Storm Darragh Destroyed Our Yurts!

Hi we are Lizzie and Jim, we live in the wilds of West Wales in the Arth valley in the foothills of the Cambrian mountains 5 miles from the Ceredigion coastline.

We have a 5 year old daughter called Brownwen Buddug aka BB. Lizzie is a naturopath and reiki healer and Jim is a handy man, a rope access technician and a yurt canvas maker.

Two years ago, after many years of looking we managed to buy a derelict small holding with magical land that is ancient and wild covered in verdant green moss and ferns, surrounded by ancient hedge banks with gnarly blackthorn and hawthorn trees, idyllic views, meadows and vast starry skies with easy access to beautiful beaches, waterfalls and mountain lakes. It’s the perfect location to retreat and to explore the wild. It ticks all the boxes for our vision and dream of creating an off grid yurt retreat - and a space for community, workshops, talks and gatherings.

Those of you who know us and have been following along since our nomadic wedding days and before that the Chocolate Harlot Parlour, you’ll know that yurts are very much part of our lives, like family. Our yurts have been a space for many celebrations over the last 18 years as a festival venue and then hosting over 100 weddings all around the UK. The yurts were made in North Wales by a master craftsman and were bespoke and beautifully made from sweet chestnut wood.

It felt so good to finally have all the yurts up on the land.

We have been holding regular Children’s Circles where the children learn about the Celtic festivals and the seasons. They connect through movement, dance, play, singing, imaginary nature journeys, listening practices, cooking and sharing food around the fire as well as stories about the seasons and the natural cycles.

Our intention with these circles is to connect children with nature, each other and themselves, cultivating community and a sense of belonging.

Our plan in 2025 was to offer solo retreats, mother and daughter circles and family retreats and then over next 3 years to offer group retreats using the 32ft yurt with its solid oak floor as the workshop space for yoga, dance etc.

Lizzie has a background in retreats and for 7 years worked as a naturopathic nutritionist and chef on retreats around the world, whilst living in India and setting up a natural food cafe. Her work is now very much rooted on the land, the plan to grow food and raise animals to be able to feed retreat guests with nourishing, seasonal organic food.

Wev’ve been busy getting all the other infrastructure in place for the yurt retreat.

Then storm Darragh hit over the weekend and all of our yurts were destroyed by the hurricane force 90 plus mph winds!!

The storm started on Friday night, it was impossible to sleep with the fierce roar of the wind and the worry. The power cut out in the early hours and we just had to wait it out and for it to get light on Saturday morning. That’s when we saw the wreckage!! All the yurts had been flattened including the big 32ft, the only one still standing was Lizzie’s healing yurt, but not for long, she saw the wind crush it! It was incredibly intense because the storm lasted over 36 hours. The 90 mph winds continued all of Saturday, it was too dangerous to try and rescue anything.

The storm damage is a massive setback and we need your help to rebuild and replace the yurts.

We think it’s possible to save the big 32ft yurt, it needs a new wheel, one trellis wall and some canvas repairs; considering the battering it got, this is incredible!

The 20ft and three other 12ft yurts are totally destroyed, we might be able to rebuild one 12ft yurt from all of the bits to replace the healing yurt. This is where Lizzie works from and offers naturopathic consultations and reiki sessions, it is a much needed space to enable her to continue to work.

We’ve lost approximately £40,000 worth of equipment.

If you can donate it would help us recover our losses, repair and rebuild the retreat and continue with our vision to create an off grid retreat in the wilds of West Wales.

Thank you, we really appreciate your help! Lizzie and Jim Xx