Holiday Cottages In Herefordshire

Herefordshire has around 550 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, from riverside boltholes in the Wye Valley to farmhouses below the Malvern Hills and timber-framed cottages in its black-and-white villages. This is quiet border country of orchards, hop yards and red soil, and more than 380 of those cottages take dogs while over 130 have a hot tub.

Best areas and towns in Herefordshire

Herefordshire's cottages are spread thinly across a rural county, with small clusters around the market towns and along the River Wye in the south. There is no coast and no large resort here, so most bases are villages and country towns set among orchards and hills.

• Ledbury: a timbered market town below the Malvern Hills, with a famous black-and-white Market House
• Ross on Wye: a hilltop market town above a loop of the river, a gateway to the Wye Valley
• Symonds Yat: a steep river gorge village famous for its rapids, rock and birds of prey
• Hereford: the cathedral city and county town on the Wye, home of the Mappa Mundi
• Leominster and Docklow: a wool-trade market town in the north and a small parish a few miles east
• Bromyard and Mathon: a market town in the Frome valley and a village under the western slope of the Malverns
• Pembridge and Eardisland: two of the prettiest black-and-white villages, on the Arrow in the north-west
• Kington: a small town hard against the Welsh border on Offa's Dyke
• Peterstow, Walford and Linton: villages ringing Ross-on-Wye in the south
• Orleton and Little Cowarne: quiet farming parishes in the north and centre of the county

The south around Ross and Symonds Yat suits river and woodland walking, while the north-west holds the classic timber-framed villages of the Black and White Trail.

Herefordshire countryside and hills

Herefordshire is a landlocked county of red sandstone, orchards and hop yards, ringed by hills. The eastern boundary runs along the Malvern Hills, a sharp ridge of ancient rock that rises straight from the plain, while the south is cut by the River Wye as it loops through wooded gorges at Symonds Yat, where peregrine falcons nest on the rocks and the river runs fast over rapids. To the west the land climbs towards the Welsh border and the foothills of the Black Mountains, followed by Offa's Dyke above Kington. Between the hills the county is a patchwork of cider apple and perry pear orchards, grazing fields and the timber-framed farms that give the Black and White Trail its name. It is some of the quietest walking and cycling country in England.

Things to do in Herefordshire

Hereford Cathedral holds the Mappa Mundi and a chained library found nowhere else in such completeness. Along the Wye, Goodrich Castle stands as a dramatic red sandstone ruin above the river near Ross, and the gorge at Symonds Yat is a magnet for canoeing, climbing and walking. The county is rich in National Trust houses and gardens: Croft Castle and its ancient parkland near Leominster, the moated medieval Lower Brockhampton Manor House near Bromyard, and The Weir Garden on the banks of the Wye. Eastnor Castle near Ledbury opens its mock-Gothic halls and deer park, and Queenswood Arboretum offers tree trails and long views over the county.

When to visit Herefordshire

Spring brings apple and pear blossom across the orchards and is a fine time for walking the Malverns and the Wye. Summer is warmest and best for canoeing the river at Symonds Yat, though the county stays quiet even in August compared with the coast. Autumn is the county's signature season, with the cider and perry harvest, fruit-laden orchards and colour along the river gorges. Winter is peaceful and good value, with crisp walks on Offa's Dyke and the Malvern ridge.

Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in Herefordshire

More than 300 of the cottages in Herefordshire take dogs, and more than 100 have a hot tub. Browse the cottages that welcome dogs or cottages with a hot tub to narrow your search.

Getting to Herefordshire

Herefordshire sits on the Welsh border in the West Midlands, around three hours from London by road. The A49 runs north to south through Leominster, Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, linking the M5 at Worcester with the M4 in South Wales, while the A40 and M50 reach Ross from the east. Trains serve Hereford and Leominster from London Paddington via Worcester, and from Birmingham and Cardiff. The nearest large airport is Birmingham, around an hour and a half away.

Useful links

• Visit Herefordshire
• Herefordshire Council
• Malvern Hills National Landscape

Herefordshire is a county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west and south-west, and is one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England.

The county sits in the basin of the River Wye, which rises in Wales and loops south and east through Herefordshire, cutting wooded gorges at Symonds Yat before passing into Gloucestershire. Red sandstone gives the soil and many of the buildings their warm colour, and the land is famous for cider apple and perry pear orchards, hop yards and rich grazing that supports the native Hereford cattle. The eastern edge of the county is marked by the Malvern Hills, a steep ridge of some of the oldest rock in England, while the western border climbs towards the Black Mountains and is followed by the earthwork of Offa's Dyke.

Hereford is the cathedral city and county town, set on the Wye, with Leominster, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye, Bromyard and Kington the principal market towns. The county is known for its black-and-white timber-framed villages, several strung along the Black and White Trail in the north-west. Herefordshire has a long border history of castles and earthworks, and its economy still leans heavily on farming, cider-making and a quiet rural tourism.