Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23

An exceptional home, in a beautiful location just two miles from the coastal town of Aberystwyth in all about 4.27 acres.

Description

Frongôg Farm is reached via a tree-lined lane shared with seven other homes. The golden flint gravel driveway provides parking for several vehicles and is bordered by colourful and fragrant plants. A five-bar gate leads into the front garden with stunning views across the Rheidol Valley. The farmhouse has two main entrances: through the conservatory or via a stable door into the boot room.

The conservatory, with full-height windows and a glazed roof, is a bright space to enjoy morning coffee, birdsong and a place for coats and boots. It provides an all-weather area to appreciate the countryside. A substantial oak door opens into the hallway, with patio doors to the snug. The central staircase rises to the first floor, with doors to two reception rooms. The lounge features an original inglenook fireplace with log burner and a preserved bread oven. French doors open onto the front patio with views of the gardens and surrounding hills, and another window looks over the side garden.

The snug has an open fireplace with a gas fire for instant warmth, and a door leads to the dining room. Oak flooring, an exposed stone wall and original beams create a cosy country feel. French doors connect to the patio, and low slate steps lead to the kitchen. The farmhouse kitchen combines rustic character and practicality, with slate flooring, a new electric AGA, Belfast sink, integrated appliances and a repurposed island. The AGA is set into an inglenook with two original bread ovens. A pantry cupboard completes the room, and a glass-panelled door opens to the rear courtyard.

The rear hallway includes built-in storage, two windows and a staircase, with doors to the lounge and store room. The tiled store room and adjoining WC add useful convenience. The boot room, accessed via a stable door, links to the kitchen, barn conversion and utility room, and features quarry tiles, exposed beams and stone walls. The utility houses the oil-fired boiler, fuse board, electric meter, washing machine plumbing, space for appliances and access to the courtyard.

The front landing has exposed beams and leads to the bedrooms. The master bedroom is spacious and light, with a full-length window framing views of the Rheidol Valley and Cambrian Mountains. Steps lead down to the en suite, which features an oak floor, freestanding cast-iron bath, walk-in shower, basin, radiator, towel rail, exposed beams and Velux windows. The second bedroom is a single room with valley views and is used as an office.

The back landing has a fitted bookcase and a Velux window. Another front-facing bedroom is bright and includes exposed A frame beams, built in storage and an en suite with walk in shower, basin and WC. A fourth bedroom has built-in storage and a rear-facing window, while the fifth double bedroom has two rear-courtyard windows and a storage cupboard.

The attached barn conversion includes a kitchen/living area with exposed stone walls, log burner on a slate hearth, slate floor with electric underfloor heating, fitted units, built in appliances and windows to the front and rear. A cast iron spiral staircase leads to the first floor, currently a games room with oak flooring, exposed beams and custom roof windows. Its bathroom includes oak flooring, a walk in shower, freestanding jacuzzi bath, basin, WC, towel radiator and Velux window. Once part of the original stone barn, the attached workshop is a generous and versatile space with electricity, exposed stone walls, cobble floor and ventilation openings.

Outside

The grounds extend to around five acres of Welsh countryside, including a paved patio for outdoor dining, a manicured front lawn with rotating summer house, mature fruit trees, flowering plants and a vegetable patch. A five-bar gate leads to two fenced paddocks with wildflowers and mature trees such as sweet chestnut, white beam and lime. A mown path leads to a picturesque pond with yellow iris and pink water lilies, surrounded by wildlife, natural woodland and seasonal displays of snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells.

Location

Frongog Farm is situated about 1.4 miles from the village of Llanbadarn Fawr, within the beautiful Ceredigion countryside and the Rheidol River Valley. Llanbadarn Fawr has a shop and garage, two pubs, a church, a veterinary practice and is approximately 2.5 miles from Aberystwyth.

The area is well known for birds of prey such as Red Kite and Buzzards which are regularly seen soaring high above the valley floor. The Vale of Rheidol Steam Railway is the finest way to see the Rheidol Valley, leaving Aberystwyth Station regularly during the summer months, ending up at the spectacular Devils Bridge, with its fabulous world famous waterfalls. The area attracts visitors, walkers and cyclists due to its stunning location and archaeological remains from the Roman era.

The university town of Aberystwyth along with the well known Arts Centre, and National Library of Wales are approximately 2.5 miles away from the house. The town offers scenic walks along the promenade; at the northern end Constitution Hill, with the longest funicular electric cliff railway in Britain, providing spectacular views of the town, Cardigan Bay, and on a clear day, 26 mountain peaks spanning much of the length of Wales.

Aberystwyth Castle remains are also a prominent feature along with the town museum. The town has a wide selection of restaurants and shops including delicatessens, book shops, boutiques and supermarkets. Further amenities and high street shops can be found in the county town of Carmarthen, situated approximately 50 miles south west.

The area has many schools to suit both Welsh and English speakers, including Penglais School, Penweddig School, and Tregaron secondary School, in the private sector Christ College, Brecon. Rail services in Aberystwyth take you to Birmingham and London via Shrewsbury Station. Regional airports include Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester.

Square Footage: 3,954 sq ft


Acreage: 4.27 Acres

Directions

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Additional Info

History

The earliest recorded habitation at the site of Frongôg Farm appears on a mid-18th century topographic map held in the National Library. At that time it was named Frongôg—meaning hill of the smithy—and predates both the construction of the railway and the later development along Fronfraith Lane. The name was later changed to Frongôg, hill of the cuckoo, likely around the time Plas Frongôg was built in 1876. Elements of the original building are still present throughout the farmhouse. In the lounge, the large inglenook fireplace features a substantial oak beam, remnants of traditional annual lime-washing, a brick-lined side oven, and blackened walls bearing witness to long-extinguished fires. Exposed original ceiling oak beams in the lounge suggest the use of reclaimed timber. The farm underwent significant expansion in the early Victorian period, including the addition of a slate-roofed kitchen with its own inglenook fireplace and flanking brick-lined ovens. Later in the Victorian era, further modifications were made to the front of the house, including the addition of the first floor bedrooms.

Services

The property is connected to mains water, electricity, and private septic tank drainage and oil fired central heating.

Ceredigion County Council. Band F.