Palace Cottage

A special self-catering holiday cottage for two in the heart of Shropshire’s Secret Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty between the Corvedale and the Marches

Private woodland garden with dining terrace and sun loungers • Barbecue • Oak beams • Flagstones • Inglenook fireplace with bread oven • Woodburning stove • Kingsize bed • Widescreen TV • DVD Player • Radio cassette CD player • Electric cooker • Gas hob • Fridge freezer • Dishwasher • Microwave • Washing machine • Bath & separate shower • Views to Brown Clee • Hill & woodland walks from the door • Private parking • Detached • In Shropshire Hills AONB

Imagine escaping to your own detached stone hideaway in a private woodland garden at the head of a secluded valley with beautiful views, far away from roads and reached by a stone track beside a wood. Just when you think you might be lost, the track ends and you find yourself in a tranquil meadow surrounded by woods, filled with the sound of a stream and birdsong. This magical place is a rare find: one of a select few detached retreats just for two in the county, in an idyllic spot deep in unspoilt countryside, but less than ten minutes from the A49 Shrewsbury to Hereford road down quiet lanes, within an easy drive of Shropshire’s many attractions.

A former estate cottage to Cheney Longville Castle, this romantic bolthole was built in 1833, as shown by the date-stone on the eastern gable end. The cottage has been tastefully restored to preserve its character yet provide modern home comforts, retaining the original inglenook fireplace and flagstone floors and oak beams throughout.

Outside there is a south-facing sheltered sun terrace with dining furniture and sun loungers and views across the lawn and fields to Wenlock Edge, Brown Clee and Callow Hill. Have breakfast on the terrace and watch the buzzards wheel overhead, or listen for the sounds of woodpecker or cuckoo; or eat outdoors at dusk, when you’ll hear owls hooting or badgers twittering in the wood, and may glimpse one lumbering across the track. The surrounding woods echo with birdsong, and through the seasons they are scattered successively with snowdrops, daffodils, primroses, fragrant wild garlic and honeysuckle. In May they become a sea of bluebells.

Facilities

The Cottage
Lounge: The focus of the cosy, beamed and flagstone-floored lounge is a walk-in stone inglenook with original bread oven and Clearview woodburner. After long walks or days out you can flop on the big squashy sofas and watch the widescreen TV, listen to the radio or your favourite CD or just read in the absolute quiet. There is a DVD player for film buffs.

Traditional country kitchen: Rustic green pine cupboards with iron handles house a built-in electric oven and Bosch gas hob, dishwasher, fridge freezer and washing machine, and there is a microwave, an iron and ironing board. The solid maple worktop flanks a brick-mounted Belfast sink, and there is a useful separate pantry.

The original steep wood stairs rise to:

The bedroom: With original stone chimney-breast, oak beams and wood floor. Heavy pine furniture includes a kingsize bed, wardrobe, and a chest of drawers with a mirror and hairdryer.

Big Victorian-style bathroom: With oak beams and wood floor. There is a big, comfortable bath with a traditional handshower mixer and a separate shower, a washbasin and toilet. The wooden bath surround is painted in relaxing Lulworth blue and the walls are tiled in blue-and-white handpainted tiles. There is a roomy airing cupboard and a drying area.

Every room has a view across rolling fields and woodland. There are spectacular sunrises over the hills, and if you’re unlucky with the weather you might be consoled by the most vivid rainbows we've seen outside the tropics, which span the entire valley. Though we haven’t found the pot of gold yet….

Things to do
There are Secret Hills walks, including the Wart Hill Wander from the door and Hopesay Hill and the Onny Trail close by. The Secret Hills Discovery Centre and shops at Craven Arms are ten minutes away. If you like a challenge, climb Callow Hill to Flounders’ Folly (which you can see from the cottage), an eighty-foot-tall stone tower recently restored and claimed to have views as far as the Mersey docks on a clear day. Only a little further afield you can walk the rugged landscapes of the Long Mynd, Stiperstones, Wenlock Edge and Offa’s Dyke. Or take a short drive into the lush green Clun Valley with its pretty villages of Clunton, Clunbury, Clungunford and Clun: A E Housman’s ‘quietest places under the sun’. Unless, that is, you come for the Green Man Festival (3-5 May) or Arbor Day (25 May), when there is a lively carnival atmosphere.

There is horseriding and fishing nearby and, for the adventurous, hang-gliding and gliding off the Long Mynd from Church Stretton. You can take off from Minsterley and fly over the cottage in a hot-air balloon, or just watch them drift by from the cottage terrace. The ancient fortified manor house of Stokesay Castle is nearby, and you can take a tour of Stokesay Court, which was used as a filming location for Atonement. There are atmospheric castles at Clun and, of course, Ludlow. The historic market town, with its famous arts and food festivals (Ludlow Festival, 21 June to 6 July, and Ludlow Food Festival, 12 to 14 September), Michelin-starred restaurants, gastro-pubs, castle and many listed buildings, is just ten miles away. Its famous racecourse is even closer. Or just potter around the pretty neighbouring villages waiting to be explored, with their antiques shops and tea-rooms, not to mention numerous good pubs and restaurants. Ironbridge’s World Heritage sites and Shrewsbury, Hereford, Much Wenlock, Church Stretton, Clun and Bishop’s Castle are all within an easy drive for day trips.

Where to eat
There are many country pubs that serve good food in the local villages. The nearest are The Kangaroo at Aston-on-Clun and The Plough at Wistanstow, home of the Shropshire Lad brewery. Other favourites are The Crown at Wentnor, The Swan at Aston Munslow and The Station at Marshbrook. You could try a different village pub every night, eat Indian in Church Stretton or drive into Ludlow to eat Thai or Japanese, sample a café bar or perhaps blow the budget on a Michelin-starred gastro-experience to remember.

Booking Enquiries

For more information, or to enquire about availability:

Telephone: 01588 680473
Mobile:

E-mail: chris@palacebarn.demon.co.uk Or please complete the enquiry form below

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