Boutique Glamping in the heart of the Wye Valley. Herefordshire. Enjoy stunning views toward the Black Mountains & Hay Bluff.
Come and stay in one of our gorgeous vintage caravans. Nestled in a wild flower meadow, within the grounds of a grade II listed Rectory. Camping with Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans - Lovingly restored vintage caravans, welcome hamper, hot showers, feather duvets, open fire cooking and home cooked meals, play tennis, explore woodland, walk down to the spectacular River Wye and enjoy incredible sunsets over the Black Mountains.
Jo, wildflowers and The Skirrid. 10,000 steps to heaven.
Glampers love to walk locally here in the Wye valley or venture further afield like Jo did last night, taking on The Skirrid, one of the mystic Black Mountains, and an atmospheric destination awash with nature, legend and stunning views.
We blogged about our favourite local walks, read here https://maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk/walk-this-wye/
Thank Puck for that...MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM!
We've had a group cancel & all vans are available the midsummer w/e of June 21/22/23.
*BLOWS OWN TRUMPET FANFARE*
Well we're at number 1 in Guardian Travel top 10 UK vintage caravan stays
Here’s why retro caravans with original features and wild surrounds are one of the coolest camping options around
Lights! Camera! Action!
A busy day with Elsie staring in a photoshoot for an international children's clothing brand. The client wanted that slice of perfect bucolic Britain, with a vintage atmosphere and look.
We love days like this, the Old Rectory buzzes with hair and makeup activity, doubling up as the costume department, and it's always great to welcome visitors from round the world to Mad Dogs.
That's a wrap!
Spring has sprung.
Finally.
Took a while but hey, we made it.
We're taking bookings for individual vans for the w/e of May 10/11/12.
Lovely Elsie here is calling you...
Herefordian pilgrimage: Golden and Wye valleys, sleeping in churches, pre Christian atmosphere and a bracing pint of perry for breakfast. Fantastic read.
With nights spent in ancient churches and wayfarers’ meals at farms and pubs, this spiritual four-day walk is all about the journey – and rural England at its finest
Twist and shout! We love our girls...here's our blog on the larks and jolly japes whenever there's a hen party at Mad Dogs
https://maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk/aint-no-party-like-a-hen-party/
Mad dogs, even madder hens, and vintage vans.
Check out our new blog AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A HEN PARTY.
We cover all the million reasons why we are the best location for a hen do (not least ten years experience of helping put together hentastic, super fun weekends), all the incredible food we can prepare for you, the activities we can lay on here or guide you to locally and Jo's essential 4 tips for making the weekend work well.
https://maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk/aint-no-party-like-a-hen-party/
OLD McDONALDS HAD A FARM - THE POLITICS OF FOOD
We'll try and envisage a sustainable production and supply chain that enables ethical choices and that's good for the climate.
We'll talk diet and obesity but ask: who the hell are we to tell people what to eat?
We'll look at the supermarkets - friend or foe?
7.30pm Thurs May 16th upstairs in the Hen and Chicken, Southville, BS3 1J
Tickets https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/hen-chicken/thu-16-may-old-mcdonald-s-had-a-farm-the-politics-of-food-102239
AI - IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
We talk about AI and its impact on jobs, data privacy, truth & democracy.
Ask what can it do for our health and to combat climate change.
How will we balance innovation & regulation?
7.30pm Wed April 24th Hen and Chicken
Tickets https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/hen-chicken/wed-24-apr-ai-it-s-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-102206
WELCOME TO THE EFFLUENT SOCIETY
The blog from our 2nd talk 'Wye oh Why - how Britain dumped in its rivers' is live now https://www.alteredstate.org.uk/post/talk-2-welcome-to-the-effluent-society
Includes our TOOLBOX of tips on how we can all effect the issue & our playlist of river themed tunes that we spun on the night.
MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO'S THE FAIREST GLAMPSITE OF THEM ALL?
Mad Dogs of course. The vintage vans, the Summer Kitchen and the campfire circle make the perfect setting for groups of friends and extended families who want to shut themselves off from the world and get stuck into a weekend of good times in the company of Mother Nature.
We love it when one group takes the whole site...hen parties, big birthdays ending in zero, family reunions, retreats or just old friends spending precious time together, Mad Dogs is made for you.
We hold every weekend for groups like this and FYI we have only 6 left free between the start of the '24 season and the summer holidays. They are:
April 13/14 and 20/21
May 11/12
June 1/2 and 22/23
July 6/7
Spring is on the way!
THE QUIET OF THE SKY.
Our blog about one of our most favourite activities, canoeing the magnificent River Wye. This stretch of the river is unchanged since Wordsworth was moved by it to write one of the great poems in our language, Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.
https://maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk/canoeing-the-river-wye-the-quiet-of-the-sky/
Five year have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! And again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur. Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The Paddle Kerne Bridge Ross on Wye Canoe Hire Ltd
When staying at Mad Dogs & Vintage Vans be sure to hire a canoe and spend a half day paddling the River Wye for breathtaking scenery.
Same place on the Wye, 3 years apart.
This is the effect of increased intensive poultry & sheep farming by the river & its tributaries.
We talk about how to sort this out in a way that incorporates the interests of the river, those that enjoy it, those that live and farm alongside it and we'll also look at the complexities thrown up by a river that flows from one Government's policy area (Welsh) into another (English).
7.30pm Feb 6th at the Hen and Chicken
Tickets https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/hen-chicken/tue-6-feb-wye-oh-why-britain-s-dumped-in-its-rivers-99076
BLESSED BE!
The harmonic Gower wassail sung by locals from our community here. Wassails are the ancient seasonal blessings for the trees in orchards and after our replanting of our orchard last year with trad cider apple and perry pear trees, we thought a Wassail was just what the new trees (and this veteran pictured) needed.
'Our wassail is made of the elderberry bough
And so my good neighbour we'll drink unto thou.
Besides all on earth, we have apples in store,
Pray let us come in, for 'ts cold by the door'.
Yes, the shocking state of our rivers is more complicated than this, but this handy Venn diagram does serve a purpose...hear the detail and how we sort it out at our WYE OH WHY - RIVERS OF S**T talk Feb 6 at the Hen and Chicken Southville
WOOOOOHOOOO LET IN THE LIGHT!
Van doors swing open for the '24 season on Fri April 12th and we cannot wait to welcome glampers back to our rural idyll here in the Wye valley.
Gertie and the rest of the girls (yes, it's Sybil's door pictured) and the bad bwoy Monty are still snug as a bug in their winter coats but the glampsite will be ready with its warm welcome for the new season.
Close your eyes and it's spring already.
There's a wassail this coming Sunday to bless the new cider apple and perry pear trees that we planted as part of our Rectory Orchard renewal last February. Blessed be!
START TIME CHANGE for our 2nd talk 'Wye oh Why - rivers of s**t' Feb 6th at the Hen and Chicken.
We're now starting at 7.30pm sharp.
Discussing the national disgrace that is the shocking state of Britain's rivers, who and what is is to blame & how to sort it out.
HAPPY NEW YEAR HAYLOFT!
2023 was another great year for THE HAYLOFT, our cosy and stylish holiday cottage that is so popular with guests.
We had 272 visitors staying last year, plus 24 dogs.
It was full 306 days of the year taken (84% occupancy).
Every weekend was taken bar 2 in Jan and 1 in Feb.
Wye valley visitors just love that mix of traditional build and upcycled vintage style.
Booking now for the new year and if needed for tacking on to a party taking the whole glampsite.
Find out which English water companies have the most debt, who is proposing the biggest bill increases, and which ones have paid the most to shareholders
SNUGGLE UP!
The Hayloft is taking bookings for 2024 on www.maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk
Looks good…
Protesters are being targeted and jailed by the current Government. We will talk about the landscape for dissent, what the Public Order Act 2023 prohibits,...
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mad Dogs and Vintage Vans posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Mad Dogs and Vintage Vans:
BLESSED BE! The harmonic Gower wassail sung by locals from our community here. Wassails are the ancient seasonal blessings for the trees in orchards and after our replanting of our orchard last year with trad cider apple and perry pear trees, we thought a Wassail was just what the new trees (and this veteran pictured) needed. 'Our wassail is made of the elderberry bough And so my good neighbour we'll drink unto thou. Besides all on earth, we have apples in store, Pray let us come in, for 'ts cold by the door'.
Stunning day on the river! No trip to the Wye Valley is complete without some River Wye action. We set off for a gentle sun-dappled 3 hour paddle down the Wye stopping at the Forge and Hammer for a pint in Lydbrook before reaching the classic Yat Rock stretch of the river, finally pulling in at Symonds Yat in our Ross on Wye Canoe Hire Ltd canoe and fortified by vital adventure activity supplies (The Paddle Kerne Bridge's next level brownies and lemon drizzle cake). Along the way we saw abundant river birdlife with calves and lambs on both banks and some daring folk wild-swimming. A real lift to the spirits on one of Britain's most beautiful river stretches. Note to guests - be sure to book your canoe as far in advance as possible as the canoe companies get really booked up May bank holiday onwards.
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?
