Fancy your own private glamping site? Don’t we all. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little patch of countryside all to yourself with a shepherd’s hut to sleep in, a pond to fish in and a toilet and shower that you don’t have to share? We can’t help you out with owning the dream but we can present you the option to rent it. The Shepherd’s Loft in Shropshire is just as described.
Situated in a private paddock on a 260-acre family farm, this shepherd’s hut is just right for two. With the site and facilities to yourself, you might imagine that it’s high-end glamping on offer but that’s not what you get here at all. Instead, it’s glamping with a refreshing taste of simplicity; encouraging you to be more connected with your environment at every turn. Facilities are private but not en suite – so you have to step outside to use them. Lights and plug sockets are solar powered, heat comes from the log burner and cooking is done outside. Your daytime TV is watching sheep, cows and wildlife in the surrounding fields; your evening entertainment is the campfire. It’s a great mix for people who love the great outdoors but don’t find campsites fun. It’s comfortable (with bedding, logs, towels and toiletries provided) but not luxurious, showy or twee. Perhaps this totally practical approach to glamping – everything you might need is provided but nothing you don’t – comes from 120 years’ experience on the farm. That’s how long host Claire’s family has been here. Now she’s keen to share it.
If you fancy a spot of fishing, she’ll point you towards that private carp pool we mentioned or, if you want a walk, she’ll send you in the direction of the nearest hills (small by Shropshire standards). There’s a farm shop a mile down the road but for anything more than this little taste of rural life, including the closest pub, you’ll need to get in the car. And while it may sound like you’re miles from anything, it’s not far to some sites that make this part of the world seem like the centre of the universe. Apart from the age-old Shropshire Hills, a 15-minute drive can get you to the site of Roman Britain’s fourth largest city – Wroxeter, to Shrewsbury where Darwin was born, or to Ironbridge, the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
The Shepherd's Hut has a bench seat which pulls out into a full size double bed. Heated by a cosy log burner this hut is solar powered and has a power pack for charging your mobile phone or tablet, even using hair straighteners! The bathroom is a separate hut just a few steps away with gas powered shower and real toilet. Cooking on a gas bbq (tools, pans, crockery and kettle provided). Just a few steps from the barbeque is the hot and cold washing up sink. We also provide a cool box with ice packs.
You can chill out in the evening infront of the kadai firebowl taking in the sounds of evening in the countryside. In the paddock there is lots of space to practice yoga, do some stretching or even set up a badminton net if you happen to have one!. If you have a fishing lisence and a rod you can have exclusive fishing on our pool which is stocked with Carp of varying sizes.