Luxurious lodges offer oasis of calm

In search of charm and a change of scene, STAN CULLIMORE heads on a countryside road trip to the 'Lake District of Shropshire'

- 

ONE of the many things I love about this modern age is reading the marketing material that slides through my inbox. Usually it's hot off the presses from an overexcited publicity department and generally brings a smile to my face. In this case, the flyer concerned a part of the country which was being championed as the 'Lake District of Shropshire'. An unusual claim and a pretty bold one too.

However, after thinking about it, not entirely unexpected. From my own experience, I know that Shropshire is very pretty, comfortably quiet and chock full of pleasant surprises. Basically, you never know what you're going to find up there. After visiting a few times in the past, I now adore the place. Finding a section of it that resembled the Lake District would not be entirely out of character. If you're looking for charm and a change of scene, this is the perfect shire to visit.

All of which is why I decided to take the publicity flyer at face value, pop along to this small piece of that particular shire, check it out for myself, see if it lived up to the claim. Spoiler alert, it did. In some ways, it even went over and above.

Living in the South West as I do, the journey up to Shropshire is a game of two halves, if you're driving. First you have to jump onto the M5 motorway and head north, then, second - the best bit - you head off cross country passing through some of the prettiest countryside you could ever hope to see. Rolling fields, distant hills and half-forgotten rural villages, full of half-timbered houses. All of it bathed in a rich, soupy broth of history and happenstance. If the sun is shining by the way, it's hard to beat. It's postcard pretty.