The Welsh Gatehouse

The Welsh Gatehouse is a holiday home with twin towers, turrets, and a Grade II* listing. Book a stay and you’ll feel like the king of the castle, except there’s no one to wait on you here. This is a self-catering place to stay, which means you’ll have these age-old walls to yourselves – and, as it’s just for two, it’s as romantic as it is historic. This place almost certainly predates every other holiday home you’ve stayed in, having been built more than 700 years ago. To put it in context, that’s just 200 years after nearby Chepstow Castle and two centuries before Henry VIII was born.

To arrive, you drive up the long(ish) driveway, where you will find the huge wooden doors that lead into the Courtyard Garden. These are mostly kept closed, but you're invited to duck through the smaller inset door. Go round the corner to the left, and there's your front door. You'll ascend up the spiral staircase. So far, so medieval, but enter the first-floor living space and you’ll see a combination of old and new.

Exposed stonework, beams, and diamond leaded windows with original glass were carefully retained in the renovation of the gatehouse, but modern amenities have been added, too. Some, like the log-burning stove, feel totally in keeping. Others, like the kitchen and mezzanine bedroom, are contemporary, but still somehow fit in. The big surprise is how cosy and homely a 13th-century gatehouse can feel: the building itself is certainly dramatic, and the same word could be applied to the regally coloured red and gold curtains that hang down two storeys from the highest point of this open-plan room. The biggest drama of all is even higher than that – you can access one of the gatehouse towers for spectacular views, including sunsets over the green countryside of Monmouthshire, and both the old and new Severn Bridges. Needless to say, it’s a popular spot for proposals.

It's certainly a romantic place to stay, and you’ll feel its loved-up vibes even more in the evenings when the log burner creates a warm glow, or when you sit outside in the pretty garden after a meal at the nearby Millers Arms. The area can be pretty magical, too. The Welsh Gatehouse is four miles from Chepstow, where there are medieval walls and a clifftop castle overlooking the River Wye. It sits at the southern end of the beautiful Wye Valley, not far from the enchanting riverside ruins of Tintern Abbey, all of which are lovely places to explore on walks or from the water.