Tenancy review for Hewelsfield in Lydney, Lydney

Property rating: 7

The annexe - 'The Retreat' - was beautifully designed and built. The landlady's late husband was a renowned artist. Only some of the lights had working bulbs in them and our tenancy agreement said we were required to have the flat professionally cleaned upon leaving. We addressed that straight away, as it had been very cursorily cleaned before we arrived. After scrubbing down the house we'd just sold, we had to clean more grease and dirt before we could move our possessions into our temporary accommodation. If our experience is anything to go by, insist on an inventory and take detailed photographs of the state of everything you can as soon as you can after moving in. The date will be recorded on your phone. You might need them.

We had responded to an ad on 'Open Rent' for an 'end terrace house' - it turned out to be an annexe on the end of the landlady's large Victorian home, attached by a corridor just two doors deep backing onto her spare bedroom and locked from her side.

Area rating: 9

The area and position of the house is exceptionally beautiful. There are easy walks and footpaths in all directions. There is no public transport up the hill, but there is a bus from Monmouth to Chepstow through Tintern - I believe - and the walk up is about 45 minutes from the bottom of the hill. A great place for fresh air and exercise.

The Village Shop is fabulous - the volunteer staff are really helpful. They sell loads of organic stuff, and will get things in for you if you ask. They even deliver, and ran a service right through the spring 2020 lockdown.

People around are really friendly. It's a bit remote if you don't have your own transport, but with a car you can be in Bristol within 45 minutes, Bath in an hour and Chepstow and Monmouth are less than half an hour's drive away.