The Great Barn Maplecroft B&B is situated in Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire only about 7 miles away from Bath. The family run business is based around a 13th Century Stone Barn, which the owners live in, having restored it from an old deralict shell about 12 years ago.
The B&B itself is an annex off the house and contains 3 rooms, two double and one large family room (2 single beds and a double) all rooms are en-suite and provide coffee and tea making facilities and a TV. The rooms are decorated to an excellent standard and are kept exceptionally clean. Breakfast is served either in the beautiful conservatory (in the summer) or in the dining room (in the winter). You are offered more than enough food to fill yourselves up for the day. Cerals, toast, fruit, then comes the cooked breakfast, certainly one of the tastest i've ever had.
I first stayed at the Great Barn Amplecroft B&B when i was due to stay at the Leigh Park Hotel (part of the
Best Western chain) which is located down the road from the Great Barn.The hotel had overbooked and i was told they had no room for me but they would find alternative accomodation. This proved a blessing in disguise as some of my friends stayed in the Best Western and said the hotel was disgusting, the rooms were filthy and the food horrible!! So we made the short journey down the road through the rolling counrtyside and stopped off at our home for the next few nights the Great Barn Maplecroft B&B. We were greated by Sally, a lovely geniunely friendly lady (so often when i've stayed at B&B's they have lacked the friendly service that we automatically received when entering their drive.)
We were shown our room, (the larger of the two doubles) and were told we could move our car to its own private drive for easy access to our room. We were given our key and told we could come and go as we wished.
We asked about what was good to do around the area and where we should go to eat and were given a long list of places to visit and pubs and restaurants to try out. I'll share some with you later:
Located on the River Avon, Bradford on Avon provides a beautiful setting for those wanting to relax and those looking for cultural activities. Walking around it reminds me of a quaint town you'd expect to find in Italy.
Exploring around the town you can visit some amazing sites:
The Tithe Barn - Medieval Tithe Barn, built in 14th century and constructed to stor the taxes (tithes) paid by local pesants. Trinity Church - Beautiful 7th century church Saxon Church - Absolutely tiny, beautiful church, great hsitory behind it and no one really knows when it was built
Activities in Bradford on Avon If you are not going to Bradford on Avon for the cultural there are still lots of things to do; You can go cycling along the canal, into Bath going past the aqueducts at Dundas and Avon Cliff You can go on a boat trip along the Kennet and Avon canal. Shopping - A variety of old shops, you will not see any big chain stores in Bradford on Avon, but i think that adds to the character of the place. Golf - If your a golfer about half a mile down the road from the B&B is Cumberwell Golf Club a beautiful golf course in great surroundings. Go for a walk - the area is extremely beautiful and ideal for walking. Bradford is a very hilly area in parts so can be quite tiring. But there are lots of pubs on the way to stop of at and have a rest and maybe a drink!
Which brings me nicely on to pubs to visit!!
I recommend the Dandy Lion for food and the Lock Inn and Swan Hotel for drinks. These are espeically nice in the sumemr when you can sit outside and have an enjoyable drink with friends or family.
Good restaurants to visit are the Thai Barn, which suprisingly enough is a Thai restaurant, Rialto (Italian) and the Cumberwell Golf Club (traditional)
Depending on how much time you have away you can also visit some other lovely places around Bradford on Avon.
1. Castle Coombe, known by many as the Prettiest village in England Dr Doolittle was filmed there in 1966! 2. Lacock Abbey - located near Castle Coombe Lacock Abbey is a country house created out of a medieval abbey, is a favourite with Children as they filmed parts of Harry Potter there. 3. Bowood House - a great day out for everyone. ideal for a summer day out and picnic. Lots for kids to do as there is a huge play area, but equally as much for adults, who can look around the grounds and house. 4. Longleat Safari Park and Zoo - once again another great day out for the family 5. Stonehenge - Estimated to have be as old as 3100 years BC
So all of this and I haven't even had a chance to talk about Bath itself. only 7 miles down the road from the Great Barn Maplecroft and a beautiful drive through the rolling countryside you will find yourself in Bath. In my opinion the most beautiful city in the country. The list of things to do in Bath is endless, shopping, wlaking, cycling, visit the nearly refurbished roman Baths, visit the Jane Austen Centre, watch Bath play rugby....
There truely is something for everyone.
So back to the B&B itself would i recommend it to anyone? Yes i certainly would in fact my family have been to stay and enjoyed it as much as i did. I have been myself on a number of occasions and am treated exceptionally well every time. Sally & Dennis the owners along with their children make you feel most welcome and always remember an old face. Of all the B&B's i've been to across the country this is most certainly the nicest and in the best location. You could not ask for a nicer family to be looking after you.
Priced at about £60 a night for a double room you cant go wrong. If you were to look to stay at a hotel you would be paying about double that and you wouldn't have the personal touch.
You really do feel relaxed whilst your there, which is exactly what a holiday should feel like.
It doesn't feel like you are a guest at their B&B and more like a friend. I will be going back there as long as it is still run by Sally and Dennis.
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