When Liz Lyons arrived at the home of Kate and Trevor Badley in Blaenau Gwent she had few teeth, had been in and out of hospital with psychosis, and was still suffering the impact of an almost fatal car accident which has plagued her life since. “I was in a very bad way,” Liz admitted, standing in Kate and Trevor’s tranquil smallholding beside a vegetable patch from where you can see little besides a sea of green and countless sheep.
The couple moved to peaceful St Illtyd - so small it can barely be called a village - from Dorset four years ago to take on the running of an impressive smallholding which includes two cabins and paddocks that house a lone pony beside their 19th century home. It was formerly four farm workers’ cottages before it was demolished in 1895. They moved to Wales to buy the barn and cabins atop of the picturesque hill a stone’s throw from the hidden gem blue lagoon, and have now used the stunning home to care for 16 vulnerable adults - all with differing complex needs. Some arrive like Liz as an emergency, while others may have been in hospital or at a care home.
“I wanted a place where I could have people come and stay with me so I could look after them,” Kate said, simply - recalling the joy of living with her grandparents as a child. “This place was perfect - it reminds me a lot of my childhood in Cumbria. I’m a rural girl. Trevor grew up in Barbados which is no bigger than the Isle of Wight, so we’re used to being quite remote. I had a dream to work from my own home and share my home, so that’s what we’ve turned the place into. It’s a therapeutic place.”
