In December 2007 a vicar, the Reverend John Dale, who has owned the Bron-yr-Aur cottage since 1972 told the BBC news that he'd asked Led Zeppelin fans to stop visiting his property. He explained: "It is a beautiful place, but people must remember that it is a private house surrounded by private farmland, although there is a footpath at the top of the field behind the house."Fans from all over the world, including Japan, China and the United States, have been trekking up the hill in Gwynedd's Dyfi Valley to see the property. He said: "On the whole people are fine: they walk up and take a photo and go, but I don't want hundreds coming up here." He added that however, "We've had more than one break-in and once a photograph was taken near the fireplace and posted on the web. There have been other incidents too, with one quite amusing one where someone removed a piece of cement stuff from the house but later posted it back to us. We've resorted to painting the house name on a ruddy great boulder which I've concreted into the ground." Three house name signs have also gone missing.The Reverend was not aware of the connection with Led Zeppelin when he first bought the cottage. He was later told "some pop musicians" had stayed there.According to the vicar there is also a misconception about the links between the house and band. Despite stories to the contrary, Robert Plant never owned the cottage, although he does have a property elsewhere in mid Wales, and the band only visited it once.