“Well-equipped cottage in peaceful, unpopulated, verdant & beauti”
Booked with a last minute discount so only briefly read a few reviews beforehand. Well, there are some moaning Minnie’s out there. Negative points – no mobile signal or (apparently) internet. Plus points – no mobile or internet signal! My mistake was to keep my mobile with me & to find out it worked at arthur’s Stone with incoming griefy calls from work & home. Tip – leave your mobile in the cottage.
Cottage itself is cosy, clean with all the facilities you need. Bed large & comfortable & an excellent shower. Owners’ friendly & unobtrusive. Yes’m, there is another holiday barn directly opposite for 10 people. We stayed a week & most of that time the barn was unoccupied. When it was occupied we hardly noticed. (However, do agree with one comment I observed that curtains/blinds are needed in the kitchen window facing the barn for cottage privacy. Also, needed is a pint glass for proper sampling of the local beverages – a half-pint glass just doesn’t do. That‘s my moan over).
The nearby Farm Shop with easy walking distance sells cider and…..more cider. All excellent but not enough for you to get essential provisions. We had pre-ordered an internet Tesco grocery delivery for our arrival. That worked a treat.
There are lovely walks directly on the doorstep of the cottage so you don’t have to use your car. Climbing out of the beautiful Golden Valley does take time as you have to keep stopping to admire the discerning views. Didn’t meet any other walkers so that might explain why the public footpaths, signs & styles are not well maintained & do become, in parts, an obstacle course. (What is with the “Bull in Field” sign climbing into Maerdy Wood? Gets the adrenalin going but is someone trying to put off walkers?). Get a good map – we used Ol13 for local walks. Apparently, walks not good for dog walkers due to livestock. The latter you meet lots of & even asked to help a farmer get his sheep in a barn – unsuccessfully. Shepherds we are not. Bacton & St Margaret’s Church are very much worth walking to from the cottage.
Lots of other local churches to visit with interesting histories. Peterchurch has the grave of Pte. Robert Jones VC - from Rorke’s Drift. I noted that he died young so I checked out www.rorkesdriftvc.com on returning home. Sad.
Biblical rain when we were there meant the smaller local roads were flooded with water coming direct off the newly ploughed fields bringing the mud with it. This closed some of the roads as we tried to get to Hereford – arriving there by a circuitous route. Worth it though.
Hay on Wye (bit “touristy”), Ross on Wye & Symonds Yat worth your time. No boat trip available at Symonds Yat due to the atrocious weather but glorious views from top (“Don’t just stop at tea hut, head for flag pole” was sound advice given to us).
Overall, a peaceful cottage in a beautiful & relatively unpopulated part of the country. Highly recommended.
