Near Ludlow, Shropshire · England
Halverton Hall
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At a glance
Halverton Hall is a Georgian house of soft peach brick in 5,500 acres of Shropshire countryside, ten minutes by car from Ludlow. Nine bedrooms sleep up to 24, and the house is let to one group at a time.
A gravel drive lined with mature trees leads to an entrance porch framed by columns. Inside, a circular hall with a marble floor and a domed ceiling opens onto a grand reception room with an intricate plaster ceiling, a wood-panelled library with oak shelves and an antique desk, and a portrait gallery hung with paintings. Rare antiques sit beside contemporary art.
Outside, a heated pool sits behind hedges in the garden, and the grounds hold a lake and a reflective garden pond. The estate has a cricket pitch with its own pavilion, tennis and racket ball courts, and stables. Ludlow is close, with its castle and its September food festival.
Highlights
- A Georgian house of soft peach brick built in 1738, with rare antiques set beside contemporary art and gardens of topiary, lawns, a lake, and a reflective pond.
- A heated outdoor pool with its own pool house, tennis and racket ball courts, and a private gym.
- A private cricket pitch with its own pavilion, available from April to September, plus stables for riding and countryside for cycling, fishing, wild swimming, and walks beside the lake.
Accommodation
The Hall
Nine bedrooms · Up to 24 people
The Hall is a Georgian country house of three storeys, with a twelve-bay frontage carrying a balustraded parapet. William Smith Jr. of Warwick designed it, and a new entrance front with a Doric-style portico was added in 1824.
Inside the door, a circular entrance hall opens with Ionic columns and a honeysuckle frieze.
Each of the nine bedrooms is styled differently, and the principal rooms have statement beds. One has floral wallpaper and vintage furniture, another a canopy bed with soft green drapes, and another a vintage fireplace and garden views. Two twin rooms are dressed in navy and pink bedding, and a family room has pastel curtains. One bathroom has a freestanding tub and an armchair beside a tall window.
Rare antiques sit beside contemporary art, with technology kept out of sight.
Living Spaces
A grand reception room has an intricate plaster ceiling, and a wood-panelled library has oak shelves and an antique desk. A formal drawing room, a garden room with tall windows, and a dual-aspect sitting room look onto the gardens. A portrait gallery hallway and two staircases, one with a crystal chandelier, link the floors, and a playroom gives younger travelers a space of their own.
There are two dining rooms, one of them in the former library, and the main dining room has a high ceiling and ornate cornices.
Below the house sit a party cellar with rustic brick walls and colored lighting and a historic cellar with a Union Jack mural on exposed brick.
Further information
Experiences
An elevated terrace looks over the countryside, and the gardens hold topiary, lawns, and sculptures. A lake and a reflective garden pond sit among trees and hedges, and a path runs beside the lake for walking. The estate has a private cricket pitch with a pavilion, available for daily hire from April to September, and tennis and racket ball courts sit in the grounds.
Walking routes cross the estate, and the Mortimer Trail begins in Ludlow and runs to Kington. Ludlow Castle was started around 1086 and is open to visitors, and the tower of St. Laurence’s Church stands 135 feet high. Stokesay Castle, built at the end of the 13th century, has a great hall unchanged for over 700 years.
Ludlow Racecourse is two miles north of the town. Riding in Mortimer Forest and golf at Church Stretton are both within reach.
Dining
Mortimers, in Ludlow, serves concise set menus in a 16th-century townhouse. The Ludlow Food Centre is a retailer with an on-site kitchen for meat, dairy, jams, and breads, and the Ludlow Food Festival is held each September in the grounds of Ludlow Castle.
Wellness and Spa
A heated outdoor pool sits in the garden behind hedges, with its own pool house, and a modern private gym with wood flooring occupies the lower level of the house.
England
England runs on Greenwich Mean Time, shifting to British Summer Time, one hour ahead, between late March and late October. The country is compact enough that no domestic journey is particularly arduous: London to Bath takes ninety minutes by train, London to York is two hours, London to Manchester just over two.
Our Experts
England is a great destination solely for the diversity of its experiences. You can visit ancient castles, or modern art galleries. Enjoy swanky bars on a Saturday night, or wholesome country pubs on a Sunday afternoon.
England has a quaint, idyllic feel to it that you really have to experience to understand. The lush green of the countryside is a must-see for nature lovers.
We had such a great experience working with Out Of Office for our UK tour. As we were lacking international travel experience, it was so nice to have people who knew what they were doing to guide us through.
John R.
I have just returned from the UK and Malta... It was one of the best - and smoothest - trips I've ever taken.
Ellis W.
The entire London trip was planned by Jaike at Out of Office. We had an amazing time. The food, the tours, the drivers where all first notch.
Dan A.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Out Of Office do?
Out Of Office is a luxury LGBTQ+ travel company specialising in tailor-made holidays and extraordinary journeys around the world. We create bespoke luxury holidays, LGBTQ+ honeymoons, safaris, cruises, beach escapes, private tours and group trips, with every itinerary designed around you. Our travel specialists combine global expertise, first-hand destination knowledge and trusted local partners to create seamless, highly personalised experiences.
Is Out Of Office a gay travel agency?
Out Of Office is an LGBTQ+ owned and run luxury travel specialist, with particular expertise in gay and LGBTQ+ travel. We understand the additional considerations that can come with travelling as an LGBTQ+ person or couple, from local laws and customs to finding genuinely welcoming hotels and experiences.
We welcome every traveller, including friends, families and allies. Many of our clients are not members of the LGBTQ+ community, but choose Out Of Office for our luxury travel expertise, personalised service and discretion.
Do you create tailor-made LGBTQ+ holidays?
Yes. Every tailor-made trip with Out Of Office is designed from scratch around your interests, travel style, budget and the way you want to experience a destination. We can arrange luxury hotels, private transfers, flights, guides, excursions, cruises and special experiences as part of one personalised itinerary. The journeys shown on our website are there to inspire you rather than restrict you; only clearly identified group departures operate as fixed itineraries.
How do you choose LGBTQ+ friendly hotels and destinations?
We combine first-hand destination knowledge with trusted local expertise to recommend luxury hotels, resorts and experiences where LGBTQ+ travellers can feel informed and welcome. We also consider the laws, customs and attitudes of each destination, because LGBTQ+ rights and experiences differ around the world. Our team regularly visit many of the properties we work with and where a destination requires greater awareness, we give you clear and considered advice so that you can make an informed decision about where and how you travel.
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For every booking made with Out Of Office we commit to planting trees in your name to help reduce the impact of travel on future generations. You'll even get a link to see where your trees are planted in the world via our partner Ecologi.
We donate to Rainbow Railroad with every booking
Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQ+ people escape state-sponsored violence and persecution. A donation goes with every trip we sell, funded by us and never added to your price.
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Tell us where you would love to go, when you are thinking of travelling and what kind of trip you have in mind. One of our LGBTQ+ travel specialists will create a tailor-made itinerary designed around your destination, style and preferences.
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