Bron-yr-Aur

From Ffaith

Bron-yr-Aur is a small cottage near Machynlleth, Powys where Led Zeppelin, one of the world's biggest rock bands, holed up in May 1970 after a hard 15-month tour. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote much of the material for Led Zeppelin III there. The Bron-yr-Aur Stomp included on Physical Graffiti was also written during this time.

Facilities at Bron-yr-Aur were basic to say the least. There was no electricity or gas at the cottage in the 70's and the band are said to have trekked down to Machynlleth for a weekly bath at the Glyndwr Hotel.

The band seems to have had great affinity with Wales. Scenes for the movie The Song Remains the Same were filmed here. In a sequence for The Rain Song, shot on the sea between Aberystwyth and Ynyslas, Plant is seen sailing across the sea in a small boat flying the Welsh flag. And it is reported that the band would sometimes "jam" in the bandstand on the Aberystwyth promenade.

According to some sources, Page and Plant returned to the cottage in 1994 to write material for their feature on the MTV Unplugged, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded. A video was also filmed at one of the nearby Corris slate quarries.