Powys self catering holiday cottages

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Powys self catering holiday cottages

Hicks Farm - A quiet livestock farm situated where the three counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys meet. Here the beautiful Marches landscape greets you as soon as you step outside the front door. Peacefully secluded in this idyllic unspoilt countryside our self catering properties; Orchard House and Rose Cottage are ideal for all generations.

Our aim at Hicks Farm Holidays is to help you have a relaxing, hassle-free holiday. That is why our accommodation has been carefully designed, decorated and equipped to make life easier for everyone. In addition, we are annually inspected by Visit Britain and have been awarded the Four Star rating.

Whether you are looking for a family holiday cottage or a venue for a "big house party” choosing the accommodation can often be a daunting prospect, so we have tried to provide as much detail as we can on our website but please do contact us if there are any questions we have left unanswered!

Everyone is welcome at Hicks Farm. Our properties have their own well-fenced private gardens which provide safe havens for both children and pets. The ground floor of Orchard House has been designed and furnished with the wheelchair user and hearing aid user in mind. All the hearing loops, emergency alarms and essential grab rails have been unobtrusively incorporated into the décor. The House and Cottage combined offer 21 bed spaces with 5 cots. The dining area in Orchard House will seat everyone from both properties and we can put you in touch with local outside caterers.

In the Pool Barn you will find our luxurious heated swimming pool, again, the changing room and toilet facilities are wheelchair user friendly, so pushchair friendly too! Parents with babies will also appreciate the baby changing table in one of the changing rooms. The swimming pool is a marvellous all weather facility. It is open all year round and is exclusively for guests staying on our farm.

Whatever you choose to do, help feed the farmyard animals, explore the farm, badger watch at sunset, play a game of snooker, relax in the swimming pool or simply enjoy a good book by the fire, we feel sure you will enjoy a truly relaxing stay here at Hicks Farm

Rose Cottage was originally a small dwelling built of stone in the early eighteenth century, but has been extended twice (once in the late eighteenth century and then again in the mid twentieth century) to achieve a sizeable detached three bed roomed property. Despite these changes the cottage still boasts some unique original features including exposed beams and a complete bread oven!

The well-fenced garden extends to approximately a quarter of an acre, which is laid down primarily to lawn allowing the more active plenty of room for football, cricket and even badminton! For those who prefer a quiet read in the sun the patio area is ideal for you, comfortable garden furniture is provided and if you have forgotten to pack a book just choose one from the bookshelf.

Rose Cottage has:

• An entrance hall with a payphone (please note mobile phone reception is poor in the locality). An ideal room for all the accumulated boots and coats. Garden chairs, sunshade, toy boxes for the under 5’s and a collection of outside toys/games are stored here. A barbeque is available from the farmhouse.
• A downstairs cloakroom.
• A utility room with an automatic front-loading washing machine, tumble dryer and chest freezer.
• The large character farmhouse kitchen doubles as a dining room. The kitchen is well equipped with a ceramic hob electric cooker, dishwasher, microwave and fridge together with kettle, toaster and coffee maker. The Welsh dresser is home to the plentiful china, glassware and the portable CD/radio/cassette player.
• The lounge is comfortably furnished. Leather sofas and two high-seated upholstered wing chairs provide seating for seven. It has a wood burning stove, Nicam stereo wide screen television with SKY digital, compatible video and DVD player.
• The spacious master bedroom has a double bedstead with king-size duvet and an en-suite bathroom with a shower over the bath, a heated towel rail and a shaver point. This bedroom has space for a cot.
• The second bedroom is a large room with exposed beams (those over 6’ beware) and three full-size single pine bedsteads. Again there is space for a cot.
• The family bathroom has a shower over the bath, a heated towel rail and shaver point.
• The third bedroom has full size twin beds.

In addition:

• All the bedrooms have bedside cabinets or tables, bedside lamps, dressing tables with mirrors, wardrobes and a chair. A hairdryer too!
• For guests safety all the bedrooms are fitted with smoke alarms, there is an emergency lighting torch on the landing, a stair gate is provided at the head of the stairs and a door at the foot of the stair. The upstairs windows have safety locks.
• High chairs, cots, and other baby/toddler paraphernalia are available on request. Ask before you pack!
• A varied selection of board games and puzzles for all ages are available from the farmhouse.
• Guests should note that their water would be from a treated private supply.
• There is a gravelled parking area within the cottage grounds for five cars.
• The cottage has been tastefully decorated to a high standard, it has fully-fitted carpets and oil-fired central heating throughout.
• We are annually inspected by Visit Britain and have been awarded the Four Star rating.
• Advance ordering of groceries and other provisions by prior arrangement.
• Baby sitting by arrangement.
• All amenities in Presteigne, four miles away.
• The nearest British Rail Station is Knighton, six miles away.
• Bus services are available in both Presteigne and Knighton.
• Ordnance Survey map reference: SO 337 697 (Sheet Number: 148 Landranger Series)

Orchard House is a delightful barn conversion, originally a cow byre it has been carefully designed to provide spacious character accommodation with every modern convenience. Throughout the property many original beams and features have been retained and incorporated into the décor, in fact every room has exposed beams.

The large well-fenced garden is laid down to lawn making it ideal for outdoor games. For those who prefer a quiet read in the sun or a glass of wine whilst the Barbeque cooks, the patio area is perfect for you, comfortable garden furniture is provided and if you have forgotten to pack a book just choose one from the bookshelves.

Orchard House has:

• An entrance hall with plenty of coat hooks and space for all the wellies! Outdoor toys are also stored here.
  
• A downstairs cloakroom.
• The lounge is comfortably furnished. Leather sofas and two high-seated upholstered wing chairs provide seating for fourteen. It has a wood burning stove, CD player, a Nicam wide flat screen television, with compatible video and DVD player. In the side board you will find board games and puzzles and there are plenty more at the farmhouse you can borrow! Please note this room has a built-in hearing loop and loop amplifier which can be used by those with a “T” position on their hearing-aid.
• The very large farmhouse kitchen (7m x 5m) doubles as a dining room, where the whole party can dine together. The fitted oak kitchen has a range style electric cooker with ceramic hob, fridge freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble drier, kettles, toaster and all the necessary crockery, cutlery and kitchen equipment. There is also a television and radio/CD player. This room has a hearing loop and loop amplifier.
• In the second staircase lobby area there is a payphone accepting incoming and outgoing calls. This is ideally placed immediately outside the downstairs bedroom suite in case of emergencies. Please note that mobile reception is poor in this area so the landline provision is essential.
• The downstairs bedroom suite has twin beds (that can be zipped together to create a huge super king-size bed!) and an en-suite bathroom, which have been designed and furnished with the less mobile, especially wheelchair users, in mind. Emergency alarms and a hearing loop are fitted in this room. A wall-mounted television with a remote control and coffee/tea making facilities are provided. There is also an emergency exit from this room directly on to the car park.
• All the downstairs doors are extra wide allowing easy access for the less mobile. Light switches and power points on the ground floor are suitably placed for the wheelchair user.

Upstairs you will find:

• The north bedroom suite with a king-size bedstead, en-suite bathroom, en-suite cot room, television, coffee/tea making facilities and sitting area.
• The second and third bedrooms have three and four full-size single pine bedsteads, respectively, with their own bathroom along the corridor.
• The south bedroom suite with a king-size and a single bedstead, en-suite bathroom, television, coffee/tea making facilities and sitting area.

Enjoy a relaxing swim in our pool, heated to 30°C, simply lie back and let your troubles and cares just float away. You can even swim to your favourite CD or listen to the radio. Alternatively, if you are feeling energetic, swim up and down our 11 metre pool undisturbed during our quiet swim time!

Two large changing rooms, a disabled toilet accessible from the foyer and another toilet next to the shower area make life easy for everyone. A baby-changing table is provided too! The power showers are even temperature adjustable, making showering before you enter the pool and after your swim much more pleasurable!

If you want to watch your family or friends splashing around, without getting wet yourself, the sitting area is perfect for you. Comfy chairs are provided, however the pool hall is heated to two degrees hotter than the pool water so don’t wrap up too warm!

During your stay on Hicks Farm we feel sure that the swimming pool and games room will enhance the enjoyment of your holiday. The swimming pool is available for use from 8am to 9pm everyday of the year.

The swimming pool is available for use from 8am to 9pm. As we do not have a lifeguard on duty all guests using the swimming pool do so at their own risk. For their own safety all children under the age of 15 years old using the pool must be accompanied by an adult. 

Upstairs overlooking the swimming pool through a double glazed truss is the games room. You can practice your pool or snooker skills or even try a game of table football. For the younger visitors a home corner has been created.
Need to relax? You’ll find a sofa too!

When the rest of the party are still changing and you are left with the children to entertain do not worry the play area is just outside if the weather is fine (otherwise the Games Room is upstairs in the dry). Enjoy the sun and watch the animals in the neighbouring field, the cats might even join you as you relax whilst the children play!

Hicks Farm has been farmed by our family for over a hundred years. The farm is about 154 acres and is mainly grassland which our sheep and cattle graze.

There are several old woodland areas which provide a welcome habitat to a diverse range of species, both flora and fauna. We are lucky enough to have bluebells on our woodland floor and amongst the hedgerows primroses are a welcome sign when the weather is warming up!

Buzzards nest high in the trees on Harley’s Mountain, whilst the woodpeckers are often heard and seen, their nesting grounds remain a mystery. We regularly see Red Kites overhead but as yet none are known to nest in our woods.

Guests are very welcome to wander on our farmland; all our gates are marked with a yellow band so you will know where you are! You may like to picnic in the woodlands or on the hillside, and paddling in the stream, on a hot sunny day in the shade of the trees, can be highly recommended!

On the hillside, badger setts are clearly visible, and those with patience and the ability to sit silently down wind can watch the badgers enjoy the evening sun or make their night time trip down to the stream to drink.

Apart from the wildlife on the farm we have our own sheep, cattle and pigs. In the spring and summer we bottle feed orphan lambs and bucket feed calves. The calves are fed milk twice a day but the lambs can need feeding at least four times daily! Children (and adults) are most welcome to help out with the feeding.

Our pigs are always ready for food and a good scratch of course, they will run to their feeding trough whoever carries the feed bucket.

Alongside our farmyard animals we must not forget our two black cats Tango and Tizer, who are in charge of vermin control, and our sheepdog, Kim who is training to be a sheep dog. They are all part of the family team here on the farm.

During your stay please do ask us if you want to help with the feeding of our animals and if you have any questions about the farm or its wildlife we will be only too happy to try and answer them!

Tel 01544 260237

www.hicksfarmholidays.co.uk

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Powys self catering holiday cottages