TWO five-star rated holiday cottages near Bridgnorth – one of which was a former railway station – have been shortlisted for a prestigious Heart of England in Excellence Tourism award.
The cottages, in the heart of Apley Park, are vying with three other contenders to top the self-catering holiday of the year category and capture the prize at a ceremony on October 21.
Trains stopped running along the old Great Western line north of Bridgnorth about 60 years ago, but travellers are once again arriving at the old station at Linley.
The small halt was recently refurbished as a luxury three-bedroom holiday cottage by Apley Estate and won a prestigious Visit Britain gold award in June, because of the high quality of the renovation.
“We tried to make it so that people could imagine arriving at the station in the past, but it is also very comfortable,” said Lady Hamilton of Dalzell, whose husband’s family owns the Apley Estate.
Linley Station House has many original features dating from the steam age, when visitors to Apley Hall would alight from the trains and cross the river on horse-drawn carriages over the 100-year-old iron suspension bridge.
The platform of the station has been preserved, as has the old waiting room, which is now a comfortable sitting room.