The campaign to reduce our carbon footprint is taking centre stage on the Llanerchaeron Estate this week with a special ‘Green Day’, on Sunday June 29, promoting a better understanding and approach towards the environment. Experts will be on hand to give demonstrations and offer advice to visitors on how their homes can benefit from sustainable energy.
The event will include the unveiling of a newly renovated three hundred year old cottage on the estate, described as one of the National Trust’s ‘greenest’ holiday cottages in the UK. Pontbrenmydr may look much the same on the outside as it has for the last three centuries, but inside there’s a very modern approach to energy efficiency.
The mud and thatch cottage has been renovated and fitted with a state of the art bio-mass system, which creates heat and hot water from a combination of special wood pellets and solar power. The extremely sophisticated boiler cost around eighteen thousand pounds to install, and is part of an ongoing aim within the National Trust to reduce its carbon emissions and make its properties as energy efficient as possible.
Llanerchaeron’s property manager Paul Boland, who himself cycles to work every day, says the cottage lended itself perfectly to an innovative energy approach.
'We felt that Pontbrenmydr’s construction from natural materials made it ideal for an environmentally friendly renovation project. Using the elements and natural materials to create heat is in keeping with the buiding’s own character and we’re extremely proud of the results. We’ve managed to preserve a piece of Welsh history while also being sympathetic to the planet.'
Experts believe the cottage dates back to 1750 after they found a claret bottle bearing that date in a badger hole at the base of one of the stone walls. Census surveys for the 19th century reveal it was home for a number of farm labourers and their families, including David and Kathy Jones who lived there with their 3 children John, Hannah and David in the mid 1800s. Originally it was a one- room house, open to its smoke-blackened roof, and possibly with a hearth in the middle of the earth floor. Outbuildings have been added over the years and the thatch roof was eventually covered with corrugated iron, giving it a distinctive look which is also very practical.
Today, the one-bedroomed cottage has all the comforts of modern life – a wood-burning stove in the snug living room and even an en-suite bathroom in what was the old cowshed, complete with original cow hitching post next to the roll-top bath! The old pigsty now houses a utility room with AAA rated energy efficient white goods and rainwater is now harvested to flush the toilet.
'We can all do more to help protect the environment,'
says Paul Boland, 'here at Llanerchaeron we’re passionate about tackling climate change and we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint. We’ve installed biomass heating, solar panels, ground water harvesting, and extensive insulation in our new projects. Nevertheless, we can do more and the green day is an opportunity to show what small steps we have made doing to help make a difference.'
© National Trust
As well as looking around the renovated cottage, visitors to the open day will be able to attend masterclasses on environmentally friendly building techniques, including paint and finishes and how to insulate your home in an energy efficient way, with advice from Lampeter-based Lime Firms. The estate’s Head Gardener will be on hand to teach visitors how to grow their own food, and a team from Ceredigion Council will demonstrate the latest in composting equipment and techniques. Anyone arriving at the Green Day on foot or on a bike will enjoy cheaper admission charges, and with a footpath and cycle track between Aberaeron and Llanerchaeron, developed in partnership between Aberaeron Town Council and the National Trust, there’s a perfect opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint even before you get to the event!
The Llanerchaeron ‘Green Day’ takes place on Sunday June 29 between 12 and 6pm.
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