Herefordshire holiday let in railway station adds to accommodation

Rowden Mill, at Bredenbury, near Bromyard, offers an award winning self catering lodgings on the site of a former Great Western Railway station.

Built in 1890s and renovated in 1984, Rowden Mill Station has been outwardly restored to its original specifications, while internally it is now fully equipped for modern living.

Rowden Mill Station near Bromyard.

The station is part of the old Worcester to Leominster branch line, which closed to rail traffic in 1952.

After falling derelict in the intervening years the whole site was restored to its original condition in the 1980s.

The old station building and parcel office are already used for family and couple stays and now the popular destination are offering a new place to stay.

On October 1, 2020, Saloon Coach DB 999508 moved into preservation at Rowden Mill Station.

It resides at Platform two, a few meters along the line from the main platform.

It sits within a wooded railway cutting set against a backdrop of the stone railway bridge.

After 21 months of conversion work this piece of British railway history has now been repurposed as holiday accommodation.

The new saloon coach on platform 2 at Rowden Mill Station near Bromyard.

The coach interior has wood panelled walls and sleeps four people in two bedrooms.

The main bedroom is part of one of the former saloons and has panoramic views to both sides of the track and along the green platform, while the second sleeping compartment has a set of full size bunk beds and looks out onto the fern and tree lined embankment.

Owners Cecilia and Paul said they were happy to make this new addition available for hire.

They said that after nearly two years getting it ready, the saloon coach was unveiled at the start of July, with the first guests (who had booked a year earlier) arriving on the first day of the month.