In this Q&A we meet Margaret Leach who you will remember from a previous Q&A in which she talked about her Bavarian self catering apartments. This time we hear about her Welsh self catering cottage which is actually where she married! It does sound like a wonderful part of the world…
“We really had no intention of moving so far from Wiltshire, where we were living at the time, but we simply fell in love with the size and style of the house as well as the wonderful countryside around”.
1) Tell us a little about your holiday cottage
The house which we let in the UK we bought as our home in 2003. We got married there in summer 2004 and in the autumn of that year we found our first house in Bavaria. Much as we love the house, by summer 2005 it just didn’t make any sense to keep trekking back to the UK every few weeks so we decided to spend a larger part of our time in Bavaria and let out the UK house when we were not using it.
2) What made you buy it – was it financial, emotional, a connection with the area, or something else?
We really had no intention of moving so far from Wiltshire, where we were living at the time, but we simply fell in love with the size and style of the house as well as the wonderful countryside around. It has a very unassuming exterior but the interior and gardens are quite Tardis-like, hugely greater than you would think by looking at the house from the street and with the style of quite a grand house. The rooms are large as is the space between them. Obviously, the location is a long way from big towns and cities but that has its own advantages too. Now my daughter and son-in-law, together with their baby, also live in the town so they are able to take care of the house and guests on our behalf.
3) What’s the best thing about the region your cottage is located in? Is it the scenery, the pace of life, the locals, the activities, etc?
I think it has to be the scenery and the pace of life. There are numerous walks in the area including the Offa’s Dyke path, which passes through the town and Glyndwr’s way which starts here and goes across Wales to the sea. The area is also full of history.
4) What are the 3 special touches you add to enhance the guest experience?
1. The sheer amount of space in the house and its fairly grand style impress all of our guests. So many people live in modern houses these days, that this really is a chance to live a little differently. Many of our guests love preparing a formal meal in the farmhouse kitchen and serving it in the large dining room. It is a great favourite for reunions.
2. Then there are the environmental aspects, many of them introduced by my daughter and son in law who are both environmental consultants. This makes it possible to holiday here while having a fairly low impact on the environment. Of course, it is impossible to make an old house entirely environmentally friendly while maintaining its character but, between us, we have done our best.
3. And being in the middle of town, while not the rural idyll which a lot of people are looking for, is hugely advantageous when you run out of some vital cooking ingredient during the evening!
5) If a guest had just one day in your rental what would you recommend they do for the perfect experience?
I would suggest visiting a couple of pretty towns in the area. Ludlow and Bishop’s Castle for example. They both have lots of fascinating specialist shops, tea rooms, pubs and restaurants and the drive between them and to and from Knighton take in so much of the lovely countryside. If you can fit in historic Montgomery on the way then you will have seen my 3 favourite towns in the area and found out why I love them.
To rent the self catering cottage in Wales from Margaret, please complete the contact form which can be found through the above link, or via any of her other apartments listed on Getaway Earth.
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