We would love you to join us at Lower House Farm to celebrate our marriage.

Set in the foothills of the Black Mountains and surrounded by rolling Welsh hills, it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places we could have chosen to get married. But, for us, there is a much more special reason why we are here.

Many years ago, my family and I (Helen) had a caravan not far from here, in Peterchurch. Summers were spent exploring the hills with the family dog, Paddy, and it was during those years that we discovered one of my favourite walks: the Cat’s Back.

It became a tradition to climb it every year. Then, a few days after I passed my driving test, I decided it was time to introduce my boyfriend, Max, to my favourite place.

So, almost 13 years ago, we climbed into my grandad Jim's old Ford Ka, borrowed camping equipment in tow and the car packed absolutely to the rafters, and set off on our very first camping trip together. One of the highlights was, of course, walking the Cat’s Back. Fortunately, Max fell in love with the hills too! 

Flashforward 13 years, thankfully, the cars have improved considerably from that slightly rickety Ford Ka! But one thing hasn't changed: the Cat’s Back is still a very special place to us.

We have walked it in rain and sunshine, as part of camping trips and on days when we've driven there simply because we fancied the walk. And now, we walk it with our lab Duke and will be walking it with our new arrival very soon. 

And then we discovered Lower House Farm, a wedding venue right at the bottom of our favourite spot, you can imagine our excitement when we realised we had the opportunity to get married in the shadow of our favourite place.