We are so excited to share this with you! Brand new to the Sleeps12 collection of luxury large group holiday houses is Brook Barton, and boy, it’s a stunner! If you’re looking for a unique and stylish property for an upcoming holiday or celebration with friends and family, maybe a relaxing country hen weekend, read on. Within easy reach of Hay on Wye and Ludlow, this is a brilliant base for the world-famous Hay Festival and Ludlow Food Festival.
Deep in the Herefordshire countryside, Brook Barton is the result of a very considered conversion of a former milking parlour with two grain silos incorporated into the design to make it a very striking, one-of-a-kind holiday house. 7 bedrooms sleep 16, there’s a spacious light filled living room opening onto the garden, a very sleek kitchen/dining room, and a second kitchen/living room. Outside a wrap around terrace means ample space for dining alfresco, a large lawn gives you room to play, and there’s a hot tub and outdoor table tennis.
The wow factor kicks in as soon as you arrive – the round towers blend seamlessly with the main part of the house, the whole sits happily in the landscape. Step inside to a gorgeous merging of country modern interiors with flagstone floors and exposed historic brickwork, metal staircases add an industrial edge. This is a house that welcomes you warmly, a place where you can truly kick back and relax, enjoying special moments with the people you love.
The beauty of Brook Barton is in the carefully crafted design – the main house allows for the sociable times, for dining together, to gather and be happy. Two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor, 3 more upstairs, and 2 in the towers.
And those towers. Linked by a short passageway, they form a space that can be as much a part of the house as you want them to be. If you have people in your group who appreciate their own space or prefer an earlier bedtime, this is perfect because they’ll have their own kitchen and living space too. The seductive curves of the round rooms, the full height windows giving views over the fields, the gentle ambience – this is a place you won’t want to leave. Happy days, restful nights, time to unwind, somewhere so far removed from the push and shove of life.
If you can bear to tear yourselves away, there’s a lot to discover nearby. Lovers of literature should put Hay-on-Wye top of their list; just a 30 minute drive away, this peaceful little town in the Welsh Marches is famous for its bookshops and the annual Hay Festival Global, with events, talks and workshops covering art, literature, science, politics, music and comedy.
Hay Festival – Reader Credit: Marsha Arnold
Ludlow is also within easy reach, a joy to browse on market day and a popular destination for the annual Ludlow Food Festival and Medieval Living History Weekend. In Hereford you can visit the glorious cathedral to see the medieval Mappa Mundi and the largest chained library in the world, or you can tackle the clues and riddles in The Shrine Keeper Escape Room.
There are family attractions to visit, like The Small Breeds Farm Park and Owl Centre, Berrington Hall, and the eclectic Westonbury Mill Water Gardens. Follow the Black & White Villages Trail around some of the prettiest little places, lace up your boots for walks and activities in the beautiful Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons.
Pootle up the road, or amble across the fields to Pembridge for a pub lunch at The New Inn, or to The Cider Barn, a gorgeously converted 450 year old barn where you can tuck into food that’s locally grown and raised. Put the pedal to the metal at Hereford Raceway, go canoeing on the River Wye, watch cheese being made to recipes that are over 100 years old at Monkland Cheese Dairy.
But like we say, that’s if you can tear yourselves away from the joy that Brook Barton is, so very lovely, so perfect in every way – and so unique. This is a holiday house to delight in, where you can feel at home. It’s where memories will be made, so very special, and yours to keep forever.