my colleagues, is the highly carbon intensive business that is international music touring. For example, travelling to Japan and back for one gig is just completely unsustainable. I’m not unique in struggling with these thoughts.
Was there a lightbulb moment that led you to start Under Starry Skies?
The planning for Under Starry Skies probably evolved over five years. For many years during our London life we made the most of any opportunity we could to leave the city and head for the hills in our campervan for a bit of time close to nature. We gradually realised that we were making use of London life less and less and started to dream of leaving the city and making the move to somewhere more peaceful full-time.
What challenges did you face when starting your business?
When setting up a small business you’re trying to balance earning and spending. We were also juggling planning applications, building, parenting young kids and establishing life in a new place alongside Adam going off on tour for weeks at a time. Looking back, it was a lot!
What’s something that surprised you on this journey?
Reading peoples’ comments in the guest books means so much; you can really feel people have stepped away from their normal life and enjoyed slowing down, hearing birdsong and owls, foxes and deer at night.
Have there been any “I can’t believe this is happening” moments along the way?
Not long after we moved to Llwynbwch I was walking down the track and I was absolutely amazed to watch an otter bounding up towards me. It was just the most beautiful, joyful creature to watch!
Seeing the stars in this Dark Sky Reserve really is something special and many of our guests have never experienced skies like the ones we get here. In the past few years we’ve been so lucky to see the Aurora Borealis/ Northern Lights a few times now. They’re truly magical moments.
What’s a challenge you’re currently figuring out or working through?
We’re currently working building a sauna for our guests.
It’s an exciting build and in our usual style, incorporates as many local materials as possible, including sycamore from the land here at Llywnbwch, felled about 10 years ago and planked to create the benches – it’s the most beautiful colour. The interior walls are clad in alder wood felled and planked by a local friend from his smallholding 10 minutes away.
Adam has been building the sauna from scratch. The exterior cladding took a pretty long time as he charred each piece of timber by hand to give it its beautiful black colour and creates a weatherproofed finish. We can’t can’t wait to see the space complete.
The sauna is wood fired, with a changing area and outside deck with bucket shower and plunge pool. We’re super excited, but this, like all of our build projects, it’s bespoke and this is first time we’ve ever built a sauna, so there’s been lots to learn and figure out!
What do sustainability and ethics mean to you personally and professionally?
Sustainability has always been at the very heart of Under Starry Skies. We try to run the business with the smallest impact to planet and people. We are so mindful that we’d like our teens to inherit a healthy, happy world.
How does your company approach sustainability?
From the beginning we’ve worked hard to keep our carbon footprint small. We’ve tried to make informed decisions on energy use, sourcing low-impact building materials locally, and always using renewable energy providers.
We’ve installed solar panels and a heat pump. All of the cabins, the shepherds hut and Ty Mawr have composting loos. Guests are encouraged to compost, recycle, and make use of eco-friendly cleaning products. Laundry is done in-house and air-dried.
We are proud that the carbon footprint for our cabins is just 1.0kg CO2e per cabin per night, far below the national average for UK hotels of 14.9kg CO2 per bedroom per night.
In our aims for low-impact tourism, we encourage guests to travel by train, bike, or electric vehicle when possible, offering a booking discount for those who do.
What message would you like to share with others building ethical or sustainable businesses – or thinking about it?
Follow your dreams and your heart!
Under Starry Skies interview with Adam & Lou.
About the author
