Cruckbarn, unique self-build holiday property in woodland on the Herefordshire/Shropshire border, ju
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Summer holiday bookings are accompanied by blue skies (mostly!) and bright green leaves. The forecast for the weekend ahead looks good - a chance to be outside enjoying the hammock, or maybe a snooze in a deck chair. Definitely an opportunity for camp fire evenings cooking delicious bbq suppers, toasting marshmallows and searching the starry skies for signs of August's meteor showers.
We have been patiently waiting to be able to share the exciting news that we hosted last October, for their photo shoot of their Autumn 2024 apparel collection.
It was great fun having such an iconic British brand at our Cruckbarn, and we're so chuffed they chose us.
You can see from their beautiful photos that the clothes (and models) are the stars of the show, but the glowing russet colours of our trees and the rustic charm of our barn certainly create a striking backdrop!
I think our "cool" rating just went up a notch or two!
Summer mornings to remember!
Soaking in the outdoor bath as the sun rises over the hill is a magical experience, and a great way to start a relaxing day.
Both of our bedrooms on the first floor have vaulted ceilings, showing off the space created by our oak-framed roof design. The structure is all on show for your eye to travel round as you lay beneath it, before you drift off to sleep.
We aren't a 'treehouse' but we are very much made of the trees! The golden glow of the cedar boards that sit across the oak rafters create a truly cosy feel to the rooms. And the curved 'wind braces' frame the beds where they sit. The floorboards are oak too, finiished with a pleasing dark stain, left textured from the bandsaw that made them. They were sawn from the same trees that gave us our structural beams, all grown just a few hundred metres from where they now sit.
Camp fire evenings just got a bit more stylish!
Out with the fire pit and in with this smart fire bowl. We made a bespoke circular base from reclaimed bricks found at the local salvage yard.
Our tripod, chain and hanging grill fit perfectly over the top. BBQ suppers are so delicious and memorable cooked over wood fire. And when you're done, you can cosy up around the glowing embers and toast marshmallows under starry skies!
Thanks to Janet's brother Greg
for these beautiful pics! He knows what he's doing!
Summer nights; a wildflower posy; the big barn doors open to the view: friends arriving any minute for a shared supper.
Bliss!
In June the land is awash with green, branches seem laden down with leaves, and the grass is thick and tall. The views out over the valley from our hilltop setting are awe inspiring, dramatic when the sun rises over the hills in the distance, and mellow with golden highlights as evening comes and the setting sun casts long shadows.
If it's peace and nature that you want, our edge of the woodland setting is just the ticket. There are beautiful walks to be had in all directions.
Midweek dates are still available in June, see our website for details (link in profile). ***Discounts apply***
The Common Spotted Orchids are out in force - a delightful sight amongst the long grass on the edge of our woods at this time of year.
The guests who left today had stayed for a week, visiting the Hay Festival most days. The peace and tranquility amongst the trees around our Cruckbarn was a relief after spending time amongst the throngs of people at the Festival.
It's a special aspect of our place - near to interesting towns, great pubs, historic sites and more, but at the same time secluded and peaceful. Most of the time it's the sound of birdsong and the wind in the trees that fills the air.
**June discounts**
Up to 30% off for midweek stays in June.
Long summer evenings, camp fire suppers, star gazing from the outdoor bath, what's not to like!?
The trees that surround our Cruckbarn are the brightest green in May, the leaves freshly unfurled. Inside it is serene and calm, outside the air is full of birdsong!
The hammock is up!
Took the opportunity to test it, just for health and safety purposes you understand!
Whilst I was laying there, thought I'd use the excellent Merlin app to help me identify the birdsong that filled the air.
A good list that included Blackbird, Chaffinch Wren, Robin, Black cap, Flycatcher, Nuthatch, Chiffchaff, Bluetit, and Snipe
A unique wildlife vantage point for our latest guests! They've stayed with us a few times (this was their third stay), but this was their first visit since we've added the outdoor bath. It's a great place from which to enjoy the views over the valley, soaking in the warm water. They had an extra treat when a deer ambled past. What a memory!
Up to 20% off stays in April and May!
Come and enjoy a relaxing stay at our Cruckbarn!
We are currently offering 10% off stays taken before the end of May 2024, using code 'MAY10' when booking via our website - www.cruckbarn.co.uk
In addition, throughout the year we offer a 10% discount for stays of 4 nights or more (applied automatically when selecting dates).
So why not take advantage of up to 20% off and enjoy a visit to beautiful north Herefordshire and south Shropshire this Spring!
And if you've stayed with us before, get in touch and we can offer you a code to use as a repeat guest that gets you another 10% off. This can be used all the year around and combined with the offer above, gives you the chance to get 30% off stays over the next two months.
In 2023 we created an outdoor bath. Connected to our internal hot water supply, it's a memorable way to enjoy being immersed in our beautiful countryside whilst looking down over the panoramic valley view. And at night, it's the perfect place to lay back and gaze up at the starry sky!
We are dreaming of sunny spring and summer days, as the February rain clouds roll through once again today! The days will get warmer and drier, we've got proof from years gone by!
And when they do, it's the perfect tranquil spot, sitting at the dining table in our Cruckbarn in the morning with the double doors wide open, soaking up the warmth of the sun as it rises and looking out over the valley view.
And at the other end of the day, as the sun sets through the trees, getting the camp-fire lit for a cosy evening under the stars is a magical experience.
We have plenty of these beautiful visitors to our woods. Because pheasants are so common they feel familiar and we take them for granted. Up close they are beautiful birds, their feathers the most amazing array of bright colours.
This is the first view of our Cruckbarn you get as you drive up our track. It was looking particularly picturesque this morning with the easterly morning sun giving it a golden glow.
A lovely day to be repairing and refilling our log store.
'Topping out' of an oak-framed building involves placing a leafy branch onto the final roof beam, to celebrate the completion of the structure and bestow good fortune on all involved and all occupants to come!
With the raising of our pegged oak-frame complete in just a few days with the help of good friends to move the heavy pieces into place, we were quite in awe of the building we had created. We strongly remember the feelings of sadness that cladding would eventually conceal the oak-frame so it could no longer be seen from outside. It looked such a magnificent thing stood in its pure form, against the backdrop of the oak woodland from which it had come just a few months before.
In keeping with our original ethos, we chose Douglas Fir and Larch to form the studding and cladding to walls, and Cedar for sarking the roof, all sourced from nearby woodlands and milled for us, all used for their durability without the need for chemical preservatives, keeping things as natural and unprocessed as possible. We left the horizontal Larch weather-boarding 'waney edged' (with the bark on) as we liked the informal look this gave.
For the roof, we were able to find reclaimed Welsh slate, which achieved an immediate 'weathered' appearance, in sympathy with the stone and timber of the walls.
We set about making the heavy oak doors we needed, giving them thickness to allow for some insulation, as they were so large. We had beautiful iron strap hinges made by a local blacksmith, with the 'pintols' lodged into the oak posts to hang them off - a slightly hair-raising experience, as there is almost no margin for error (they are hammered in, not screwed), You need to drive the pintols in to exactly the right point, so they are a permanent tight fit. Too far and the doors wouldn't hang upright, and you'll never get them out for a second attempt!
To construct an oak-frame building, you first 'frame' up each wall, 'cross-frame', and roof plane in 2-dimensions on the ground. We chose to use the traditional 'scribe rule' method, which allows for the inevitable twist and bend in the faces of the beams. It's easiest to work on a flat floor, not out in the open, on uneven ground!
Once you have chosen your best 'face' and 'edge' of a beam, a series of reference lines are drawn, used to level each piece as you lay one on top of the other to mark out the joints that are to be cut to create the frame.
When 'scribing' the joints, patience, dry weather (it's impossible to see pencil marks in the rain on wet wood!), a plumb bob and spirit level are all required. It can take a whole day or more to set up and mark a whole frame, moving heavy beams by hand and carefully levelling things with chocks of wood and wedges. Our gable frames had almost 50 joints in them, the long walls of the building even more.
Once marked, everything is disassembled and the process of cutting mortice and tenon joints starts. Each joint is tested to ensure it fits without binding, and this alone can be tiring lifting heavy pieces into position and then apart. Once all the joints in one frame are cut, then the exciting moment of assembling the whole frame can be carried out, still only in 2-D on the ground. Before the frame is disassembled and stored ready for raising day, each timber is marked with an individual chiselled 'number', recording its position in the building.
This process took us a good few months.
The cold bright spring morning when every piece of the frame was jointed and we were ready to raise our frame was the most exciting moment of the project by far! Seeing our 2-D frames joined together, to make a 3-D building sitting on top of our stone footings, was a truly memorable experience.
A degree of anticipation and anxiety turned into relief as each piece slotted together and the oak-pegs were hammered home to permanently fix each joint together.
Occasionally we get asked about the process we went through to build our Cruckbarn.
It was an amazing experience, started over 20 years ago, two friends with youthful enthusiasm, spending time in a beautiful place, working long hours, choosing the hard way over the easy when given the choice!
After a period of research, travelling to see inspiring buildings and meeting and learning from experienced craftspeople, we came up with a design that we hoped would suit both our needs and our precious site high up on the hill in this stunning part of North Herefordshire. From the outset were were motivated to enjoy the process of crafting our building and not miss it in the quest to have it finished quickly.
We dug the foundations by hand, without machinery, to a hard base (bedrock is luckily not far down), before building up footing walls of stone (selected by us from local quarries) bedded with lime mortar (instead of pouring concrete).
With great good fortune, coinciding with the next stage, our neighbour was thinning their woodland, taking out mature oak trees (as part of a traditional management plan) that were the perfect size for us to cut into the beams we needed for our timber frame. The trees that that would form the skeleton of our building come from an area less than 100 metres from their final resting place in our Cruckbarn.
We hired a local sawmill owner to bring his mobile mill to us to cut trees into beams. Oak has beautiful qualities that make it exciting to work with; when freshly cut it smells amazing; it's heavy, full of moisture, reassuringly solid; when clean grained (avoiding knots and branches), it cuts cleanly and predictably with saws and chisels; and it has incredible colour straight off the saw, when the grain patterns are exposed.
We tackled each stage of the work with dogged determination, patience, and optimism that our efforts would pay off!
More photos to follow, of the frame developing, and the building taking shape.
Shropshire (and Herefordshire!), two beautiful counties to visit!
The forecast isn't looking like we'll be getting a white Christmas this year. No problem, it's just as lovely in the woods with the remains of the autumn leaves beneath your feet. And our Cruckbarn is a cosy cabin to return to whatever winter brings, with its roaring log-fire and gentle under-floor heating to keep you toasty!
We'd love to host you in 2024!
While waiting for the arrival of our guests yesterday, thought I'd fly the drone up high and see if I could capture some of the autumn colour in the trees around our Cruckbarn (see the second picture). In a bit of a hurry I took a shot looking straight down, of our building and the gold, orange, red, yellow and green leaves of the oak, ash, alder, and cherry that surround it.
The guests staying had brought their telescope, and today very kindly send me this incredible picture they captured of the Andromeda Galaxy last night! Just about 2,500 million light years away! What a photograph! Our skies are renowned for being unaffected by artificial light (Knighton Observatory nearby is located here to benefit from the unspoilt darkness) - a great place to star gaze with the naked eye or a telescope.
Two quite different images, one looking down at our little patch from above, one looking up at the unfathomable heavens from below! Both beautiful, remarkable, and absorbing.
Half term holidays for the guests arriving today, and inside our Cruckbarn it is a golden oasis on this grey wet October day.
And with this cosy interior, warmed by the underfloor heating and the roaring log-burner, it makes the prospect of a muddy walk in the woods all the more appealing, knowing what awaits you on your return!
Last weekend was the Welsh Trial event organised by the Vintage Sport Car Club, a truly entertaining couple of days. For the owners a series of challenging 'hill-climbs' test ancient cars and their owners. For spectators, the fun of being up close to the most beautiful historic machines, and watching in disbelief as they are 'thrashed' up muddy tracks, seeing who will get the furthest before the incline or the mud defeats them!
A highly recommended weekend, and somehow they always get lucky with the weather!
Autumn in the woods is well under way, even if these last few days have felt like a burst of late summer. Our Chestnut tree is always the first to break into leaf in the spring, and it's the first to turn gold and red as autumn begins. This year its also laden with big shiny conkers, that glisten and catch the eye amongst the crunchy leaves that carpet the grounds below.
It's forecast to be a belter of a season for autumn colour this year. What better place to enjoy it from than a cabin on the edge of the woods, looking down over a valley filled with trees.
A Sunday trundle around the Wigmore Rolls Forestry Commission woodland on the mountain bike, and just before a fast descent to the castle ruin, you get a great view back towards the woods and field beside our Cruckbarn.
Herefordshire is full of long views - of beautiful wooded valleys and patchworks of fields and ancient hedgerows.
An autumnal feel to the day, today. A bonfire beneath the trees with the sun shafting down through the canopy created beautiful fleeting patterns in the smoke. There's beauty to be found even doing a seemingly mundane job. It was a peaceful place to work on this still day, up on the hill,. The changing colours of the mosaic of leaves overhead signal autumn is coming.
Bathing under a big sky, with valley views!
Wigmore
Hereford
HR69UG
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Once you've driven up the lane out of the village, at the entrance to our track you'll find our "Cruckbarn" sign - designed to mimic the shape of the "cruck" frame that gives us our name. From here the track leads you up between our field and woodland. After just about one hundred metres you're at the top of the hill, where our handbuilt barn awaits you. And the reward of a sweeping valley view! #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #herefordshire #ludlow #amazingspaces #shropshire #romanticretreat #selfcatering #visitherefordshire Visit Herefordshire
#cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #ludlow #romanticretreat #herefordshire #summerholiday #ukholiday #ukholidayhome
A unique wildlife vantage point for our latest guests! They've stayed with us a few times (this was their third stay), but this was their first visit since we've added the outdoor bath. It's a great place from which to enjoy the views over the valley, soaking in the warm water. They had an extra treat when a deer ambled past. What a memory! . . . . . #cabininthewoods #forestholiday #oakframe #cruckframe #cabinchronicles #deer #outdoorbath #valleyview #wildlife #nature #ukholidayhome #weekendsaway #romanticretreat
We are dreaming of sunny spring and summer days, as the February rain clouds roll through once again today! The days will get warmer and drier, we've got proof from years gone by! And when they do, it's the perfect tranquil spot, sitting at the dining table in our Cruckbarn in the morning with the double doors wide open, soaking up the warmth of the sun as it rises and looking out over the valley view. And at the other end of the day, as the sun sets through the trees, getting the camp-fire lit for a cosy evening under the stars is a magical experience. #ludlow #barnstay #selfcatering #kinhideaways #coolstays #cabinlife #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #visitherefordshire #visitshropshire #ukholiday #uksummerholidays #romanticretreat #weekendgetaway #minimoon #oakframe #cruckframe
Bathing under a big sky, with valley views! . . . . . #outdoorbath #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #herefordshire #ludlow #coolstays #shropshire #loveludlow #visitherefordshire #romanticretreat #lastminutebreak #weekendsaway #weekendvibes
How about this for the penultimate dawn sunrise in November! Guests have got the doors open to let the sun stream in. The ultimate golden hour. We're just a wee bit jealous! Sound on for the mood music!
A deer and a view! It seemed a bit nonchalant about my presence and trotted quite calmly towards me. Then suddenly decided I might be a threat! They seem to be quite a regular visitor to our field. Can't blame them, the view is pretty magnificent! . . . #valleyview #deer #roedeer #ukholiday #ukcountryside #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #herefordshire #ludlow #coolstays
When the sun comes out in May, the brightness of the new leaves on the trees and the lush summer grass set against the blue sky is a sight to behold. The children staying this weekend enjoyed exploring the woods, running through the buttercups in the field and toasting marshmallows on the camp fire after a bbq supper. Lots of memories made! Thanks to @gregmorrisphoto for the video. #woodland #ancientwoodland #summersun #ludlow #herefordshire #visitbritain #visitherefordshire #barnstay #hilltophideaway #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #oaktrees #cruckframe #greenoak #familyholiday #campfire #campfirecooking #toastingmarshmallows
Views for miles! #herefordshire #shropshire #ludlow #hilltophideaway #valleyview #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #forestholidays #panorama #oakframe
Our Cruckbarn looks east over the Wigmore valley. Last week's guests captured this beautiful timelapse video of the early morning sunrise lighting up the sky. . . . . #goldenhour #sunrise #redskyinthemorning #clouds #ludlow #herefordshire #visitbritain #visitherefordshire #barnstay #hilltophideaway #timelapse
So the forecast says there is a chance we might have a 'white Christmas'... It's pretty magical when snow falls in the woods, it certainly makes for a memorable and fantastical stay for guests lucky enough to experience it. Here we are popping up a few years ago in our trusty Jimny 4x4. The guests needed a hand getting out!! . . . . . #whitechristmas #wintersnow #snow #jimny #suzukijimny #dreamingofawhitechristmas #forestholidays #quirkyaccom #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles #herefordshire #shropshire #ludlow #visitbritain #visitherefordshire
Video taken by guests last week, sitting at the breakfast table looking out of the window. The woodland wildlife is all around, but it's rare to see deer quite so close. They are usually so good at hearing you first, and so well camouflaged against the forest floor, that catching a close view of them is difficult. It's nice to think they are relaxed in the grounds around our Cruckbarn. It's their home! . . . . . . #ukholidayhome #ukholiday #herefordshire #ukwoodland #deer #wildlife #woodlandwildlife #shropshire #visitherefordshire #forestholidays #cabininthewoods #cabinchronicles
That's more like it! #bluesky #nofilterneeded #holidayhome #bluesandgreens #ukcountryside #ukholiday #herefordshire #ludlow #selfcatering #shropshire #glamping
Up on the hill on the bike, 30 minutes from us, clearing the head and blowing away some cobwebs #sundayride #haybluff #cleehill #herefordshire #powys #shropshire #clouds #cloudporn
Cooee we love that view, a perfect summer's evening #herefordshire #shropshire #sunset #holidayhome #landscape #rollinghills #amazingspaces #ruralidyll #peaceandquiet #woodland
What a perfect evening, the hay is looking perfect and the view is magical. What a peaceful place to escape from the hustle and bustle! #herefordshire #shropshire #wigmore #mortimerforest #ludlow #holidayhome #ukcountryside #oakframe #labouroflove #romanticretreat #cruckbarn #cruckframe #woodland
Beautiful blue skies and winter sun over the last few weeks - an ever-changing view.
It used to be a lake? #wigmorevale #mortimerforest #ludlow #mistymorning #mistinthevalley #frosty #sunrise #skies
The sheep are back in the field #herefordshire #mortimerforest #ludlow #sunrise #holidayhome
Arriving at Cruckbarn, on the edge of seemingly endless woodland, with views over fields to hills and valleys.
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