A cottage famous for inspiring Led Zeppelin songs is soon to become the newest Micro Nation in the world – and wants you to join.
The former childhood holiday home of Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant, Bron yr Aur in the southern foothills of Eryri National Park is now striking out on its own.
The cult following of the band has caused chaos for its owner, former record label boss Scott Roe, for years – people travelling from across the world to turn up at the gate and asking to live there, take pictures, inviting themselves and their film crew in.
He hopes to now unite those who find Bron yr Aur a “magical, inspiring” place by inviting people to become citizens of Bron yr Aur (Hill of Gold) Independent Nation.
Aiming to establish embassies across the world, Scott has already commissioned the writing of a national anthem by Grammy-winning Chance McCoy, with plans on foreign aid, taxes, currency and healthcare.
This month, the Bron yr Aur state is launching its drive to recruit its first 500 founding citizens.
Scott, who lives in the modest two-bed cottage with his teenage daughter, explained the place is a lot more than a one-time 1970 writing retreat for the band – the place is off-grid with zero broadband and grows 80 per cent of the household’s fruit and veg.
Scott, who now works in ecology and is a singer-songwriter under the name Boohai, said: “Lots of people see Bron yr Aur as an island, like a separate entity from the rest of the world – so did Led Zeppelin – it’s what Jimmy Page [Led Zeppelin guitarist who returned to the cottage after 50 years back in 2023] and I talked about for a long time.
“That’s what sparked it – it’s his fault really.
“Staying off grid is quite powerful as the decades roll by – it’s something a lot of people crave.
“Chatting to the many people who have visited, sometimes with interpreters, the common thing isn’t really about the band.
“Bron yr Aur has become a symbol of peace and being away from the world’s complexity and the noise.
“It’s a place that makes you have extraordinary experiences.
“That’s what led to this.”
Many people who visit the half-acre of land describe something special about the place overlooking the misty Dulas valley, red kites soaring with no sound but birds and lambs.
Having capitalised on its many visitors by offering writing and recording retreats and glamping trips, the sloped land is now scattered with spots for bell tents amongst the veg patches, chicken coop, wood store, swing and summer house.
The house, far from spectacular, is a quaint 18th-century ex-barn that had at one point been close to falling down, recently painted a faint pink in keeping with its former lime covering.
This caused uproar with fans that it hadn’t been kept perfectly as it was since 1970, or better yet, converted into a museum.
Scott now hopes to grow Bron yr Aur’s impact on the world through its citizenship – and in doing so, create a global network of creatives.
The self-awarded nation will be funded by wealthy benefactors and income from its creative projects.
