SELF-CATERING HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR 2009. ENJOY ENGLAND AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE. English Tourism's highest accolade. Gold Award winners Heart of England 2008. One of three luxury award-winning cottages close to the picturesque town of Ledbury, Barn Croft (sleeps 6) is set in the grounds of a C15th hall house. With private gardens and terrace it overlooks the carp-filled, iris-fringed moat.Within two and a half hours of London and Manchester, our cottages are hidden away in gardens and apple orchards, just yards from an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Diverse, well-kept with plentiful fruit during the summer, this rural idyll is only five minutes drive from Ledbury railway station with routes to London, Birmingham and connections to the West Coast line and ten minutes from the M50 and the rest of the motorway network.

Once a calfhouse and adjoining barn,it is now a 5* luxury retreat. The huge principal bedroom has a six foot half tester bed with silk-lined hangings and ensuite bathroom, while the two downstairs bedrooms (suitable for those with reduced mobility) one with king-size bed and one with twin beds, both have shower rooms.Like the large open-plan sitting room, dining room and kitchen, all have south facing views onto the garden. The downstairs double room has a French window onto the terrace. All rooms are individually designed and decorated with deep, comfortable mattresses, feather and down duvets and Egyptian cotton bedlinen. We can provide hollow-fibre bedding or blankets if required.

Extremely well-equipped, Barn Croft has the usual TV, DVD, video and CD/radio but also books and games and a comprehensive collection of suggestions for places to visit and things to do, though some people just sit and watch the heron drop in for lunch, or the buzzards, woodpeckers and occasional kingfishers. At dusk, bats fly around the garden and over the moat in search of their evening meal. We have a pool table and croquet and boules are available in the Summer. We provide an award-winning welcome basket of local produce and a service for ordering more. Barn Croft's dining area will seat eight comfortably if required and if you don't feel like cooking, we stock the freezer with chef-prepared frozen meals ready to be popped into the oven.

Please visit http://www.thewoodhousefarm.co.uk to find out more about the holiday cottage, amenities, surrounding area and places to visit in Herefordshire.

Outdoor pursuits from walking, canoeing and grassboarding to horseriding and fishing. History, with museums, cathedrals, castles, churches and the black and white village trail. Literary and music festivals.Great houses, glorious gardens, beautiful countryside - you can find them all in this area.

Travel: Ledbury station, five minutes drive. Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff airports equidistant.

Good places to visit: Hereford Cathedral with Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library; Worcester with cathedral, Royal Worcester Porcelain and the Commandery Museum; Gloucester with cathedral and National Waterways Museum.The black and white village trail. Great houses like Eastnor Castle, Hagley Hall, Attingham Park and Sudeley Castle. Gardens like Hidcote and Kiftsgate. The Cotswolds. Historic sites like Chedworth Roman villa, religious ones like Prinknage Abbey. Producers of food and drink, vineyards, cidermakers ,dairies and cheesemakers. Picturesque countryside like the Malvern Hills, the Wye Valley and Offa's Dyke.

Annual Events: March - local villages host wild daffodil walks. May - Hay Literary Festival and Three Counties Spring Garden Show, Blossom Time apple celebration in nearby parishes.Hay Festival June - Ludlow Festival,Hereford Walking Festival July - Ledbury Poetry Festival. August - Three Choirs Festival. Sept - Three Counties Autumn Garden Show, Bromyard Folk Festival and Ludlow Food Festival. Oct - The Big Apple celebrations in nearby parishes, Herefordshire Food festival, Dec - Herefordshire Winter Walking Festival

Good places to eat: The Oak at Staplow (5 min. walk) Ledbury - Fuggles Brasserie/Quills Restaurant at The Feathers Hotel, The Malthouse. Just outside Ledbury - Colwall Park Hotel, The Three Choirs Vineyard, Scrumpy House and Verzon House. Further afield - The Stagg at Titley (Michelin, The Three Crowns at Ullingswick, Castle House in Hereford, The Walnut Tree at Abergavenny. Pubs -The Bell at Bosbury, The Farmers Arms at Wellington Heath.

Local Sports: Tennis, grassboarding, horse riding, fishing

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