In 2016, Matthew and Charis became disenchanted with their lives. Both had been working in good careers as vets and could have continued with a conventional lifestyle. However, Matthew had been feeling the pressure and knew he needed a change of lifestyle for his own health. They were used to living in a semi-detached house in Essex, but with their savings, they opted instead to buy a field in Wales and live off-grid. The new house they built themselves from junk. 

Wales has a One Planet planning policy focused on sustainable development. It allows permission to live on land in the countryside if you use carbon-neutral construction, produce a high percentage of food, generate your own power, deal with your own waste, and do not create extra demands on local infrastructure.

Their home was originally a horse lorry and campervan. Two flat bed trailers made a base for a structure from old wood and other recycled materials. There is a wood burning stove and a biodigester that turns weeds into methane. Solar panels provide heat and electricity for mobile phones, laptops, and a television. Water comes from the mountain stream. They have an outdoor shower and a hot tub from an old industrial tank. Their toilet is compostable.

The end result was Bee View Farm, where Matthew and Charis now happily live with their two children. They have encountered many challenges on the way but are successfully living off the land. They grow fruit and vegetables and keep chickens, geese, ducks and bees. Money comes from selling their produce and from other local work such as farm tours teaching people about off-grid living. They also have a paperback book and ebook, 'How we went Off- Grid' with an easy to follow business plan for simple living.

Ben Fogle also featured the Watkinson family in an episode of his television show, 'New Lives in the Wild', Series 13, now on ITVX. The programmes, produced by Motion Content Group and Renegade Pictures, show Fogle 'meeting people who have adopted alternative lifestyles, primarily off-grid in remote locations on the Earth'.

Adding to their story, after looking into the history of the land, they discovered it previously had another name, Castell Pridd. This name was given to the land by Perci Enoch Williams after it was leased to him in the 1830s by Thomas Lloyd, the incumbent Baron of Cemaes and owner of the common out of which it was enclosed. Castell Pridd, which is Welsh for 'Earth Castle', was lost over time but fits its new life.