The beavers
A wild family of beavers has made its home at the bottom of our valley, and feeds by the fire pit most evenings at dusk. There's no hide to book and no ticket to buy. It's the closest, calmest beaver watching we know of, and it's simply part of staying here.
We love our beavers, and no wonder they love this place. Our family of Eurasian beavers come to feed in the early evenings, right by the fire pit, in the same spot every day. They are unusually tame and used to folk being about. Sit fairly still, keep quiet, and you may find yourself quite enthralled, watching these beautiful native creatures chomping on carrots and apples so close by.
Our breeding pair have had kits five years running now, and the extended, multi-generational family is perhaps ten strong, all living together in their lodge.
On film
Our beavers feature in this short film by Stand Up For Nature, about the quiet return of these creatures to Welsh rivers. It is about ten minutes, and the next best thing to sitting by the fire pit yourself.
An evening with them
The beavers are wild and free to come or not, so some evenings they're out for an hour and some not at all. That's really the whole point. Here's how the evenings tend to go, and how we keep them trusting us.
They feed down at the bottom of the valley, by the communal fire pit. From most of the cottages it is only a short walk down as the light goes.
Dusk is the time, and spring through autumn is the best of it. Do bring something warm to sit in, and a little patience.
Sit still and keep your voice low. Please be kind to them, they are wild creatures and only come because they trust us to be calm and quiet, so they carry on trusting us with these evenings.
Not staying over
You do not have to stay the night to meet our beavers. From April to October we welcome a small number of visitors for a pre-arranged evening, by appointment only.
It is a quiet hour or so by the fire pit as the light goes, with a little talk about the family, the wetland they have made, and the wider return of beavers to Wales.
These evenings are arranged privately, just for you and yours. Do get in touch and we will find a date that suits, and tell you everything you need to know beforehand.
The beavers come out as the light goes, so the time shifts through the season with the sunset. We will let you know when to arrive once your evening is booked in.
There is no fixed ticket price. We ask for a donation towards the valley and its conservation work, settled gently between us when you book your evening.
Why they matter
In September 2020 we were honoured with the River Restoration Centre's River Champion status, for the wetland habitat our beavers have helped to make here.
Beavers are what ecologists call a keystone species. By damming and digging they slow the water, raise it, and spread it out, and the wet, living mosaic they leave behind is some of the richest habitat there is. Their ponds here are home to water voles, newts, dragonflies, herons and so much more, all because the beavers came home.
A good moment for beavers
Beavers were hunted out of Britain centuries ago. They are slowly coming back, and in March 2026 they were finally recognised as a native species in Wales and given legal protection.
Blaeneinion is a small, quiet part of that bigger story. Our family lives here at the head of the Artists Valley, just a few miles from the beavers at Cors Dyfi and the ospreys on the Dyfi, in one of the richest corners of wild Wales. :)
Watching the beavers is free and woven into a stay. The Haven even looks out over one of their wetlands from both bedroom windows. Stays are arranged privately and directly with us. :)
