As my car snaked up a Powys hillside at a requested five miles per hour, flanked by high hedges that bent over the winding single track lane, it felt like I was leaving reality behind and was on my way to somewhere magical.
When I emerged from the other end of the foliage tunnel, I got my first glimpse of Rhydoldog House, the period property that used to belong to Laura Ashley's family but was bought and transformed by internationally-renowned Welsh singer-songwriter Charlotte Church to turn into a wellbeing retreat called The Dreaming. And it looked magnificent.
Nestled into the base of a wooded hillside that includes rock formations so special that they have a protection order on them, the house has been built in a location that instantly enchanted. Despite being only two miles from the small town of Rhayader I felt like I had entered another world or dimension.
