Come and stay in a rural hamlet on the borders of north Herefordshire and south Shropshire with Wales just up the road. Perched above the water meadows of the meandering river Teme, Lower Buckton offers a tranquil escape off the beaten track with families and friends for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, small weddings and surprise celebrations. Any excuse for a happy get-together.
The black night skies will marvel you with sparkling star-gazy stars and no light pollution. Perfect for a good night’s sleep.
At the bottom of the garden is a babbling brook which is actually an ancient millstream which is mentioned in the Domesday Book and was probably built by the Romas to divert water from the river to a neighbouring(now lost in antiquity) settlement. These days we can flood the stream to create a tranquil pond for a spot for wild-swimming. Bring your paddling shoes and jump in.
The house has six bedrooms and comfortably sleeps 12 of all age groups. Dogs are welcome too. The big dining room has an open fire and a huge handmade oak table with chairs for 14 so plenty of space for feasting. The oak dresser has collections of vintage crockery and the walls are hung with horsey-sporting prints. Lots of glassware and silver-ware with English Staffordshire bone china dinner service for the table. The kitchen is a dream with a four oven AGA plus a gas hob with double electric ovens, two dishwashers, two fridges and a freezer. Overflow fridge, washing machine and tumble dryer are in the back kitchen and a there's a wine fridge in the dining room. The drawing room has lots of sofa-age and seating, family portraits, paintings and quirky antiques. There's a wood-burning stove in the antique fireplace; perch on the upholstered club fender and toast.
Enjoy the gardens and play croquet. Eat outside around the huge table with lots of cushions for the chairs, rattan-style sofa & armchairs and steamer-loungers. The main lawn is the south of the house from the kitchen stable-door. Gorgeous views to the Wigmore Rolls Forest. In the foreground are our paddocks with resident horses. There's a paved terrace, large lawn with stone steps to the lower lawn and millstream. HIre a hot tub and soak up the atmosphere.
There are many walks from the door in every direction. Across the lane is The Herefordshire Trail which is a circular walking and hiking route which takes in all of the old market towns of Herefordshire linking the county with farmland woodland, parkland, rivers and serene views. A brisk walk takes you out of this World (metaphorically speaking!).
There's a circular walk over the fields, cross the river Clun and follow a green lane into Leintwardine village which has two pubs, a fish & chip shop and a "sells everything" village shop & fuel station. The Lion is the posh pub on the riverbank with an outdoor garden-kitchen-pizza-hut (summer months), fine dining room and drinking bar and The Sun Inn is the traditional, local parlour pub with proper beer, basic food, great atmosphere, dogs welcome and quite often live music. Then return home by walking along the south bank of the river Teme. Take a dip in one of the bends in the river along the way.
Another option from the house is a walk in the opposite direction across the fields over the county boundary into Shropshire to Bucknell which also has a village pub. From the railway station here you're able to hail a train and be transported through the sprawling country of mid Wales on the Heart of Wales Line which ends up in Swansea or go north through Shropshire to Shrewsbury for the day. An outing to be remembered.
Whether you explore by car, bus and train everything is within easy reach of luscious Ludlow and our local county towns: the cities of Hereford and Worcester, and the historic market towns of Shrewsbury and Presteigne.
The area's steeped in history with prehistoric sites, ancient churches and castles, historic houses, parklands and magnificent gardens. The small market towns are a delight to discover with their myriad of local independent shops, cafes, inns and restaurants. Follow the Black and White Trail and link up the gloriously crooked timber-framed properties which dominate the many quirky villages and small towns in Herefordshire.
This area which is known as The Welsh Marches hosts many shows, festivals and events throughout the year. Notable world-leading fixtures are the various Ludlow Food & Drink Festivals, Hay on Wye Literary Festival, Abergavenny Food Festival, The Royal Welsh Show, The Three Choirs Music Festival, National Hunt and Point to Point Races. Never a dull moment when you stay and Lower Buckton!