A Luxury Base for Exploring Shropshire

Some places invite you to slow down.

Others quietly encourage you to look a little closer.

Combermere Abbey does both.

Set on the Shropshire–Cheshire border, Combermere offers more than a beautiful place to stay. It offers a sense of grounding, a feeling that you are exactly where you’re meant to be, with space to explore one of England’s most quietly captivating counties from a base that understands calm, comfort, and care.

Shropshire is a county defined by contrast. Wild landscapes and gentle waterways. Ancient history and creative modern life. Bustling market towns and moments of complete stillness. And from Combermere, it all unfolds with ease.

Combermere Abbey has always been shaped by its surroundings

The mere, the woodland, the wide skies. They create a sense of seclusion that feels restorative rather than remote. From the moment guests arrive through the gates, there’s a shift. Time softens. The landscape opens. And the outside world begins to loosen its hold.

This makes Combermere an ideal base for exploring Shropshire. Days out feel unrushed. Evenings feel earned. You can spend hours discovering the county’s hidden corners, knowing you’re returning to somewhere that feels deeply considered and quietly luxurious. Here, exploration and restoration exist in balance. One enhancing the other.

Discovering Shropshire: Countryside, History, and Character

Shropshire is often described as one of England’s best-kept secrets. And that feels accurate.

It is a place where history is not curated for show but woven into everyday life. Market towns still hold weekly rhythms. Countryside paths feel purposeful rather than performative. And nature is allowed to remain a little wild.

From rolling hills and mossland reserves to canal paths and ancient meres, Shropshire invites a slower pace of discovery. Walks that stretch into conversations. Views that ask you to stop. Places that linger in memory long after you’ve left.

Combermere’s ideal location allows guests to experience this richness without feeling over-programmed. There is freedom here to follow your curiosity, your energy, and the weather.

Shropshire Attractions to Visit from Combermere Abbey

For those who enjoy shaping their days with intention, Shropshire offers a wide range of outdoor experiences, all within easy reach.

Hawkstone Park Follies unfolds like a storybook landscape – dramatic, imaginative, and wonderfully unexpected. Set within ancient woodland, this extraordinary terrain is shaped by towering cliff faces, hidden caves, arched bridges, winding paths, and architectural “follies” that feel both whimsical and deeply rooted in history. Every turn reveals a new vantage point: a stone arch framing deep green valley views, a moss-covered ruin nestling in a quiet glade, or a cliff edge that invites you to pause and take in the vastness of the surrounding parkland.

For something gentler but just as captivating, Brown Moss Countryside Heritage Site offers a rare and beautiful landscape that feels effortlessly untouched. The reserve combines open pools, heathland, reedbeds, and woodland creating a mosaic of habitats that support an extraordinary variety of birdlife and wildlife. Meandering paths and raised boardwalks invite you to slow your pace and soak it all in.

Ellesmere invites you to explore its glacial meres – expansive paths follow the water’s edge and are ideal for those who love gentle exploration and quiet views. Just a short 20-minute drive away, Alderford Lake offers a contrasting but equally memorable experience. Alderford provides outdoor fun for all ages, including open-water swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, and woodland walks, making it especially popular with families and anyone looking to combine fresh air with a bit of adventure.

Garden lovers will find inspiration at Hodnet Hall Gardens. Open from mid-March through to late October, these celebrated gardens unfold like a story across the seasons. From the early burst of camellias and magnolias in spring to vibrant herbaceous borders, woodland walks, and ornamental pools framed by mature trees, all planted over centuries and lovingly tended today.

Just four miles away, the award-winning Wollerton Old Hall Gardens reopens on April 3^rd, and offers a more contemporary garden experience. Celebrated for their formal design, vibrant borders, and colour-rich planting schemes that change beautifully with the seasons. Together, Hodnett Hall and Wollerton Old Hall provide two distinct and deeply inspiring garden days out.

For walkers seeking bigger skies and more dramatic terrain, Long Mynd and the landscapes south of Shrewsbury offer some of the county’s most spectacular walking routes. Here, rolling hills open into wide, far-reaching views, with paths that feel expansive, uplifting, and deeply restorative. Perfect for those drawn to longer walks and a stronger sense of space.

For even more inspiration, Visit Shropshire has been working closely with Shropshire Council on a refreshed collection of walks and activities at shropshiregreatoutdoors.co.uk. Guests can uncover lesser-known routes and experiences that reflect the county’s diversity and depth.

Luxury Accommodation Designed Around Your Stay

Where you stay shapes how you experience a place.

At Combermere, accommodation is designed not to impress loudly, but to support how you want to live during your time away. Whether you choose one of the beautifully appointed cottages, a contemporary lodge, or an elegant space within the Abbey itself, each option balances comfort, character, and connection to the landscape.

The North Wing is ideal for romantic escapes, while our self-catering cottages offer flexibility for family gatherings or time spent with friends. Each is thoughtfully furnished, immaculately maintained, and designed to help you truly switch off.

This is luxury that feels personal. Unforced. Deeply grounding.

Experiences Rooted in the Estate

Exploration doesn’t always require leaving the grounds.

 For guests interested in sustainable travel, Combermere offers the rare opportunity to spend a full day, or more, entirely on the estate. Leave the car behind and allow the rhythm of the place to guide you. Wander the woodland walk. Pause by the mere. Visit the Old Piggery Café for lunch. Craft your own signature gin at the onsite distillery, Three Wrens.

Combermere’s Invitation to View and Public Abbey Tours offer a rare opportunity to step inside centuries of history, architecture, and an estate shaped by continual evolution. Tours explore the Abbey’s 900 year old history from its Cistercian origins and later transformations, and the stories of those who have lived, worked, and restored it.

Spring also brings some of the estate’s most anticipated seasonal events. On May 3rd, the Bluebell Walk invites guests to wander through ancient woodland at its most enchanting, as carpets of bluebells create a fleeting but unforgettable spectacle. This is followed by our Garden Open Day on June, 11th, when the walled gardens, pleasure grounds, and wider landscape are opened for visitors to enjoy, guided by the knowledge and care of our gardens team.

The Combermere Club: Belonging Beyond the Stay

Some relationships don’t end at departure.

The Combermere Club is available exclusively to guests who have stayed – a thank you built on shared experience rather than transactions. Membership is not automatic; it is triggered by staying, and it reflects a deeper connection to the estate.

Members enjoy exclusive offers, tailored communications, and priority access but more than that, they remain part of Combermere’s evolving story. A community shaped by appreciation for place, pace, and thoughtful hospitality.

Stay once, and the door remains open.

A Stay That Stays With You

Exploring Shropshire from Combermere Abbey is not about ticking off attractions. It’s about allowing a place and a county to meet you where you are.

Days unfold naturally. Experiences feel chosen, not rushed. And when you return home, something subtle remains: a sense of spaciousness, clarity, and calm that’s hard to replicate.

Whether you’re seeking countryside walks, historic discovery, family adventure, or simple stillness, your stay at Combermere Abbey offers the perfect base for exploring Shropshire in comfort and quiet luxury.

Explore our accommodation and begin your journey