Bron yr Aur ‘micronation’ picks first citizens

A cottage on the outskirts of Machynlleth, made famous by Led Zeppelin, has chosen the first 50 citizens to join a new ‘micro nation’.

Bron yr Aur is the childhood holiday home of Led Zep frontman Robert Plant and where the band wrote several songs – with the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven said to have been influenced by the peaceful surroundings.

The cottage was bought by former record label boss, Scott Roe, who last year decided to attempt to create a micro nation.

For years, people have been travelling from across the world to turn up at the gate, which inspired the project.

Scott says 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.

Giving an update, Bron yr Aur says it has selected 11 ‘international creatives’ as founding citizens, taking the total to 50.

Scott says: “The writers, visual artists, musicians, poets, makers and multidisciplinary creatives come from Wales, England, Italy, Iran, the United States and beyond.

“Around 150 people applied to join the collective, but the search went much further.

“From that international search, 11 were selected.

“They are different in discipline, culture and perspective, but share something important: a belief in the ability of creativity to connect, question, nourish, inspire and bring people together.

“Their arrival also takes Bron yr Aur Micronation beyond a major milestone: its first 50 founding citizens, on the way to 100 and the micronation’s formal declaration of independence.”

Speaking last year, 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.”

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 micronation has its own website and those wishing to join can put their names forward by visiting www.bronyraur.com