Art escapes: a short break at artist Sidney Nolan’s former home

Captivated by its solitude and beauty, the Australian artist made the Rodd Estate in the Welsh Marches his home – it’s easy to see why

I’d normally expect to find a pint of milk and slice or two of cake on arrival at a holiday home. But the welcome pack awaiting me at Orchard Cottage, on the Rodd Estate in Herefordshire, contains a more unusual item – a DVD about the man who once lived here, the artist Sidney Nolan.

I abandon the unpacking, set a fire in the woodburner in the sitting room, and start watching the documentary. It tells the story of Nolan’s progress from untutored artist in his native Australia to one of the hottest prospects on the international art scene in the mid-1950s, and his eventual arrival at the Rodd. He lived here from 1983, continuing to push the boundaries of his art until his death aged 75 in 1992.