Travelling Tales, episode 4, Little Mill Abergavenny

I felt so delighted to be back - at Little Mill Abergavenny. I had previously spent a wonderful weekend here, immersed in photography, but also in giggles and chatting, sunshine and good food. I was happy to see nothing much had changed in almost a year, the same joyful green windows greeted us upon arrival. This place had left a mark on me, a place that had soul and a few of our quilts had found their lucky selves living here too, so I couldn't wait to have a long overdue chat with Hayley Caradoc Hodgkins, the owner of the magical Little Mill. 

We moved to Wales with not much of an idea of what we wanted to do, says Hayley. We just knew that we had to move out of London because we weren't going to be able to see our kids if we were to continue doing the jobs we were doing. We decided that a big lifestyle change was needed and just started looking around for places to move to. We didn't have any specific place in mind, but we kept coming back to Wales, and kept coming back to Abergavenny.

By chance, we ended up renting the house next door to Little Mill, and we were just so thankful to find somewhere to live. There was no big plan. Sadly however, in just after a couple of weeks of us moving in, our landlord told us they were actually going to sell so we were left in a bit of a tricky situation. After giving it some thought, we decided to try and buy this place, maybe start some kind of 'holiday home' and a new kind of lifestyle where we wouldn't have to rely on childcare heavily but work together as a family more. 

We never wanted it to be a 'key drop' place, but more of a family experience, whereby we will host and meet our guests, maybe bake fresh bread and bring them flowers from the garden, that type of thing. I remember staying in those kind of places as child in South of France. 

It was in quite a state when we bought it and we had no budget to do it. So it was just me and Leo, basically doing it all by ourselves. So we learned to plaster, we learned to tile, we did most of the carpentry work. The only things we didn't do, obviously, was the electrics and plumbing because that's for the professionals and not not for us. The Mill to us is very much a labor of love.

So the Little Mill was originally a Welsh flour mill. There are two buildings. This bigger cottage called Maen Melin with wide open spaces, would have been the mechanic room of the mill where all the machinery would have been and would have been the real hub of the building. Then there is the other cottage, Felin, which sleeps eight, which is a very different feeling to this. Felin is a lot more sort of cozier, more cottagy rooms, in a taller building.

They're offering two very different kind of feelings, but when they're opened up together, they really they work. We get a lot of people who will come to celebrate family birthdays, Christmases and so forth. It's really wonderful. 

Many people who come really want to experience the history of the place - although we are not trying to create an accurate 'going back in time' experience - because we're so close to the water, you can really get this sense of how the mill would have worked. The source of power is right next to us. You can hear it. You can look into the wheel pit and see the big old Victorian wheels still there. We kept everything that can be kept and added modern mod cons to make it a really beautiful space. 

Living this lifestyle is certainly not without its complications. Sometimes when you live and work from home, you can end up spending a bit too much time at home. So sometimes you feel the need to get out, which is normal.

I now see my kids so much more than I ever did. I'm able to collect them from school, which is something that I was never thought I'd be able to do. Also, they have grown up in this building. They've helped paint. They've learned so much since being here, not just the language but also about the culture. It's an amazing place to bring up kids. 

Having a space here has allowed me to really hone in on what I would really like if I lived in this building - it's a sort of a fantasy house, I suppose. I can really make it look just the way I would love to if I lived in it. Saying that, I am doing it with other people in mind as well. I want this to be a place that people can come and relax and escape to, but also still feel homely. I don't need it to be immaculate.

When I go away somewhere, what I really want is, is a really good night's sleep. So we really prioritise good bedding, good linen sheets, good mattresses, comfortable pillows, beautiful quilts, all the things that I would want if I went away somewhere. 

Fabrics play a massive part in all of this for me - I don't want to do too much hard decorating with things that are permanent. So textiles are perfect for that, adding color or softness where needed and the change is instant but not permanent. That's actually my favourite bit of decoration because I'm really indecisive - being able to change soft furnishings as the seasons go by feels a lot more freeing, and I'm not panicking about having to decorate for something that stays as it is forever.

I found fabrics one of the easiest ways that I could get a sense of home and a sense of personality into the buildings quite quickly, on a budget that, we could actually afford.

I can't go past a a charity shop or a car boot sale without panic rummaging through people's bags. Usually, it's the pile that no one is looking in, but sometimes you will find, those gems at the bottom, a beautiful napkin or the the piece over the door, which is just a very old flat piece of Welsh, hand sewn linen.  

It's a bit of an obsession. It's something that I've always done, and I have boxes of fabrics. Where some people keep their children's clothes in boxes under the bed, I would throw out my children's clothes and probably keep all the fabrics in boxes under the bed! 

With most of the larger furniture, we've done a lot of sourcing from antique fairs and online auctions. Especially in Wales, there's really some really great auctions, and you can drive and collect it, which is really good.

Nothing in my house matches. Nothing in my mom's house matches. Nothing in this property matches. I don't need it to have a full suite of white crockery that just looks generic. Everything is quite mishmash. Everything has been collected over time. Most things have been pre owned by other people and that is what makes it beautiful and personal. To me those are the things that make this place feel so homely. 

My homes will always carry the same kind of aesthetic, because I'm always using the same things. I'm not buying much new. I'm just reusing the same pieces that I've always had in my home in a just a a different environment. And as much as I love buildings, and I really love old buildings, the home for me is that cushion or that dresser of my nan's. Like, that's home. And it doesn't matter where it is. I can just put that anywhere, and that's where my home is.

I can't wait to come back Hayley, our next trip is already booked!