Inside cottage that inspired some of Led Zeppelin’s biggest hits as current owner unveils unusual plan to transform it

IT is the 18th-century cottage in a remote corner of Wales that inspired Seventies rockers Led Zeppelin to write some of their biggest hits.

Now, Bron-Yr-Aur owner Scott Roe wants to turn the house and land into its own micronation — with taxes, passports and embassies across the world.

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The former record label boss, now an ecologist and singer-songwriter, came up with the idea when writing a song about ex-Beatle John Lennon’s jokey idea of founding Nutopia — a utopian country that would have “no laws other than cosmic”.

To become a citizen of his new nation, up a misty mountain track on the outskirts of Snowdonia, will cost between zero and £5,000.

At least five per cent of its gross domestic product will go on foreign aid, more than any other country in the world.

OK, half of that is earmarked for Machynlleth, a town a few miles away where a lease has already been signed to host Bron-Yr-Aur’s first embassy.

A flag and coat of arms have been designed and a national anthem will be composed. The nation’s income will come from wealthy backers and from selling citizenship.

Scott, who is in his fifties, says: “A lot of people are going ‘What on Earth is going on?’ But there are a lot of real things behind this, people with Grammy awards on their shelves and are pillars of the community.

“We have partners all over the world, from musicians to astro-physicists.”

Bron-Yr-Aur, which translates as Hill of Gold, already has its own place in music legend.

The tiny shepherd’s cottage was a boyhood summer escape for Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, a Brummie whose family were friends with the owners.

As the band became global superstars, he took guitarist Jimmy Page there for a visit to escape their fame.

And it was that stay that inspired them to write a string of classic songs, including Stairway To Heaven and Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp.

Since then, thousands of fans have made a pilgrimage to the out-of-the-way cottage, often uninvited.

Scott says: “There is so much trouble going on in the world and this place means so much to people.

“I have fans arriving from all over the world, saying they have come from Vietnam or the Far East and that they have spent all their life savings.

“People who have lost a loved one and the place is special and they felt they needed to visit.

‘Tofu-eating lefties’

“And I thought, ‘What can I do to help?’. What I realised is that the modern world is now so busy and everyone’s connected, but Bron-Yr-Aur is the same as it was in 1970, the same place Led Zeppelin found. People see it like an island.”

The house still draws its water from the same stream it did in the Seventies. For its energy needs it has a small hydroelectric generator and wind turbine. And it is 80 per cent self-sufficient for food.

There is no broadband cable, and mobile phone signal is non-existent.

Walking through the nearest town of Machynlleth — about half an hour from Aberystwyth, with a population of just over 2,000 — takes about five minutes and there is not a great deal to see.

But it has the feel of a Welsh Glastonbury, with a range of alternative shops offering crystals and antiques.

There is a divide in town between the locals and the many who have moved here for the hills of Snowdonia.

Up the road, the once ground-breaking Centre for Alternative Technology drew environmental activists from around the world to learn new technologies that are now main-stream.

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One local said: “Fifty years ago a commune started in a remote Welsh quarry here and thousands of tofu-eating lefties flocked here from England.

“It must have come as quite a shock to all the Welsh-speaking hill farmers.

“But over the years the two have grown together and they get along well, which is a surprise to many as the two sides are so different.”

Hotelier Stephanie Windsor-Lewis, owner of Plas Dolguog in Machynlleth, thinks the micronation idea is brilliant and is one that is welcomed by locals.

The mother of two, who is set to be the ambassador to Machynlleth, says: “This is a great little town and it is a wonderful way to promote the arts and Wales to the world.”

For Scott, it is being so off-grid that is key. He had been talking to John Lennon’s son Sean about his song when the plan began to form in his mind.

Creativity, sustainability and well-being will be the pillars of the new state. People can come here and learn how we do things.

Scott Roe

He says: “I was thinking, ‘Why is it so important to me to be off grid? Why does it matter that we don’t have a broadband cable running up here?’. I think it is harder and harder to find these places.”

Scott is serious about promoting the benefit of the arts — and the beauty of Wales — around the world.

He says: “Everyone will get a vote but the founders will have more of a say. There will be elections and people can vote in some way.

“Creativity, sustainability and well-being will be the pillars of the new state. People can come here and learn how we do things.

“We are turning the priorities that nations have on their head. We will have health, prescriptions, music and creativity and foreign aid at the top of our agenda.

“We have to follow protocol to become a state. We will have to contact other countries and ask for them to recognise us.”

To that end, letters will go out to world leaders, including Keir Starmer and King Charles.

Scott used to run a record label in Birmingham and London, working with some of the biggest stars.

But at a business meeting in Cannes 15 years ago he suddenly realised he had become a “suit” — someone who was in the business to make money and not there to help the artists.

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He retreated with his family to his wife’s holiday home of Bron-Yr-Aur, where they had already bought land and created a nature reserve.

He then became a full-time ecologist, advising businesses on how to work with nature.

Retreating to the cottage saw him return to writing music, which he had done in his youth.

In August last year he released album Entropy For Beginners under his stage name Boohai with a host of artists from around the world.

But the ghost of Led Zep is never far away at the cottage. Scott once found a plectrum that belonged to Page — but then lost it while working at a slate quarry.

Ten days later, the guitarist arrived unannounced to revisit the place that inspired some of his best-loved works during one brief stay in the Seventies.

Scott says: “When I lost the plectrum, there was never any way I would find it again on a slope of scree. It was very Tolkienesque.

‘Culture shock’

“I thought, ‘There’s £250,000 gone’.

“Then Jimmy arrived out of the blue at the gate and I said, ‘Jimmy, I’ve just lost your plectrum’.

“He was already overwhelmed to be there because he has never been there since that one trip.

“When I told him about the plectrum he thought it was insane. He stayed for a while and looked round. It really took him back.

“Jim feels really blessed that he found this place. It helped him create his music. It was a totally new kind of place to him.

“Robert had been coming here since he was a child so he knew it well but it was a big culture shock for Jimmy.”

As I make my way out of Bron-Yr-Aur, I make sure to have my passport looked at and checked by customs.

And then I step over the border and I’m back in the rest of the world.