A beautiful listed 1600s Dutch brick house with the famous Crow Leasow Oak (over a thousand years old) gracing the garden and a cockerel strutting about with his hens; there’s much history here and Sally will be happy to tell you all about it over tea. If you’re a group you may get to stay in for supper too – good English cooking from great ingredients and masses of vegetables.
Sally likes to make people happy, so breakfast is a convivial affair around a big table: eggs from her hens, sourdough bread baked by a friend, homemade compote, bacon and sausages from the butcher in Ludlow, Peruvian coffee, homemade marmalade and jams. She’ll make you a picnic and pack it up in a basket too.
Head out for the wonderful, untrammelled Shropshire Hills, an AONB with many footpaths. Wild swim in rivers, watch salmon leaping in spring and visit castles and churches. Ludlow is three miles (bring or hire bikes) for food markets and independent shops. Return to peaceful bedrooms with gorgeous views.
This may be the quintessential Sawday's property. Everything is just right and makes for a perfectly relaxing stay. The building is an architectural wonder, and every room is filled with interesting features and furniture. Sally makes you feel instantly at home, with tea and home-baked scones on arrival, and has paid so much attention to every detail. You are surrounded by peace and quiet, with friendly dogs and glorious countryside. The Shropshire Hills should be better known, and this is the perfect base from which to explore them.