There is something rather charming about how property tycoon Emma Vidler has spent her wealth restoring some of south Wales’ most forgotten grand estates and yet few know anything about her at all. Perched atop a hilly setting in the village of Michaelston-le-Pit her 52 acres stretches as far as the eye can see from her pool outside the idyllic listed Georgian-style mansion where she’s lived for 17 years.
“I had no intention at all of sharing it with anyone when I bought it,” the 49-year-old single mother-of-two from St Dogmaels said of the leafy Cwrt-Yr-Ala estate – her first high-end purchase and to this day her favourite. “I bought it purely to live here with my family and enjoy the land. It reminded me of home in west Wales with the lakes and the scenic views.”
Following the end of her relationship with the father of her 12-year-old twins the owner of the Keylet group turned to transforming her estate into a retreat for visitors willing to spend big money for a perfect hideaway. “Initially I didn’t think for one minute I’d start renovating and renting barns and carriages out here but at the end of the day these estates need to start making money. If I start thinking of ways to make money with the land then if my children want to stay here and look after it too they could afford to do that. Not that I’d ever force them into it – it’s a crazy world and I know most aren’t as mad as me for jumping into it. You certainly need to be passionate about it – it’s a 24/7 job.”
