Category Archives: wildflower

countryside, dog, Shropshire, snowdrop, spring, staycation, Uncategorized, wildflower

Spring is nearly here!

Whilst it’s still officially Winter, there are signs that Spring is nearly here! And the first day of spring is less than 4 weeks away.

We had some snow last week and yesterday we drove to the top of a hill and enjoyed a walk in quite deep snow with Saffy. But today has been glorious.

stream flowing through green fields, with blue skies, fluffy white clouds and a few bare winter trees - bed and breakfast shropshire

Throughout the winter, I’ve been out everyday walking Saffy, no matter what the weather. It’s rather wonderful when an unseasonal warm day comes along. Today I took my coat off and sat down next to a stream, enjoying the sound of the water and the birds serenading me. The sun was warm on my face and there was just a light breeze.

The snowdrops are just about at their best right now. They’re out up the lane to Hopton Castle and there’s a rather wonderful field filled with them on the drive to Clungunford.

Spring at Hopton House B&B - a drift of snowdrops blowing in the breeze

If you’re planning a break to Hopton House, April is getting quite booked up but we have still got good availability in February, March and May.

If you’re a fan of food festivals ( and beer and vintage cars ) we still have availability for the Ludlow Spring Festival on 11th and 12th May.

 

Butterflies, staycation, wildflower

Butterflies in Shropshire

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Painted Lady Butterfly in Shropshire

With the lovely weather in Shropshire over the last few weeks,  we’ve been seeing an increase in the number of butterflies in the wildflower meadow. The meadow is a bit more wild than flower at the moment. However, this means there are lots of nettles for the butterflies to lay eggs on and for the caterpillars so eat.

I’m always excited to see the first painted butterfly of the year. The painted lady is actually a long distance migrant to the UK. You can read a bit more about it here.

Shropshire, snowdrop, spring, wildflower

Win a 2 night stay at Hopton House B&B Shropshire

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It’s always nice to get January out of the way so that we can start looking forward to Spring. Though I had a very nice January as it was my 50th birthday and I enjoyed some nice quiet celebrations with family.

This year the signs of Spring have arrived much earlier than usual. I was very surprised to find cowslips and blackthorn blossom in the wildflower meadow last week.

The snowdrops are also early this early and we’ve got some amazing displays locally. The photo above is from my favourite field about a mile from us here at Hopton House.

Spring also sees the launch of the Bradt Slow Travel book on Shropshire. It promises to be a fabulous book with lots of ideas of things to do to enjoy this beautiful county.

We’re very pleased to be included in the book. You’ve got the opportunity to win a 2 night stay at Hopton House B&B with Bradt – full details here

But please don’t put off booking your stay just in case you win. We’re getting lots of booking through already for 2016, 75% of those bookings from repeat guests so book soon if you’re after a specific date. If you’ve already booked and you win, I’ll apply the prize value to your booking.

Early signs of spring at our Shropshire B&B