Lou and Adam swapped South London life for a 60-acre Welsh farm in 2012, transforming it into a sustainable glamping retreat with cabins, wildlife meadows and incredible biodiversity
Joanne Ridout Property Editor
07:33, 20 Jan 2026Updated 07:33, 20 Jan 2026
Under Starry Skies near Llandeilo barn and site in the facilities cabin Adam and Lou Barnes in the cabin(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline)
For some people there arrives a moment in life when they feel driven to evaluate where they stand and what they truly want, and for couple Lou and Adam that crucial juncture emerged when they had two children and a way of life that didn’t align with their hearts’ yearning.
Lou recalls: “We were living in South London, near Brixton, and we’d kind of dreamt of leaving the city, living somewhere more peaceful, closer to nature for probably five or six years.”
However, it wasn’t an ordinary countryside property the pair were seeking – they were eager to discover a new home surrounded by nature but with scope to establish a genuinely remarkable place, a hidden sanctuary to feel completely removed from a frantic world.
Kitchen facilities inside the communal kitchen mean groups can cook together(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline)
Yet it proved challenging to locate somewhere within their budget and the hunt continued endlessly until one day, purely by coincidence, a farmstead tucked deep within the Carmarthenshire countryside appeared on Rightmove – though they experienced conflicted feelings.
Adam explains: “We saw it online and we thought instantly ‘we have to have it’. We came to see it and suddenly it was very overwhelming. It was such a big farm, it was about 60 acres and we were looking for around four!” Lou continues: “We came to have a look about six times or something like that before deciding to make an offer, it was such a huge change from a terrace in London! But the site grabs you, we absolutely fell in love with the land.
“The last time we came to look around before we put an offer in we walked all the way down to the bottom corner of the land and through the woodland, and I think that was when we decided that could be the place for us.”
Inside the barn(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline)
The property element of the purchase included the detached farmhouse and a separate barn, but it was the pristine beauty of the terrain, the tranquillity and seclusion, plus the possibilities that transformed the pair’s initial notion into a comprehensive and evolving venture.
Adam explains: “But it did take us, yeah, a good couple of months to decide and Sue, the wonderful lady we bought from, was so patient with us because we just kept on coming back and then going back to London again!”.
The barn in the grounds that is also part of the holiday let business(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline)
“The land tended to look after itself, that’s how the people who lived here, in quite a low impact way, which really worked well for us, which was exactly what we were looking for. It felt undisturbed, very natural.”
The duo believed they’d enjoy sharing this remarkable location brimming with wildlife, birds and wildflower meadows, glistening brooks and ancient woodland, all beneath a dark and starlit sky free from light pollution with guests, so a scheme was conceived to construct rental cabins.
Lou explains: “We moved in with two young children and not knowing anybody in 2012. The barn was already converted and just needed a bit of a spruce up including a new kitchen and the house already had solar panels on the roof and lots of insulation and all the sort of sustainable things that we were into or are in to but I think it was the land more than anything that worried yet captivated us.”
The property encompasses roughly 20 acres of woodland, 28 acres of enhanced pasture, with the remainder consisting of wildlife meadow.
Lou said:”It’s got incredible biodiversity here including a colony of the Marsh Fritillary, which is a really rare butterfly.
“There are orchids growing like daisies at the right time of year, yeah, we’ve seen otters and kingfishers and badgers; it’s an incredible space for nature and that’s due to the people before us who managed it for conservation.”
Beyond their own conservation efforts on the property, including rewilding initiatives and maintaining four Exmoor ponies that roam the terrain year-round for natural grazing management, the pair have also focused their attention on human considerations.
Inside Caban Hafan the grounds of Under Starry Skies(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline)
Adam works as a sound engineer and has historically spent months away on tour with various artists and bands, but relocating to Wales marked the beginning of reducing his workload whilst establishing a sustainable enterprise on their cherished land. He explains: “When we first moved here, I was really busy and I could be away for up to 200 days of the year, which was really difficult for Lou when the kids were young especially. And so the long term plan has been to be at home a bit more by building this business here. This year is the first year that I’ve sort of actively turned down work and I’ve just been here really.”
Since the barn required minimal renovation, that structure began accommodating visitors almost immediately, but the subsequent phase of their enterprise involved constructing their inaugural cabin named Hafan, which Adam erected with considerable help from a family friend from Norfolk – his original homeland – during breaks from touring commitments.
The moment their inaugural guests arrived in 2014, the pair commenced work on their second accommodation, dubbed Derwin Cabin, followed more recently by a shared facility featuring kitchen amenities, dining space and comfortable seating arranged around a wood-burning stove within one expansive area, allowing groups to gather whilst couples or families can prepare meals and dine collectively.
The 60 acres of land captivated the couple enough for them to buy the farm at Under Starry Skies holiday retreat(Image: Under Starry Skies)
This communal building also incorporates a composting toilet and shower facilities, whilst their newest addition for 2025 features a restored vintage shepherd’s hut named Onnen.
The duo have also begun constructing an outdoor sauna, which they plan to make available to local residents who have embraced the couple’s arrival in the region with characteristically warm Welsh hospitality. Lou explains: “Each cabin needed to be very separate because quite often a lot of sites have got all the cabins next to each other and we really wanted to have privacy for everybody. They also needed to be fairly close to the farmhouse to make change over days easier.
“It’s for the ease of the guests too, arriving on site, parking and taking their stuff to the cabin. We have always loved camping, the peace and quiet, exploring the countryside, in and out of streams, under a starry sky – the name of our business! – that’s what we wanted for our guests.”
Environmental responsibility has remained central to the couple’s vision – repurposing an existing outbuilding and storm-damaged timber for construction and fuel, with substantial electricity generated by solar panels mounted on their residence and the barn’s wood burner providing hot water heating, supported by an immersion system.
All cabins operate independently from the grid, each featuring a log burner for warmth and comfort, whilst the amenities building connects to mains electricity when required.
Adam notes: “We wheel water down to the cabins too, we’ve done our best to make it as low impact as possible but there’s got to be a balance for guests too, a combination of eco aspects that they might not have at home, but also you want them to be comfortable too.”
A particularly rewarding element of their Welsh relocation and business development has been the steadfast backing from the broader local community. Lou reflects: “We’ve made lovely local friends here, so many amazing friends who’ve helped us in loads of different ways like helping design and build the website. I’ve always lived in a city and so this is lovely, you know, the peace, the darkness, it’s wonderful.
“But people say ‘You’re in the middle of nowhere’ but actually we’re not, there’s a community all around us. I’m so glad we came here, everyone is so warm and friendly and we all support each other.”
The pair have dedicated themselves to establishing, growing and maintaining Under Starry Skies, which sustains their countryside existence, enables Adam to spend more time on site, but crucially for them both, it delivers happiness to their visitors.
When either experiences a difficult moment, witnessing their guests’ enjoyment serves as an instant reminder of their venture’s value.
Lou observes: “They come and they’ve got their city head on and you can just see the stress unwind and the little beautiful comments that people leave in the book and when you have chats with people over the weekends and they are thrilled, which is really always, really, really lovely.”
Adam concludes: “I wouldn’t be anywhere else now. It’s home for us, we’ve found our place, and when I was travelling all the time, I’d always be desperate to come back here – this is the best place in the world.”