Pre-arrival

Information

The owners, Sam & Chris Hogarth, can be contacted by:

·         phone (01239 698 390 or 07824 700 621)

·         e-mail (watermillretreat@aol.com)

.     text (07824 700 621)

There is no mobile signal available to guests at the mill.

Web site - The web site has been designed to be clear and simple to use.  The reader can adjust the size of text using their own computer facilities.  The owners will produce large sized print text documents if needed - please call or e-mail.  Brail versions are not available.

Local towns

·         The nearest town, Newcastle Emlyn, is 4 miles away.

·         The local village, Capel Iwan, is 1 mile away.  This can be reached by climbing a steep road or by walking the footpath along the Mamog gorge.  It has no shops.

·         The mill is mid way between Carmarthen and Cardigan, about ½ hour drive in either direction.  They both offer a wide range of shops.

Public Transport

The mill is very remote and guests need to have their own transport to make the most of a holiday experience here. 

·         Buses run from Newcastle Emlyn to Carmarthen, where the nearest railway station is situated and National Express coaches run from the bus station. 

·         The local taxi service is Home James (01239 711 201). 

·         There is a bus service called Bwcabws which allows you to book a bus to pick you up from the mill and take you to Newcastle Emlyn. 

Shopmobility

·         Cardigan has a shopmobility scheme.  Call 07815 151341.

·         Carmarthen has a shopmobility scheme in the St Catherine's Walk shopping centre.  Call 01267 233699.  It is underneath the car park around the corner from the lifts.

Provisons

·         The nearest supermarket is CKs at Newcastle Emlyn.

·           Coop also has a small store in Newcastle Emlyn.  There is also a good butchers, bakers, a deli, an organic shop and a health food shop in the town. 

·         Tescos have stores at Cardigan and Carmarthen, about 1/2 hour away in each direction.

 Tesco on-line will deliver to the mill and a fish van calls on Wednesdays but no other delivery facilities are available.  Internet connection is available at the mill by arrangement. 

Arrival & Car Parking

·         The mill has its own large car park at the top of the drive, with plenty of spaces for all guests. 

 - There is also a smaller car park, next to the mill, which is used for unloading and turning.  This can be used for disabled car parking by arrangement.

  - Both of these car parks are gravelled. 

  - No charges are made for parking.

·         The drive is approximately 100 meters long.  It is also gravelled.

   - Please note that the outside of the mill is lit all night and the drive is lit until midnight but a torch would still be useful.

·         Guests can drive right up to the porch at the entrance of the mill. Passengers can disembark there and luggage can be dropped off.   Most guests park in the car park at the top of the drive but disabled parking in the smaller car park can be arranged on request.

·         There is a porch at the entrance to the mill.  The gravel goes right up to the threshold.  The porch is 4 meters long and 190 cms wide, with a bench seat and console table along one side and book shelves on the other.  There is slip resistant vinyl flooring in a brown tiling pattern.  It is lit at night.

Main Entrance & Communal Areas

Layout

The layout of the mill is very simple – a central concrete stairway with small landings (236 cm x 124 cm) on each floor, each giving access to two apartments.  The entrance is at 1^st floor level because the mill is on a sideways slope. 

Spinners and Carders Corner are at the entrance level. 

Guests go up one floor to reach the payphone and the Owners’ apartment (see below). 

Guests go down one floor to reach Wheel House and the Bobbin Box. 

·         Floor plans can be found on www.watermillretreat.co.uk/lookinside.

·         There are no lifts or automatic doors.

·         The owners show the guests around their apartments on arrival.

·         The owners live on-site and make themselves available to answer any questions. 

Please note:  While Spinners and Carders Corner can both be accessed by wheelchair users from the main entrance, if the fire escape is needed, Spinners requires the guest to negotiate a step down onto an open ironwork platform which must be crossed to reach the driveway.  Carders Corner requires the guest to step down onto a flight of 5 iron steps, across a small wooden bridge and up a gravelled garden path, including 2 shallow slate steps, to the driveway.  Wheel House and Bobbin Box both require guests to descend a flight of stairs.

Entrance

·         There is a porch at the entrance to the mill with double doors and a UPVC threshold, approx 8 cm high and 20 cm wide.  This is 4 meters long by 2 meters wide and leads to double wooden glazed doors at the entrance to the main building, with a wooden threshold, which drops 5 cm into the hallway. 

·         The entrance doors lead into a small hallway giving access to the two apartments on this floor (Spinners and Carders Corner) and two flights of stairs, one going up to the payphone and Owners' apartment and one going down to Wheel House and the Bobbin Box. 

·         There are no further thresholds to negotiate.

·         The porch has non-slip vinyl in a brown tile pattern.  The hall and stairs are carpeted in brown, low lying carpet.  Door mats are provided with a small mat at each threshold and a larger one in the entrance area.  These can be removed on request if they are inconvenient.

·         The walls of the hallway and stairs are painted white.

·         There is no reception area, other than the porch.

·         There is a doorbell on the outside of the mill to summon the owners. 

·         The entrance doors are never locked and guests can wait in the porch.

·         There is no music played in communal areas and no tannoy announcements.

 ·        Guests staying in Wheel House and the Bobbin Box on the lower floor can also access their apartment from the garden. 

·         Bobbin Box has double wooden doors which lead into the double bedroom.  These can be reached from the top of the drive across approximately 100 meters of lawn which is uneven in places and a wooden bridge over a stream.  There is a wooden threshold 7 cm high and 15 cm across.

·       Wheel House has UPVC French windows which lead into the lounge.  These can be reached from the top of the drive across approximately 100 meters of lawn which is uneven in places and a wooden bridge over a stream, plus approxiately 30 meters of gravelled garden next to the leat.  Please note, the leat garden narrows to just 69 cm wide between the walls of the house and the leat at one point.   The UPVC threshold to Wheel House is 9 cm high and 18 cm wide.

Signs

·         Each apartment is clearly labeled with a decorative plaque 12cm x 18cm, approximately 160 cm from the floor. 

Stairways

·         The stairways are carpeted with a  brown low-lying carpet over concrete stairs.  Each stair is finished with a brown plastic strip, ensuring that the carpet does not rise up at all.  

·         The stairs are even, except for the very top stair, which is slightly higher than the others. 

·         The stairway is 75cm wide between the hand rails on either side, which are made of squared-off varnished wood.

·         At the top and bottom there are small landings, each carpeted in the same way.

Lighting

·         The communal stairways and entrance are lit by economy bulbs in the stairway, assisted by a lamp on the lower level at night. 

·         There is also natural lighting from the windows/glazed doors at each level.

·         The outside of the mill, the driveway and the garden by the pools and BBQ hut is lit by economy bulbs until midnight each night.  The top car park is not lit.

Lighting within the apartments is described below.

Phone

·         There is no mobile phone reception at the mill. 

·         A pay phone is provided on the floor above the entrance. 

  -   Guests using the phone can sit on the low window-sill, which is at window seat height – a cushion is provided for comfort. 

   - If guests have difficulties reaching this phone, phone facilities can be made available as needed by arrangement with the owners.

Keys

·         Guests are provided with a key to their apartment on arrival. 

·         Additional keys are not normally provided. 

·         The doors can be left unlocked while guests are in the garden.

Laundry

·         A washing machine and tumble dryer are available in a stone outbuilding, across the driveway from the main entrance.

·         The door to this outbuilding is wooden and fairly easy to open. 

·         The floor is level, painted concrete with a small channel (around 2 cm deep) which allows a small spring to escape in winter, so care must be taken as the floor may be wet.  

·         There are 2 small steps at the far end of the building.  The first rises 8 cm and extends 50 cm to the second, which rises 10cm and on which the washing machine and tumble drier sit.  The first step must also be negotiated to reach the drying room area.  

·         The building has a window and skylight, giving good natural light, and a light bulb is also installed.     

Apartments

·         Floor plans can be found on www.watermillretreat.co.uk/look inside.

·         Each apartment has a lounge, kitchen, bathroom, double bedroom and twin/single bedroom.

·         The mill is all-electric, apart from the central heating, which is oil fired.  Each apartment has a log-effect fire, a plinth fan heater in the kitchen and an electric emersion heater for hot water.  Dimplex heaters can also be provided on request.

·         Walls are either white or cream with white woodwork.

Floor covering

·         The lounges and bedrooms are all carpeted with low lying carpet, except for Wheel House which has laminate flooring in the double bedroom. 

·         Kitchens and bathrooms have vinyl flooring with a slightly roughened finish, except for Bobbin Box bathroom, which is tiled in non-slip ceramic tile.

·         The lounge seating area has a large rug (around 150 cm x 200 cm) which, in most cases, is quite thick.  

·         There are smaller rugs in the bedrooms.

·         The owners are happy to remove rugs if they cause problems.

Doors

·         The main doors to the apartments are fire doors.  They open and close very easily.  They will self close, and weights are provided if the door is to be held open.  They are fitted with mortice locks, approximately 125 cm from the floor.

·         Other doors in the apartment are normal internal doors with simple level handles.

·         Doorways are normally 75 cm wide, but the door leading to the lobby with access to the airing cupboard and bathroom is smaller – around 67 cm.

·         There is also a door in the twin bedrooms in Spinners and Carders Corner and the French doors in Wheel House – these are Glass and UPVC. They open and close very easily.  The double doors in Wheel House are wood and glass and open and close easily.

Lighting

All apartments except the Bobbin Box have the same lighting arrangements.  Where Bobbin Box differs, it is shown in italics in the table below.  Low energy light bulbs are fitted for sustainability reasons, which give good light but can take a few seconds to become bright.

All rooms also have at least one window except in the bathrooms – only Carders Corner and Wheel House have a bathroom with natural light.

 Seating

Each lounge has a seating area and a dining table with four wooden dining chairs with cushion pads.

Television/radio

·         Each apartment is provided with a flat screen TV, freeview sky box, and video / DVD player.  Normal radio reception is extremely limited and TV has to come through satellite, so this is how most radio and TV programs are received. 

·         Each double bedroom has a DAB radio clock alarm and IPod dock by the side of the bed. 

·         Each twn bedroom has an FM radio clock alarm by the side of the bed.  This will only receive classic FM and Real Radio (a local music station) because of the limitations of radio reception in the valley.

·         There is no induction loop.

Bedrooms

·         All mattresses are relatively firm and have mattress enhancers fitted.

·         Each single/double bed is made up with a fitted sheet, a single/double duvet in a duvet cover, a bed spread and 2 / 4 pillows in pillow slips.

 Bathroom

Each bathroom is tiled in white (Wheel House is fully tiled in Peach) and has a white suite, consisting of:

·         a bath with shower above.  The bath is 54 cm high.  A white grab rail is fixed to the wall.

·         a basin, standing approximately 80 cm high.

·         a toilet, approximately 44 cm from seat to floor.

·         Free floor space – there is 120 cm from the bath to the opposite wall, 110 cm from the basin to the wall and 70 cm from the toilet to the door.

·         Taps are clearly marked hot or cold (except for the wash basin in Bobbin Box).  They are single taps, not mixer taps and turn using standard tops.  There are no lever taps (except for the wash basin in Bobbin Box).

·         A non-slip bath mat is provided.

Kitchen

Each kitchen has:

·         A ceramic electric hob, an electric oven, a fridge with small freezer compartment, a separate freezer and a slimline dishwasher.

·         A microwave, kettle and toaster.

·         A plinth level fan heater.

·         An extractor cooker hood.

·         Crockery, cutlery, glasses, pots and pans, knives, utensils and cleaning materials are provided.

·         Most cupboards are at floor level but the crockery and glassware is kept in wall cupboards above the sink.  Arrangements can be made for the contents to be moved to a lower level if necessary, though this will restrict the available cupboard space.

·         Taps are clearly marked hot or cold.  They are single taps, not mixer taps and turn using standard tops.  There are no lever taps.

Fire Escapes & Alarms

·         Spinners requires the guest to negotiate a step down onto an open ironwork platform which must be crossed to reach the driveway.

·         Carders Corner requires the guest to step down onto a flight of 5 iron steps, across a small wooden bridge and up a gravelled garden path, including 2 shallow slate steps, to the driveway.

·         Wheel House requires the guest to walk down the stair case or to exit through the lounge French windows.

·         Bobbin Box can be exited simply from the double doors in the double bedroom.  Guests in the single bedroom may have to exit from their window, which would require climbing up to the window sill (about waist height) through the window and down the other side.

·         Each apartment is fitted with interlinked smoke alarms, which emit a piercing sound.

·         In the event of a fire, guests are requested to congregate in the small car park next to the mill.

Gardens

·         The main part of the garden, in Carmarthenshire, can be reached down a fairly steep slope from the car park next to the mill, which is slabbed, or along a lawn which is uneven at times from the main car park - this route involves crossing a small wooden bridge. 

• This garden is lawned and runs alongside the river.  The lawn runs right up to the top of a dry stone wall which protects the mill from the water, so good views of the water are available but the wall is not fenced (except in the garden next to the wheel), so care must be taken.

• A wooden tree bench, a sturdy wooden bench, green metal tables and chairs and a wooden swing bench are available in the garden next to the waterwheel.  

• Further sturdy wooden benches and metal chairs and tables are available in other parts of the garden.  Plastic garden chairs are also available.

Bobbin Box | Carders Corner | Spinners | Wheel House | Look Outside | Accessibility

This site was last updated Monday, 18 August 2014