The Boat House, Llanfoist Wharf

Why we love it

Some houses have a past. The Boat House has a whole chapter of industrial history built into its walls. It stands at Llanfoist Wharf on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, where iron, coal and limestone from Blaenavon once came down the tramroad over the Blorenge to be loaded onto barges. The wharf grew up in the early 1800s, and this building is thought to be one of the originals, used over the years for storage, repairs and the everyday business of the canal. The setting now forms part of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site.

Today the working wharf has fallen quiet, and the building has become a family home of real scale. What makes it special is the contrast: you step out of the front door onto a stone quay with the water a few feet away and the hills on the horizon, yet the centre of Abergavenny is only around a mile and a half down the hill.

Inside

The house is laid out over two floors and offers around 4,400 square feet. The ground floor is dominated by two long, generous rooms. The kitchen and dining room runs to almost 35 feet, built around a large island and warmed by a gas-fired AGA, with plenty of space for a big table and a crowd. Beyond it, a reception room of almost the same length gives the house its grand entertaining space, and there is also a ground-floor bedroom with a shower room and a small office.

Upstairs, the layout becomes more intricate. Five further bedrooms, several with their own bathrooms, are arranged around a central sitting room, alongside a utility room and a dedicated cinema room. Mezzanine levels add extra flexibility. It's a layout that would suit a large family, several generations living together, or anyone who likes to have friends to stay.

Outside

The canal is the star. A paved terrace runs along the water's edge, ideal for morning coffee or long summer evenings watching the boats drift past. Behind the house, around eleven acres of woodland climb the hillside, giving privacy, shelter and a private nature reserve on the doorstep. There are also timber outbuildings, a greenhouse and a terraced garden with a summerhouse tucked into the slope.

The setting

Llanfoist sits on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog, just across the River Usk from Abergavenny. The canal towpath offers easy walking and cycling in both directions, while the Blorenge, the Skirrid and the Sugar Loaf are all within reach for more serious hikes. Abergavenny itself has a busy market, independent shops, restaurants and a railway station on the line between Cardiff and Manchester.