He said: 'When I first walked through the door, even though it was old, unloved and tired, I could feel how welcoming it was and the warmth the house has, it has always felt like a loving, comfortable warm home. Inside, we got a bit lost with the quirky rooms and the two staircases but we instantly fell in love with it.'Ĭlive could remember very clearly how the house made him instantly feel, he knew it was 'the one'. It was entirely derelict and the garden had grown up to the walls of the house and we had to beat a path to the garden wall that looks out over the viaduct and the channel. But the listing also commented that 'this house is very difficult to describe accurately because of the heavy garden growth'.īut Claire Croft and Clive Watkins couldn't stop themselves from being nosey about Upper Porthkerry farm when they spotted it for sale online, even though when they drove past it was shrouded in undergrowth and greenery that had expanded even more since the 2004 listing visit by Cadw.Ĭlaire said: 'We agreed to just do a drive-by but fell in love with the tumbledown, bramble-ridden cottage. Nestled within Vale of Glamorgan countryside near Rhoose is Upper Porthkerry Farm, a historic thatch property that was granted Grade II listed status in 2004 for being 'a 17th century farmhouse which, despite alterations, has retained its character and its thatched roof'.
Same spot in half way through the renovations and at least you can now see it (Image: Google maps)
