Cabin Casting Collaboration: Hergest Lee, Wales
This week I packed up a casting kit and set off down to Wales for the first in a series of collaborative exchanges I have arranged over the course of this year. As many of you know, I studied art history as an undergraduate and specialised in British 18th century art and architecture, where my interest in plaster work was ignited and I am particularly inspired by the trend of collecting plaster cast remnants from the Grand Tour. I have become somewhat obsessed with the small plaster intaglios amassed by the young aristocratic men during their travels, which would often be mounted into cases or books and displayed in fashionable interiors back home. These collections acted as souvenirs of a year long adventure in Europe in addition to being a reminder of the inspiring artworks and decorative pieces they had come across during their travels. My aim is to undertake my own Grand Tour, and also take some female ownership of a tradition which was almost entirely undertaken by men back in the day, and create a visual record of the flora and fauna of Britain by capturing a moment in the seasonal life of the landscape around the cabins I am staying in around the country.
Plaster Intaglios made during my stay at Hergest Lee
I drove down one of the many wild April storms, battling high winds the whole way to Malvern where I had a pit stop with an old friend and her family. I then snuck in a quick surprise visit to my dearest university friend who relocated to Bristol for work recently and has welcomed a baby girl into her life, who I was desperate to meet. So I arrived on the doorstop (unknown to her but craftily set up by her husband and I) with some tulips in hand and we both promptly burst into tears. We spent a lovely few hours wandering round a sunny Bristol park chatting away as her beautiful baby girl slept, and after more tears and lots of hugs, Pinto and I set off back up to Burlingjobb with excitement knowing a beautiful cabin and a few days of creative solitude lay head.
I was thrilled to kick start this year of cabin creativity at Hergest Lee, a truly stunning piece of craftsmanship in itself hand built by woodwork designer Paul Gent, who along with his wife Rachael, brought this beautiful project to life. I contacted Rachael via instagram after stumbling across Hergest Lee when searching for potential exchange partners so I was thrilled when she messaged back to say they would love to be collaborate. The cabin has received national press and even welcomed the wonderful Sandi Toksvig through its doors as part of the Extraordinary Escapes programme. And its no surprise why, the cabin is a true gem. Nestled in the hillside over looking Hergest Ridge, the gently rounded apex cedar cabin mimics the shape of Hanter Hill which you can look upon whilst you soak in the decadent antique roll top bath in the bedroom or whilst sipping your morning coffee on the cabin’s deck.
I arrived in the early evening and after a lovely chat with Rachael and Paul, who are as interesting and charismatic as I had imagined, Pinto and I headed up to the Cabin to unload and kick back. The cabin was even more beautiful in real life and I instantly felt at home. The carefully considered colour palette of muted greys, browns and blues (inspired by Edwardian drawing rooms) is combined with vintage furniture and antique ornaments, with simple house plants and dried flowers to complete the cosy, stylish home from home. The combinations of textures and colours was a perfectly balanced. From the painted OSB walls and floor, ply kitchen and modular storage to the cedar clad ceiling, Kilims, sheepskins and vintage furniture; every corner of the cabin has been carefully considered by Rachael and Paul in the cabin’s conception.
Hergest Lee Cabin
As a total bath-aholic, I immediately filled the roll top bath and settled in for a night of cosy luxury after a long weekend of driving. There are several areas of natural beauty near the cabin, including the Warren Wood full of blooming brooms, rosemary bushes, flowering current and wood anemones. I headed to the woods to collect some stems and leafs for casting before heading back to the cabin’s deck to set up my temporary casting studio. The ever-changing weather proved a challenge as the rain fell intermittently all morning on Monday, I managed to get a few casts made before the heavens opened so I left them to dry before heading off to check out Hergest Croft Gardens, on Rachael’s recommendation. What a place - I have truly never seen an array of such magnificent Magnolia trees in all my life. This 70 acre garden has views across the Black Mountains and was created over 120 years by four generations of the Banks family. It is home to a unique collection of over 5,000 rare plants, trees and shrubs as well as more than 130 'Champion' trees. The carpet of white and purple fritillaria, daffodils and bluebells were the perfect picture of spring.
After a lovely few hours wandering round the gardens (with Pinto, they are dog friendly which is always handy) and a coffee in the on site tearoom, I buckled up my rain coat and headed up to Whimble Hill in New Radnor. Whilst it was a bit of a slippery ascent through the Radnor forest, we made it up onto the summit and panoramic view of the Beacons and Black mountain from the top was breathtaking. But man it was also cold, the wind was roaring and the grey skies were threatening to we bid a hasty retreat and headed back to our wee cabin to warm up.
The rainy evening called for another bath (it would be rude not too) and settling down to the soundscape of rain drops and the resident Tawny owl population softly cooing in the trees near the cabin. I set up studio again on Tuesday afternoon after a rain drive through the spectacular Tregaron valley (I was considering a swim but wasn’t brave enough to plunge into the welsh rapids, Pinto is not the best lifeguard so probably a wise decision) and continue working on my miniature intaglios as well as the two oval pieces I made for Rachael and Paul in exchange for my stay. The cabin is given privacy through a beautiful woven fence wrapping around the deck, through which wind a series of unusual Amelanchier trees so it seemed a clear choice for one of the casts I was made to mark my stay. I went for some beautiful white broom for the smaller oval, which grows not only in the woodland near the cabin but also outside Racheal and Paul’s barn conversion.
It was with a heavy heart that I enjoyed one last cup of coffee in the Birch ply kitchen overlooking Hunter Hill with the rain clouds and wind blowing across the Ridge before packing up and heading back to Edinburgh with my new collection of Welsh botanical intaglio to start my collection. I am looking forward to the casts I made for Rachael and Paul drying out so I can post them back to sit within their beautiful cabin. They also have another equally gorgeous accommodation option on site called the Lean-To, and I cannot recommend a stay in either highly enough.
