Escape to the Shropshire countryside

Enjoy self-contained luxury Shropshire glamping pod holidays – our warm, pet-friendly, en-suite pods are hidden away in the beautiful lake-lands of Ellesmere.

Relax and listen to the birds singing whilst enjoying panoramic views across the Cheshire Plain and Welsh hills.

Our three self-catering pods are furnished to a high standard with under-floor heating – keeping your toes cosy all year round. Each pod has a comfy sofa and a double bed (we can add a single guest bed for an extra person). The pods each have a Freeview smart television, shower room and a small kitchen area equipped with a fridge and microwave. The pods are well-spaced with decking and a lawned area with a picnic table and fire pit for a barbeque.

Modern life means that connectivity is important, so each glamping pod has a free Wi-Fi internet connection. Our broadband is at ‘rural speed’, so we’ve hard-wired the ethernet cable all the way to each pod to get the best available signal.

About Us

Ian and Janet Kelly have run Birch Hill Farm as an award-winning 5-van caravan site for 22 years. Readers of ‘Practical Caravan’ magazine voted us the ‘Best Small Site’ in the UK for 3 years running. The Caravan Club gave us their top award: ‘CL of the Year’. The prize was awarded in the House of Commons. Ian was later invited to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle.

We diversified in 2019 to add luxury glamping pods – away from the caravans – yet still enjoying the same panoramic views that our regular guests return to share year after year. If you have friends who are members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club, please direct them to our Birch Hill Caravan and Motorhome Club CL website.

Gallery

Booking

Facilities

As well as a great dog-friendly location with panoramic views, our pods are equipped as follows:

• Double bed with optional single bed if required for a third person.
• Underfloor heating
• En suite toilet & shower
• Microwave oven, fridge & kettle
• Smart television with freeview
• 13 amp electric sockets with USB charging ports.
• Broadband internet connection wired directly into each pod
• Cutlery & crockery
• Complimentary starter pack supplied with sachets of tea, coffee, sugar and a pint of milk, cleaning materials and toilet paper.
• Fire pit for barbecuing

• No smoking in the pods.
• One dog per pod permitted by arrangement and at additional charge.
• For fire safety and to prevent lingering cooking smells, we do not allow indoor cooking other than with our microwave. You may cook outdoors using our fire pit.
• We do not have the capacity to permit electric vehicle charging on site.

Things to see and do

Ellesmere is a quiet market town, dating from Saxon times, and known as the lake district of Shropshire, with glacial meres adjoining rural canals. We are on the Welsh/Shropshire border – just 2 miles from North Wales and 5 miles from Cheshire – about an hour from Liverpool, Manchester and the north-side of Birmingham. In the locality there are plenty tourist attractions such as castles, National Trust properties, steam railways and abundant bird-life. The historic cities of Chester and Shrewsbury are nearby.

Ellesmere is well-provided with shops, pubs and parking and hosts many popular events each year.

Whilst staying in Ellesmere you may just wish to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of Archers’ Meadow, but you may also like to visit the following local places of interest in Shropshire, Cheshire and Wales.

	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
National Trust / Historic Houses / Museums	Shrewsbury Castle museum	Chirk Castle (NT)	Erddig (NT) Wrexham	Sunnycroft (NT) Telford	Benthall Hall (NT)	Powis Castle & gardens (NT)	Attingham Park (NT)
Child-friendly	Park Hall Farm Countryside Experience (incl Welsh Guards army museum). 10-pin Bowling	Techniquest science discovery centre or Cinema – both in Wrexham	Blists Hill Victorian Town or Enginuity – both at Ironbridge	Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, Church Stretton SY6 6QN	British Ironwork Centre , Oswestry SY11 4JH (good for adults too)	Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker , French Lane, Nantwich CW5 8AP	Llangollen – steam railway & horse-drawn canal trip
Towns (market days)	Oswestry Shrewsbury	Shrewsbury & Chirk Airfield car boot sale	Wrexham	Ellesmere (morning). Shrewsbury	Oswestry. Shrewsbury (river boat trip)	Wem	Oswestry Shrewsbury Whitchurch
Walks	Welshampton circuit - start at Ellesmere Mere	Chirk Castle start by CAMC site entrance	Canal towpath – Llangollen Canal	Colemere circuit	Oswestry Hill Fort	Alderford Lake	Canal Central Maesbury Marsh
Eating-out (all have dog-friendly areas)	Boathouse, Ellesmere	Royal Oak, Bangor on Dee	Red Lion, Ellesmere	Dickin Arms, Loppington	Narrow Boat	Sun Inn, Welshampton	Cross Foxes, Erbistock
Dog-Friendly Days Out	Hawkstone Park Follies	Llangollen – railway & canal trip	Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge	Alderford Lake	Colemere	Rodney’s Pillar, Breidden Hills	Oswestry Hill Fort or Old Racecourse
Gardens	Dorothy Clive Garden in Clive Market Drayton	Hodnet Hall Gardens, Hodnet, Market Drayton, TF9 3NN	Bodnant Cardens, Colwyn Bay	Dingle @ The Quarry Shrewsbury	Ness Gardens Neston Road, Little Neston, Ness, CH64 4AY	Biddulph Grange, Staffordshire	Wollerton Old Hall Garden Market Drayton
Garden Centres	Derwen Garden Centre (have lunch at The Orangery)	Moreton Garden Centre Gledrid	Bellis’ – Holt, Wrexham	Country Garden Rose Plant Centre, Hadnall Shrewsbury SY4 3DH	Grosvenor Garden Centre Near Chester	Coed y Dinas Welshpool	Dobbie’s Garden World Shrewsbury
Ancient monuments	Haughmond Abbey (EH)	Lilleshall Abbey (EH)	Stokesay Castle (EH) Craven Arms	Valle Crucis (Cadw) Llangollen	Beeston Castle (EH)	Rodney’s Pillar, Breidden Hills	Chester Walls

Golf Courses.  There are eight golf clubs and nine 18-hole golf courses within 16 miles of Archers’ Meadow – see our other website for details – https://www.birchhill.co.uk/local-information/golf-courses-near-ellesmere-shropshire/

Cycle Hire.  A local firm has bicycles for hire and will deliver to / collect from Archers’ Meadow.  Electric-assisted bikes also available – http://www.amerecycle.co.uk/

Shops.

• Shrewsbury boasts the largest number of independent retailers in the UK (as opposed to large chain-stores) – about 18 miles by road.
• Chester is well worth a trip – about 25 miles from Archers’ Meadow.
• Also consider a trip to Cheshire Oaks designer outlet – https://www.mcarthurglen.com/uk/cheshire-oaks-designer-outlet/en/

Seaside.  Welsh coast – Rhyl, Prestatyn and Llandudno are just over an hour.  Prestatyn is quieter than Rhyl.  Llandudno is more refined.

Mountains.  We are about 1¼ hrs from Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia – the highest mountains in Wales.

Theatres.

• Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury – 18 miles by road
• Theatre Clwyd, Mold – 25 miles by road.
• Theatre Hafren, Newtown – 39 miles by road.
• Liverpool – several theatres – just over an hour by road
• Manchester – several theatres – about 1 hr 20 minutes by road

Cinemas.

• Odeon, Wrexham – 11 miles by road
• Cineworld, Shrewsbury – 20 miles by road
• Ellesmere Town Hall ‘Reels on Wheels’ – last Wednesday of each month
• Wem Town Hall – http://www.wemtownhall.co.uk/ – 10 miles by road

Swimming Pools.

• Plas Madoc – great for families – easy slope into the water, wave machine and water-slide.
• Wrexham – traditional rectangular pool, plus Jacuzzi, large whirlpool and rubber-ring water-slide.
• Shrewsbury – very deep pool with diving boards and long water-slide

Location

A good base for a short stay or longer holiday: we are one mile north of Ellesmere – just 2 miles from North Wales and 5 miles from Cheshire.

Ellesmere is a friendly quiet lakeside market town in North Shropshire, that dates back to Saxon times. It is at the junction of the Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canals, which are well-suited to country walks or cycling on the rural towpaths.

The site is located over 200 metres up our private drive which is in a pleasant, safe, rural back-water. It is discretely away from the public road with pods quietly tucked-away, whilst still affording panoramic views over several counties. Archers’ Meadow is close enough to a quiet ‘A’ Road to give easy access, but far enough to be away from road noise.

The market is on Tuesday, Ellesmere having been granted a market charter by King Henry the Third nearly 800 years ago in the year 1221. The town’s floral displays have won ‘Britain in Bloom’ prizes over several years. Ellesmere has car parks, shops, banks, pubs, restaurants, cafés, tea shops and a launderette. Don’t miss the bread and butter pudding at the local baker’s shop – Vermeulen’s Delicatessen.

Archers’ Meadow @ Birch Hill Farm,
The Cross,
Ellesmere,
Shropshire,
England, SY12 0LP
01691 622951

Archers’ Meadow, Ellesmere is at the top of Shropshire, 2 miles from North Wales and 5 miles from Cheshire.

Terms & Conditions

Archers’ Meadow Glamping
Birch Hill, The Cross, Ellesmere, Shropshire, SY12 0LP
01691 622951 Glamping@ArchersMeadow.co.uk

Age Limits

We do not allow unaccompanied minors (i.e. aged under 18).
For safety reasons, we do not allow infants (2 years and under) in our ‘Meadow View’ pod because it is on a steep grassy bank.  Our other pods are safer for small children.

Minimum Stay

We have a minimum stay of 2 nights, sometimes longer at peak periods such as Bank Holidays – this is shown as part of our online booking process.

Pricing

Rates vary between high-season and low-season – please go through our online booking process to see the rate applicable to your holiday dates.
The rate is based on 2 people staying in a double bed.  We can add beds for extra guests at a cost of £15 per night.
The following additional charges apply:

• £20 per stay for each animal if bringing a pet.  We normally only allow one dog per pod – please see the section ‘Dogs and Other Animals’ below.

Payment, Refunds, Cancellations and Failure to Arrive

• A £50 deposit is payable at the time of booking.  Once we confirm your booking, your deposit payment is non-refundable and non-transferable.
• The balance of your pitch fee is payable via our online booking system 21 days before arrival.   If online payment is a problem, please contact us for alternative payment methods.
• If guests opt to pay more than the £50 deposit and then cancel with more than 21 days’ notice before they were due to arrive, we will refund all except the value of the £50 deposit.
• Fees for holidays cancelled or curtailed with less than 21 days’ notice are not refundable or transferable.
• If you have paid us and WE are required to close our site due to a local Covid lockdown, we will refund you.
• If YOU are unable to travel here or need to leave early (for whatever reason including being required to self-isolate), there is no right to a refund or postponement, and that becomes a matter for your travel insurance.
• If you fail to arrive by midnight on the day that you are due, and we are unable to contact you, we will assume that you have cancelled your visit and will take steps to re-let your pod.
• Deposits are to protect us against cancellation and lost income.  If we are able to re-let any of the nights that guests cancel, we refund pro-rata, less our banking costs.  If you do need to cancel your booking please notify us as soon as possible so that we may re-offer the vacancy

Arrival & Departure

Check-in between 4pm – 10pm.
Call at the house on arrival. If we are not at home, our mobile phone numbers are beside the back door – please try ringing us, we might not be far away.
Depart before 10am to give us enough time to deep-clean the pod before our next guests arrive.

Dogs and Other Animals

We normally allow a maximum of 1 dog per pod and charge an additional £20 per stay for each pet.  By prior arrangement, we might allow guests to bring a different animal or a second animal.
You are required to keep your animal under close control at all times and clean up after them. Animals are not to be left unattended.

Internet

Broadband is hard-wired to each pod, with Wi-Fi inside each pod.  We make no charge for the use of our Wi-Fi, but as we are in a rural area, we cannot guarantee the speed or stability of the internet signal.

Smoking & Fires

Smoking & naked flames are not allowed inside the pods.  Each pod is fitted with a Smoke Alarm and a Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
We can provide an outdoor fire pit on request, together with a generous starter-pack of firewood.  Additional wood is available for purchase.  Guests are not to bring their own firewood.

Cars

If you wish to bring more than one car, please arrange this with us in advance.  We will require the registration numbers of the additional cars so that we know “who’s who” on site.  We do not allow the charging of electric cars.

Behaviour

The site is to be quiet after 10pm.  It is not suitable for parties or events.
No flying kites, drones, model aircraft etc.
No noisy fireworks, aerial fireworks or flying lanterns.
We reserve the right to refuse acceptance or to terminate the visit of any person whose conduct, or that of their animals, is detrimental to us or to our other visitors.

Special Needs or Disabilities

There are 3 steps from ground level to the decking in front of the pod.  Thereafter, everything in the pod is on the same level.
We will do our best to accommodate special needs or disabilities. Please explain your needs at the time of booking in case we need to make special arrangements.

Photographs

We sometimes take photographs of the site for our social media pages or website. Please let us know if you would prefer that we don’t include you.

General Points

Our website and its components are offered for informational purposes only; we shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any information transmitted or made available via this site, and shall not be responsible or liable for any error or omissions in that information.

We reserve the right to change these conditions from time to time as we see fit and your continued use of the site will signify your acceptance of any adjustment to these terms.

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