Local Area

Although you’ll find Castle Farm in the north of Shropshire, the medieval county town of Shrewsbury (22 miles) and the World Heritage Site at Ironbridge (35 miles) are both within an easy hour’s drive. Shrewsbury offers a vibrant mix of independent shops, boat trips along the River Severn, and its highly acclaimed prison where you can experience life in a recently decommissioned Victorian jail.

However, being just a mile from the Welsh border, we’re ideally situated for exploring north Wales and, a little further afield, the beautiful county of Cheshire too. The stunning Roman city of Chester is only 25 miles away, together with its unique ‘Rows’ shopping, globally-renowned zoo (with over 37,000 animals!), and the oldest racecourse in the world (for racing fans, there’s an even closer course, this time over the jumps, at Bangor-on-Dee).

Just five miles away from us, you’ll find the pretty town of Ellesmere, in the heart of what is often referred to as the Shropshire Lake District – a series of nine beautiful lakes, known as ‘meres’, formed 12,000 years ago. The most accessible and the largest (at 113 acres) is simply known as The Mere, and is just a short walk from Ellesmere town centre (there’s also parking close to the water’s edge).

If that’s not enough water for you, then there’s also the 46-mile Llangollen Canal, said to be the most beautiful canal in the country. From Ellesmere, an eight-mile cycle ride westerly along its towpath will take you across Chirk Aqueduct, and over the Welsh border to Chirk where you will find a 13th century National Trust-owned castle, set amongst 480 acres of parkland.

Other National Trust properties can be found at Erddig Hall (near Wrexham), Attingham Park (Shrewsbury) and, further afield, Powis Castle (Welshpool). If you’re a fan of castles, being so close to Wales, predictably, there are plenty to choose from, but one of the most charming also happens to be the nearest – community-run Whittington Castle (with a tea room, gift shop and book shop) is just six miles away.

If aqueducts are your thing, there’s an even greater one en-route to Llangollen – the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, another World Heritage Site, and almost twice as high as the one at Chirk! Although Llangollen is a small town, there’s always plenty to see and do. Famous for its International Musical Eisteddfod, you can also enjoy horse-drawn rides along the canal, white water rafting, and steam train rides to Corwen following the banks of the fast-flowing River Dee for much of the journey.

For those days when you don’t want to travel too far, there’s plenty of amenities and things to see that aren’t far from the farm’s doorstep. Brooklands Dairy is less than two miles away, where you can buy their delicious gelato ice cream, whilst a similar distance is the Greyhound Inn, a friendly dog-friendly pub offering home-cooked food and good beer. Just over three miles away is St. Martin’s, the nearest village with a range of facilities (including a large independent supermarket, pub, and fish and chip shop), whilst just outside is the 44 acre Ifton Meadows nature reserve, a former coal mining site reclaimed by nature.

Oswestry, a larger market town, is only nine miles away, where you’ll find the popular Cae Glas Park (with its Wilfred Owen statue, Victorian bandstand, and crazy golf), a 40-acre Iron Age hill fort looked after by English Heritage, and the 54-acre former 18th century racecourse, which at 1000ft provides extensive views of the surrounding countryside. Over the Welsh border, you’re spoilt for choice for ights to see and things to do: on the edge of Snowdonia there’s the beautiful Lake Vyrnwy, whilst closer, in the Berwyn Mountains, is the spectacular Pistyll Rhaedr waterfall, Britain’s tallest single-drop waterfall.

Closer still, there’s the medieval castle Castell Dinas Bran just outside Llangollen, whilst around Wrexham there are the country parks Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters and Nant Mill (the latter being part of the Clywedog Valley Trail). Travel west from Wrexham to the Llandegla Forest – a great spot for mountain biking. On the subject of bikes, if you love cycling but can’t bring your bicycles on holiday, there’s a friendly local business that hires out bikes – dropping them off at your accommodation here on the farm and collecting them when you’ve finished. Please give them a ring in advance to discuss your needs so that you are not disappointed: 01691 622222 or 07988 842038.

On our doorstep: many of the attractions and places to eat are within a 10-mile radius of the farm – we have marked all of these, below, with a ’10’.