Bron-Yr-Aur Cottage

Bron-Yr-Aur is a small, remote 18th-century cottage in the hills above Machynlleth in mid-Wales, about three miles outside the town. In the spring of 1970, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant retreated here for several weeks with their roadie Clive Colbourn, living without electricity or running water, writing songs, and recovering from the exhaustive touring schedule that had driven Led Zeppelin to the top of the rock world. The cottage had been a childhood holiday destination for Plant, and he brought Page here as a place of refuge and creative renewal.

The songs written or sketched at Bron-Yr-Aur during those weeks included 'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp' (named for the cottage), 'Tangerine', 'That's the Way', and 'Down by the Seaside', all of which appeared on Led Zeppelin III (1970) and Physical Graffiti (1975). The album III was a deliberate shift away from the heavy blues-rock of the first two records toward a more acoustic, folk-influenced sound -- a change directly attributable to the acoustic atmosphere of those Welsh weeks. Page has said the cottage 'had a lot to do with the writing of the songs on the third album'.

Bron-Yr-Aur cottage is a private property and not open to visitors, though the footpath through the surrounding hills is accessible. The cottage is a Grade II listed building. Its name means 'Golden Breast' in Welsh, a reference to the way the morning sun hits the hillside. For Led Zeppelin fans, the drive into the hills above Machynlleth through the Dyfi valley landscape is itself part of the pilgrimage.