IntExplore
July 2017
The Bothy at Meeson Hall is an absolutely fabulous, high quality, extremely well equipped, self-catering cottage. A far cry from the primitive style of 'bothy' you normally associate with the word.
It's newly converted from outhouses within the attractive gardens of a beautiful timber-framed hall, where the owners, Mark & Adrian, are v. friendly and helpful hosts.
The secluded setting offers total privacy, but also assistance if ever needed. Tucked well away from any main road is remarkably peaceful and the facilities and equipment all so pristine and cosy. It must be one of the quietest refuges in the country.
We woke up every morning to nothing but silence apart from the sound of woodpigeon and the sight of a resident great spotted woodpecker, rabbits and a host of other wildlife. At night we walked off supper among the country lanes and farms roundabout, rarely passing a car and enjoying glorious sunsets on the horizon.
This accommodation is located in rural Shropshire and offers a perfect getaway, but it also provided us with a wonderful base to explore the surrounding area. It's within easy driving distance of mediaeval Shrewsbury and other pretty market towns such as Ludlow, Market Drayton and Stafford, as well as Offa's Dyke and the Welsh Border.
Among places in the area we would recommend are:
- Mediaeval towns, such as Shrewsbury, Ludlow & Much Wenlock with its priory.
- The Hawkestone Follies nr. Hodnet, a terrific place for adults and children to burn off steam on an historic estate among an array of natural and man-made monuments, caves, bridges and other challenges.
- The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, one of the oldest and steepest in the country
- Stokesay Castle, a pretty fortified house (EH), Attingham Park & Chirk Castle (NT)
- Ellesmere Lake for its walks and boating.
- Idyllic gardens, such as Hodnet Hall, Wolleron Old Hall & Dorothy Clive Gardens.
- The Acton Scott Working Farm, a fascinating place where everything is farmed and spun before the advent of mechanisation.
- 'Little Switzerland' and the v. scenic area around Church Stretton and the Long Mynd
There are also a raft of good eating places, ranging from farm shop cafes to gastropubs. The Sutherland Arms at Tibberon and The Lion at Crudgington are the nearest. Haughmond Hotel farm cafe in Upton Magna is a real gem, as is a delightful bookshop cafe at Aardvark Books at Brampton Bryan. One of our favourite lunch spots was the veggie 'Good Life' in Shrewsbury.
A truly wonderful stay and we're already longing to go back!