The Coach House, Ledbury
- Adventure Mama
- Aug 19, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 22, 2020
This weekend we took a mini-break in rural Herefordshire. Primarily for a family wedding, but not ones to miss an opportunity for a get away, we booked a long weekend at The Coach House, Ledbury. Boy do we take A LOT of stuff away with us now!
Not having spent much time in this part of the country before, the beauty and history of the villages and countryside we passed through had my imagination captivated - I have to admit that I am a bit of a history geek, especially what it comes to castles and stately homes. With its abundance of castles and ancient history, Herefordshire definitely seems like my kind of place!
We stayed 2 nights at The Coach House, Coddington (approximately 4.5 miles from Ledbury) a luxuriously, modern converted stable block attached to The Old Rectory. The Building dates back to 1585 and during its years as Mrs Marsham's school for girls, can boast Winston Churchills niece and two ladies who went into employment on Enigma at Bletchley Park among its former residents.
So what did we think of our esteemed resting place? It was exactly to my budget/luxury taste costing us £193 for 2 nights in 1 bedroom (£79 per night + a £35 cleaning fee). You also have the option to book a further bedroom with ensuite for an additional £50 per night. Chris and Jules who own The Coach House were fantastic in their communication with us prior to arrival and even let us drop our luggage off well before 'check-in' time so that we could spend the day at the wedding. They were even kind enough to set up Orla's travel cot on our behalf - a God send when getting back late with an exhausted toddler.
On the note of kids, Chris and Jules obviously allow children (and the four-legged friend variety), but this isn't the type of place to provide travel cots and highchairs - not a problem for us as we have our own. Geoff and I agreed that The Coach House wasn't the most child friendly of places we have stayed in, more due to my boutique taste than anything else. We found ourselves shepherding Orla and saying 'NO' and awful lot during our stay. You definitely look at features such as the free standing log burner, original caste iron spiral staircase and modern finishes in a whole new light when travelling with a child.
The staircase... oh the staircase! This original feature is absolutley beautiful, connecting the history of the building to the luxurious redevelopment, however was a source of trepidation for the entirety our stay. Not only the cause of continual head bumps (and I'm not just speaking of Orla), it was so incredibly narrow that carrying luggage and/or a wriggling toddler was an achievement we actually applauded when achieved! The stairs also open straight into the bedroom so when upstairs we had to be vigalent in case Orla's incessant need to explore turned into a hospital adventure. If your thinking of staying here with kids, I would suggest booking both bedrooms, that way you can at least put a door between them and the ground floor.
Having said all this, it was a beautiful place to stay and the lovely touches of a bottle of wine, box of choccies and biscuits went down well. Chris and Jules have even been so kind as to offer a 5% discount to all Diary Of An Adventure Mama subscribers. Click here to subscribe.
So how did we fill our time between negotiating the staircase?
Other than being wedding guests at the stunningly beautiful Birtismorton Court (these guys know how to do weddings), we headed over to Eastnor Castle. A typically 1800's stately home built in the style of a medieval castle. Entry cost us £11.50 each with under 3's free. We had a brilliant time exploring the castle and grounds, Orla providing the perfect excuse for Geoff and I to have a go at the knights maze (you know how we enjoy a good maze), obstacle course and rope swings dotted among the ancient oak trees. We were all absorbed in searching for resident mouse Monty in each of the castle rooms, the room stewards giving us sneaky hints and tips when we got really stuck. Geoff took up position as honorary knight but we had to abandon knight and princess school in favour of shelter from a thunder storm - something Orla found fascinating as she tried to figure out where the sound was coming from (how do you explain temperature/pressure variations and electrical conduction to an 18 month old?).
Soon enough it was time for us to pack up and head back south, but not before a stop off at Slimbridge wetlands centre. What a fantastic time we had exploring the habitats of various bird species, playing in the adventure parks and feeding all those hungry birds. Both Geoff and I were impressed at how quickly Orla cottoned on to feeding any bird that crossed her path. So armed with our £1.50 bag of bird feed, we sprinkled, threw and scattered to our hearts content... well at least until the bag was empty. The WWT (Wetlands & Wildlife Trust) have done well at engaging the entire family so that we all had a brilliant time and forgot to take any photos! Entry cost us £14.80 each with under 4's being free.
A break away being just what we all needed, we certainly filled our time and enjoyed every single moment of it. Thankfully we have the rest of the week to recover!
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