The Old Vicarage self-contained apartments

Apart from my own mishap falling into a pile of poo, I absolutely loved the apartment and adored the owners. Rita and Duncan were so kind and generous. I can’t picture staying anywhere else, and I’m already looking forward to our next trip. Until next time.

I booked through booking.com while working in abermule on a tight budget. It was 300 for four nights, Monday to Friday, then I changed it to Monday through Thursday. During school holidays, that came to 221 for three nights. I’ve stayed in plenty of three-star hotels around the place, and this was very clean. Room 4 had strong Wi-Fi, lots of clean towels, a good shower and a comfortable bed. The kitchen is tiny, but there were pot noodles, porridge, tea and coffee. The local shop closes early. I like sleeping with the window open and it stayed quiet, with no noise from the main Rd or other guests. The entrance was hard to find: What3Words pointed behind the church, while the sat nav postcode sent me behind the site. Turn off the main Rd just before the church. Google Maps calls it Lydbury English ctr. I took a video of room 4. Duncan was a very friendly host. I’ll book again, even though it’s 20 mile and 40 mins from where I’m working.

My in-laws arrived to find their accommodation had been given to someone else, so they had nowhere to stay. They were first put in a temporary bedsit and eventually given a futon in the lounge. The week only got worse: at 8am, a painter startled my mother-in-law by cheerfully calling good morning through the window as she was getting out of bed. There was dirty crockery and cutlery, with sticky food left in the freezer. Was this Fawlty Towers, we wondered? The shower thermostat was broken and scalded my mother-in-law, so a plumber came at 8am the next day. Any more tradesmen? There were no oven gloves, which made cooking difficult. The owners were very apologetic, but it was a memorable week for all the wrong reasons. We’re still waiting for the full refund of the accommodation costs.

There are lots of places to visit nearby, with a lovely pub just up the road and a community-run shop. The place was nice and cosy, and Duncan greeted us on arrival. He’s a very friendly chap.