Retreats, Company Bonding & Location Hire (for organisers)
Company Bonding & Mini Conferences
Wern-y-Cwm offers luxurious, (mostly) en-suite accommodation on site with 16 bedrooms. Whilst the vast majority of guests must stay on site, we are happy to recommend some local hotels if you have a few more delegates than our holiday accommodations will support.
The Great Barn and the numerous reception rooms offer options for group meetings and breakout sessions. With many firms adopting hybrid, home or distributed workforces, a few days away together can help to establish or extend a team spirit and collaborative thinking.
Wern-y-Cwm is ideal for a mini-conference, residential annual board meeting, business mentoring, business bonding, Christmas party or training course.
Set in 30 acres of private farmland, delegates or colleagues will be free to explore the gardens and grounds and enjoy the many facilities, including natural swimming pool, sauna, terraces with fire pits, den in the dark wood, orchards & vegetable gardens, trampoline, croquet, table tennis and hot tubs. Local walks include a steep hike to the top of the Skirrid Mountain with views over 7 counties or a hearty longer walk to the local pub for a pint and a meal, possibly arranging a mini bus collection to save you the uphill walk home! Alternatively, The Walnut Tree Inn, our local Michelin Star restaurant, is just over a mile away and Abergavenny with its stunning covered market, great restaurants and shops is an easy 10 minute drive.
The rolling hills and endless countryside will inspire creativity and boost morale. Whether you want to think of a big plan or solve a recurring problem, working in the Great Barn lets you step outside the box and explore new ideas in an inspirational location.
Are you the company event planner?
Have you been tasked with finding a location for your business retreat, company bonding trip, mini conference or office party? With years of experience in organising business outings, the Wonderful Escapes team offers you the perfect help, advising on the following areas:
- Accommodation layout & suitability for you
- Additional local accommodation if required in
- Catering from self-catering to private chefs
- On-site activities, walks, games & group bonding
- Wild Swimming in our Natural Swimming Pool
- Massage & Therapies in our Treatment Room
- Use of the Sauna & Hot Tubs
- Off-site activities, cultural trips, sporting activities, restaurants and pubs
- Transfers and transport from airports & stations
We are happy to be as hands-on as you need or as hands-off as you prefer, just let us know what you have in mind, or call us for ideas.
Yoga, Pilates, Walking or Cycling Retreat Holidays
Wern-y-Cwm is an incredible location for you to hold your Retreat. We boast a stunning natural environment, beautiful scenery and a challenging terrain. Our flexible accommodation allows us to support you with the number of rooms required depending on your bookings.
We have plenty of options for yoga or training sessions in the gardens; from the front lawn with incredible views, to the mountain top at dawn or using the grass amphitheatre or Wern-y-Wellness garden on a dry summer's day. In colder months the Great Barn offers awesome space options by the fire, overlooking the valley or with a view of the mountain. For more information and special prices for smaller groups, please get in touch.
The local area offers some of the best road cycling routes in the UK, with challenging climbs on country lanes away from traffic and pollution, leaving directly from the farm. Bike Park Wales and Dirt Farm, with their exhilarating mountain bike and e-bike trails, are easy to reach. Rock climbing, canoeing, abseiling, horse riding, paragliding, clay pigeon shooting, fishing and even tank driving can all be arranged locally with recommendations on offer.
The Wern-y-Wellness Garden offers wild swimming in our Natural Swimming Pool, the Grass Amphitheatre, Sauna and Treatment Room for massage and therapies. Plus our working Greenhouse/Conservatory breakout room offers a warm outdoor location whatever the weather.
Walking and hiking opportunities are in abundance, either leaving directly from the farm, or within a short drive. A mid-summer solstice dawn walk to see the sun rise from the top of the Skirrid or a yoga session on the lawn with far-reaching views will be activities to remember. The gardens and grounds offer multiple options for group lessons or 1-2-1 training. Seek out our 18th century water trough garden and seating. Find the den in the dark wood or follow the wildflower walk down to the bottom field where you will meet our oldest oak, an awesome 400 year old beauty and in winter the confluence of three stream.
Creative, Theatre, Painting & Cookery Retreat Holidays
Abergavenny and the local area has long been an inspiration for amazing local chefs, think Franco Taruschio and incredible artists from Augustus John to Dan Llywelyn Hall and so many tallented writers. This area of outstanding natural beauty offers the perfect location to inspire. Whether you wish to hold a mixed creative retreat, crafting, cooking, theatre, writing or painting workshops, the Wonderful Escapes team is on hand to help you plan and execute your retreat.
With our large number of local contacts in farming and food production, you could source the food for your holiday ensuring minimum food miles. Furthermore, the veg garden, orchard and farm offer great opportunities to pick-your-own (with permission) or forage for your delicious ingredients in the hedgerows or fields.
Wern-y-Cwm is just 10 minutes from Abergavenny, and offers the perfect place to stay for visiting the Abergavenny Food Festival or farmers' market.
Preferential Rates for NGO’s & Charities
Our ethos at Wonderful Escapes is to embrace the circular economy and support those working to improve the outlook for people and the planet. We welcome and are happy to offer discounted rates to NGO’s, charities, environmental and human rights organisations who may need a safe space to hold their conferences, team trips or symposiums.
One recent event included 28 delegates from 22 countries. We helped with complex travel, arranged catering with dietary requirements from Halal to Vegan and booked local activities. On another occasion we hosted a small charity which offers support and tuition to gifted young musicians. Orchestras and choirs may enjoy using the Great Barn or grass Amphitheatreto practice and perform in.
Film & Photo Shoot Location Hire
We offer film and photography crews a range of options from using the barn for lifestyle fashion and homes photo shoots, to using the mountainous farmland for movies. We are open to discussing requirements with location managers and can accommodate the crew and support staff.
The Skirrid Mountain is easy to reach, albeit permits would need to be acquired from the National Trust if you wished to shoot in the National Park and not on the farm. We are also happy to introduce location scouts to our friends and family in the area, if you can’t find everything you need here, which will permit you to stay here and shoot in the locality at castles, river, working farms, stately homes, etc.
Celebration Holidays with the Party Barn
Wern-y-Cwm and the Great Barn offer an incredible space for your stay on site, self-managed celebration holidays. We are not a wedding venue, and do not accept wedding bookings, but what could be nicer than renting the farm and enjoying a holiday celebrating and making memories? Whether it is a landmark birthday for you, a grandparent or friends, your retirement, a work or family reunion, with plenty of on-site accommodation, your guests will stay in style and the Great Barn offers the perfect setting for the grand banquet.
With flexible tables and seating this Cathedral sized room can be laid out to suit your needs whether that be Yoga, Board Meetings, Lectures, a Banquet or Dancing.
If your planned event is in the spring or early summer, the 10 acres of wildflower meadows are at their best. Maybe your perfect celebration holiday is in high summer watching your friends or colleagues have long lazy conversations in the shaded areas of our stunning grounds, with games and croquet on the lawn.
Or with open fires and underfloor heating, you might be looking for a cosy and romantic autumn or winter stay with berry coloured table dressing and candles, enjoying roasting marshmallows and chestnuts over roaring fire pits.
Whatever your plans, Wern-y-Cwm offers you the open spaces for as much outdoor activity as you wish for, but with the added peace of mind that whatever the weather, the Great Barn is as big as a huge marquee and you can feed your entire residential group at one table.
Thinking of organising a Retreat at Wern-y-Cwm?
You are welcome to arrange a self-managed retreat, but if you would like a tailored service we are here to support you . With years of experience in planning and running events we have the knowledge to provide the right vibe, locally sourced food, therapies and help arrange your travel as required. With our fully managed service you are free to concentrate on the teaching.
Event/Retreat Host Reviews
Womens Business Club - Business Retreat - September 2024
Taking the time and the space away from the usual working week was very special. Being able to share that time with a diverse group of women who are up to big things and are curious with their learning and mindsets was fabulous. Being hosted in a beautiful part of the world, with locally sourced and foraged ingredients not only fed the soul, but made my heart glow. More please!
Antonia Dixey, Participation People
Thank you Laura for opening this incredible haven. The food, the surroundings, the rooms, the decor and the offerings were just wonderful! It's such a special place. Thank you for the love and care you have put into it to make it the amazing place it is today for retreats like the one I attended.
Amy Anzel, Hollywood Browzer Beauty
What you have created Laura is truly wonderful. An amazing place to come and escape from a busy life and tend to me, myself and I. I'll be back!
Kate Adey, Life in Flow
We are PF - Business Retreat - August 2024
Our team had a truly amazing retreat at Wonderful Escapes during the last week of August.
The location was beautiful - with amazing views over the Welsh hills. Each of the cottages were so thoughtfully and carefully designed and the spacious meeting areas meant we could enjoy activities, meals and downtime in all sorts of different places.
The outdoor space was equally as impressive, with lots of space to enjoy team sessions outside. The cold water pool, hot tub and sauna were particular favourites!
The team at Wonderful Escapes were incredibly helpful, both before and throughout our stay. They went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. They helped us with every question we had, no matter how small and we were made to feel welcomed and appreciated.
It was the perfect setting for our team to connect, collaborate, and recharge and we highly recommend Wonderful Escapes for any groups looking for a unique retreat experience!
Saran – Business Retreat – December 2022
We had the most wonderful time at your gorgeous farm. The barn was fabulous for our evening dinner, we enjoyed having a much bigger dance floor than our usual Xmas bash. Loved everything about the room, so special for our small party of 20, some of us crashed out on the sofas in front of the fire around midnight !
The farmhouse is so comfortable and warm despite some wild weather outside, great quality beds and towels etc. Really enjoyed the sunrise on Friday morning. Having stayed at many well equipped houses, your kitchen was the best ever.
Vicki – Yoga Retreat – May 2022
The retreat went really well and everyone loved the property and location – how could they not, it's amazing! They enjoyed climbing the Skirrid and the wild swimming went down really well with most. Everyone went a bit outside their comfort zones which is great for that sense of achievement feeling.
The property was a good fit for our use and we managed to eat outside quite a bit and use the lawn for yoga too which was fab. The hot tub was a huge hit obviously. How fantastic to have this brand new for our retreat. We look forward to booking again.
The Symposium on Strength and Solidarity 2022
Our Not-for-profit organization decided to hold one of our annual meetings at Wonderful Escapes! From the outset, Laura and Emily were incredibly helpful, enthusiastic and did everything to ensure we had a comfortable stay, delicious food and a successful meeting!
The location is serene and they have put a lot of love and warm touches into the property. They took us on a breathtaking hike nearby and this was one of the highlights of our stay. We would definitely book another stay at Wonderful Escapes without hesitation and are grateful for their warm welcome, hospitality and for going out of their way to meet our needs !
Interested in hosting your event with us?
You may hire Wern-y-Cwm Farmhouse, Dairy, Cider House and the Great Barn as a whole, or in parts to suit your numbers. We can also recommend some amazing local cottages or hotels to provide a few extra rooms where needed, although the vast majority of guests should stay on-site. We are as flexible as possible, so each enquiry is dealt with on an individual basis.
Please get in touch, detailing your requirements so that we may respond with a quotation.
Wonderful Escapes is the trading name of Wern-y-Cwm furnished holiday lets & banqueting barn which is suitable for self-managed bookings for smaller groups. We are also happy to offer a managed service to co-ordinate the suppliers for your bigger group holiday bookings, retreat or activity holidays.
