Mortimer's Croft Holiday Let. Sleeps 2, hot tub, dog friendly

21/06/2024

Wonderful Wigmore Castle ruins. 10mins from the cottage. Great to explore followed by a pint at The Castle Inn or gourmet food at The Oak👌

06/06/2024

Just 5min drive from the cottage is the curious folly of Shobdon Arches.
A lovely short walk past the Gothic church from the The Bateman Arms and back for a well earned pint.

16/05/2024

Looking for somewhere to stay for the Mortimer Trail run? It passes our door!
30, 20 and 10mile routes available. We have availability that weekend https://www.facebook.com/share/EfeJXX8b7CsLcNxD/

AN EXHILARATING race will take in the picturesque landscapes from Kington to Ludlow this summer.

15/04/2024

Loving a spring walk into the woods next to the cottage looking for Ghost Trees. Followed by hot dog wash on the doorstep.🐾

03/03/2024

Come for a scary walk around the many ancient coppiced Ghost trees in the woods next to the cottage. Some are ghostly dead hulks of mighty old oaks and others have a plenty of life in them. They've been managed since the middle ages on the Croft Castle estate.

28/02/2024

Just a short walk through the woods to this great property

Today is the first . If you're coming to Croft Castle this weekend, you will spot them on your walks. A beautiful, gentle reminder that spring is almost here.

Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/3Hk7old

©National Trust Images / Alice Leonard

28/02/2024

Bircher common is a stunning landscape of open views and ancient oak trees, just 1.5mile walk from the cottage through the Croft Castle estate woodlands

27/02/2024

Our cottage is located about halfway along the fantastic Mortimer Trail, so ideal as the route passes the door. Come enjoy the tranquil walks along this route.

10/02/2024

Come antiques hunting in Leominster 👌

07/02/2024

Happy hounds get to run for hours in the woodland on our doorstep.🐕🐾
Don't worry there's a hot dog wash outside the cottage for hosing off afterwards 💦

22/01/2024

Lovely walks on our doorstep past ancient 'Ghost trees'. Come and stay to see them...

Ghost Trees Project at Croft Castle: Explore dead and dying trees with a new walk and art exhibition, including paintings, photos, and poems.

17/01/2024

A quiet hidden and forgotten part of the UK.
Come and find out why...

Herefordshire is tucked away between the almost-as-lovely counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, and of course, the Welsh border. Few counties are as countrified. Its 842 square miles have almost everything we associate with English rural life: woodlands, orchards, running rivers, hedges, wildflowers, long views down valleys and fields brimming with crops.

We explore more of this beautiful but often overlooked county in our new issue.

Photo: A stroll along the River Arrow at Eardisland

26/12/2023

Blown up over Christmas? Come and burn off the calories on the Croft Castle woodland walks from the doorstep.

The National Trust's Croft Castle in Herefordshire is a castle surrounded by historic woodland, farm and parkland.

13/11/2023

Don't normally post these feedback emails up but more 5* feedback 👌
Always available for short breaks and longer stays.
See you soon 👍

27/10/2023

Looks like fun and fire at Croft Castle just 5 minutes up the road.

09/10/2023

Last of the summer wine, well amazing October weather.
A short stroll from the cottage to these stunning views and handy bench overlooking Wigmore Rolls 👌

30/08/2023

Just 15 minutes walk through ancient woodland to the stunning views from Croft Ambrey Iron Age Hillfort.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/177738846453863/permalink/1059098351651237/

09/04/2023

Pretty villages to mooch round locally 👍🏻

Explore North Herefordshire with Visit Herefordshire 🚗🚲
Visit 6 medieval villages in Herefordshire with the prettiest half-timbered buildings. Visit on the bus, via bike, or drive. Find the route & more information here: https://orlo.uk/LLGlK

09/03/2023

Winter wonderland. Get cosy inside when it's snowing🥶

22/02/2023

Loving Spring. Great walks around Shobdon Arches, woods and church

19/02/2023

An abandoned house only 15 minutes walk away. Needs some love. Someone started about 10 years ago renovating and pouring a concrete pad to extend the house, but I think the lack of vehicular access ended their dream.

11/12/2022

Fancy a winter break with your own hot tub?
Availability from January

01/10/2022

Take a leisurely walk from your front door through woods and fields for a hot chocolate and cake at Croft Castle ☕️🍰
Dogs welcome and no tarmac!

It is crunch time at Croft Castle🍂🍁🍄.

This autumn, join us for some spectacular seasonal views, with fiery reds, burnt oranges, and bright yellows taking over the parkland. Pop on your wellies and feel the crunch of autumn leaves underfoot, host a conker match or two and warm up in the tea-room with a delicious hot chocolate☕️

Plan your visit to Croft Castle here:
https://bit.ly/3BaPjU5

14/09/2022

Great to have many returning customers and always fantastic reviews👌 Pretty much booked up until December, so get yourself some dates reserved 👍

19/08/2022

Mmmmmm cider...come and try the local brews🍻

**FOLKLORE FRIDAY**

Herefordshire cider is well known and loved around the world and its easy to see why, but did you know that by 1397 it was the most popular drink in the county. So popular was it that many farmers paid their church tithes with it and babies were baptised with it. We're assuming that it was purely used to wet the baby's head but maybe not as a law was passed forbidding the use of cider in the baptismal font. Apart from the Vicar of Dilwyn who would feed his servants with toast and cider throughout the whole of Lent, you may be wondering what vicars did with their stocks of cider? Well cider became another form of currency and could be bartered for food, goods and services. Farm labourer's wages were also part paid in cider and during harvesting season it was thought that a person would consume as much as three gallons a day without it affecting the quality of their work. We can only assume that the cider being dished out was a weak version of what we may enjoy today.

Cider was enjoyed in village inns too and many a poor wife would turn up looking for their husbands, only to find them merrily supping away on the golden nectar and in no hurry to return home. This too was the case with Adam and Biddy. Adam was a more than a bit partial to a drop of cider and would often roll home in a merry but drunken state much to the annoyance of his wife Biddy. As divorce was not so readily available in those days Biddy decided upon an alternative course of action to put a stop to her husband's errant ways. One night she dressed from head to foot in a white sheet, hid in the dark beneath an oak tree close to their house and awaited her husband's return. After a short while of waiting she could hear Adam loudly bidding everyone a good night and making his way up the lane. Just as he drew near to her Biddy stepped out in front of him, not making a sound, hoping she would frighten the wits out of him. Instead with a smile and enquiring voice he said, "So who might you be then?". At this point Biddy had to dig deep for the most manly, devilish voice that she could find and replied, "I be Old Nick, the Devil". Without batting an eyelid Adam replied, "Ah welcome Nick, come on inside, we have one of your sort in there already". As you can imagine Biddy was not best pleased on hearing that and Adam never heard the last of it.

Making your own cider was an extremely popular pastime too, the pulp left behind from pressing would be a real treat for foraging cattle as it is today. However up in Cobnash a few ducks got more than they had bargained for after they happily gorged themselves on a pile of cider pulp. It was a cold winters night and as the fermented pulp took hold in their bellies, the ducks fell asleep on the frozen snow. Hypothermia set in and they were later found by their owner now frozen stiff and lifeless. As they were due to go to Leominster market shortly anyway their owner decided to pluck them in readiness. She set to work in her warm kitchen, plucking the ducks and putting them to one side. But to her horror one by one they came back to life. The warmth of the kitchen had thawed them out nicely and they were now flapping about making lots of noise. Feeling very guilty that they were now naked and featherless she made the ducks little scarlet coats to keep them warm which they wore until their feathers returned. What a sight they must have been all strutting around the farmyard in their posh garments.

In the famous chained library in Hereford Cathedral sits the Wycliffe Bible affectionately known as the 'Cider Bible'. The reason for this is that any references that you see in the original Bible to 'strong drink' were replaced in Wycliffe's version with 'Sider'. Keep an eye out for it when you visit next.

Cider has played a large part in the history and heritage of our wonderful county. It's a big part of our traditions, from helping to pick and press in the Autumn, to happily wassailing in the orchards together on a cold January night each year. So we'll finish here with a toast to our amazing Herefordshire cider and perry producers. Wassail and long may you continue to bring a smile to faces of cider lovers at home and across the globe.

There are more great tales and stories over on our dedicated Herefordshire History and Folklore page, why not take a look:

www.eatsleepliveherefordshire.co.uk/information/history-and-folklore



These stories are curated from many sources and retold in our fun ESL style, in the true spirit of Folklore.