Garden and Wildlife
Kilsby House nestles into the east side of the Irfon Valley, overlooking the ancient church of St David’s in the original location of Llanwrtyd and receiving the full glow of the setting sun. The hillside is steep and the garden sculpted from terraces made from the volcanic rock beneath. The house was originally built as a school called ‘Glenview’ by the Rev JR Kilsby Jones in the 1850’s. A great family man, he worked very hard to establish the extensive gardens which we are in the process of restoring. Evidence of the original terracing is still apparent with a great diversity of mature trees and shrubs in the grounds.
Rhododendrons & Azaleas
In May and June these spectacular flowers produce a blaze of colour throughout the garden.
Birds
Kilsby is a bird-watchers paradise with many varied resident species as well as a number of notable summer visitors. Secluded garden seating and strategically situated feeding stations and nesting boxes allow visitors to view many different bird species in comfort and within close proximity to the house and cottage. Resident species include woodpeckers, nuthatch, yellowhammer, siskin, chafinch, green-finch, tree-creepers, dunnock, thrushes, gold-crest and a variety of tits amongst others. Summer visitors include redstart and both pied and spotted fly-catchers which nest close to the house as do house-martins. In addition to the garden birds various raptor species such as red kites, buzzards, goshawks and peregrine falcons are frequently seen soaring overhead. The harsh call of ravens is a common sound as is the shriek of tawny owls within the garden as night falls. The distinctive call of cuckoos both near and far heralds the spring.
Stone Walls
Much of the terracing and boundary are built from dry stone walls. Their construction is an art that guests are welcome to explore and they provide a rich habitat for many forms of wildlife.
