The house, B&B and self-catering holiday cottage
Aspen House is located in the centre of the Herefordshire village of Hoarwithy, on the River Wye just four miles north of the market town of Ross-on-Wye and eight miles south of Hereford (Hoarwithy is signposted from the A49). Only a short distance from the country's major road system, Hoarwithy nevertheless has an 'out-of-the-way' feel about it. It is ideally situated as a base to explore the rest of Herefordshire, whilst also being close to the Forest of Dean, Monmouthshire, the Black Mountains and the Malvern Hills.
The house itself was originally a farmhouse, built in the early 1700s from local old red sandstone, in common with many of the properties in this part of Herefordshire. Though still surrounded by farmland, Aspen House ceased to be used as a farmhouse nearly half a century ago. Since 2002, it has been run by Sally Dean and Rob Elliott as a real food B&B, serving the very best of fresh, locally produced, seasonal, organic produce.
As well as B&B, we also offer a self-catering option in Stable Cottage which, as the name suggests, was converted from an original two-manger stable block. It is now what we describe as a ground-floor studio apartment, with a compact yet well-appointed separate kitchen, walk-in wardrobe and a shower room.
Whether self-catering or B&B, our garden, guest lounge and first floor veranda are there for your use. The lounge has some interesting books to browse, as well as OS maps of the local areas and as much information as you will need about what to see and explore in Herefordshire, The Marches and the Forest of Dean.
And a bit about us . . .
Aspen House is the home of Sally Dean and Robert Elliott. We are both keen travellers and explorers (of the UK at least!), and we have each suffered too many bad B&B experiences in the past, so a decision was made to create at Aspen House the kind of B&B we would want to stay in, with lovely cosy rooms and tasty real food.
As well as healthy appetites, we each have an innate sense of the true value of real food and its ability to feed the soul as well as the body. It is fundamental to our survival as a species, but only if it is nutritious, hence our philosophy on real food. Click here if you want to know more about that.
Our interest in food, and its essential role in the preservation of social as well as bodily health, has also led us into research and investigation of our global food supply systems and how they work. This has culminated in the publication of two books, The Food Maze and How To Eat Like There's No Tomorrow, both available at Aspen House. For more information, have a look at www.reallifepublishing.co.uk
