The Rapids Cottage - Herefordshire

 

You know those places that look so impossibly dreamy, and then you visit and its just as good as you had hoped? The Rapids Cottage was just that. As per usual, I had seen this cottage on social media, and after viewing the gorgeous website, reading amazing reviews, knowing they are dog friendly and located above the rapids on the river wye, I knew I had to book in.

Plus I wanted a soak in THAT outdoor tub!

Before we checked into the cottage, we stopped off at the nearby market town, Ledbury. We had a mooch about to stretch our legs and had some lunch at a lovely little cafe garden, I have forgotten whats its called but if you want to know the name  drop me a message and i'll see if I can find it for you.

Tummies filled we drove to the cottage and the location is down very narrow lanes but in the most gorgeous hillside setting with the river down below.

 

There is parking for one car, and it was a bit tight, but we managed!

The cottage interior is lovely, lots of earthy muted tones and soft furnishings. I was obsessed with the bedding, it was a heavy duvet and the sheets were soft. Bedding is not something that cottages should scrimp on in my book.

We couldn't wait to get into the outdoor tub, so we got that going and prepared a cheese and meat platter to share afterwards with some wine.

It was such a romantic way to spend the evening, bathing and dining under the stars. Its not overlooked so yes you can run around naked (please god I hope it really is not overlooked!) and you can hear the swoosh of the rapids below.

When I booked this, I was hoping that it would still be warm enough to go wild swimming in the river and we were also planning on going canoeing with Rosie but we could only find boats that were available for a few hours and Rosie is a fidget so we didnt think she would like being on the water for that long. Instead, you are spoilt for choice with plenty of walking routes along the river.

After a very restful nights sleep we headed out the next day on a walk and were planning on stopping for lunch by the river. 

We walked down by the riverside and crossed over a bridge and then back up the other side of the river.

We wanted to reach the viewpoint to take some photos and it is so worth it but please note, its a long, steady climb to the top! You can drive if you dont fancy going on foot.

You are welcomed to 180 views of the rolling hills and it is stunning. We took a moment to pause and get our breath back, before heading back down and off to find a pub for lunch. And yes, that is the house from the TV show 'Sex Education'.

I love everything about what I saw here, but the thing we found was the food wasnt very good in any of the places that we ate at. Maybe we are just fussy but it was really basic food, like school dinner standard which was disappointing. After all that walking we wanted something yummy and hearty! We just found it odd as the locations are lovely, they are missing a trick.

Anyway, back to the cottage for another soak in the tub and we also took advantage of their outdoor cinema room which is cool. Its like a half open timber shed with a massive screen and comfy seating. Felt like we were at camp. All in all, a really great weekend away, Rosie loved it and I love that she can come away with us. When we do go away and cant bring her, she is very well looked after but I loathe leaving her, I didnt buy a dog to not have her with me! It's definitely changed the amount I want to travel abroad, if only she was allowed on planes!

Let me know if you have any other dog friendly cottages in the UK.