Go off-grid with this eco hobbit house

An extraordinary eco-home in Pembrokeshire that looks straight out of The Hobbit is up for sale.

It has curved walls, a sedum roof and its own spring-fed water supply - but would-be Bilbo Bagginses will have to move fast, as it goes under the hammer today.

Despite its ancient appearance, Ty Cwrdd Bach was built in 1972 by famous eco-architect Christopher Day MBE, on the site of a ruined chapel. The name means 'little meeting house'.

Mr Day wrote about the site: "Would it be possible to build a home out of this ruin and yet retain its essential qualities - quietness, unobtrusiveness, the feeling of being rooted in the earth, above all this quality of timeless belonging to its surroundings?"

It was one of the first British houses built with a turf roof in modern times; that's now been replaced with a new sedum roof.

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The three-to-four-bedroom cottage is pretty much self-sufficient, thanks to the private water supply and two solar panels. That's just about enough to power LED lighting, but you can forget about having a TV or the internet, and there's no phone line.

There's no conventional central heating either, though there's an LPG gas-fired Rayburn in the cosy kitchen and two working fires.

There's a quarter of an acre of garden - enough for a pretty fair vegetable patch - and there are lovely views across the Gwaun Valley towards nearby hills.

Inside, it's just as quirky, with rough whitewashed walls and unusually shaped windows, wooden and quarry-tiled floors and plenty of beams. It has two reception rooms, and three of the bedrooms are downstairs.

Ty Cwrdd was last up for sale two and a half years ago for £140,000; this time, the guide price is £160,000. Contact agent John Francis for more information about the auction, which takes place at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli.