I’ve always quite liked the idea of a golfing holiday in Spain or Portugal, with the glorious weather and views they offer.
Trouble is, I’m pretty rubbish at golf, and I haven’t got that kind of money to ‘‘waste’’ (my wife’s word). In truth, I haven’t got that kind of money full stop.
Which is why I found Poston Mill such an attractive holiday alternative. Not only was it inexpensive but it also has its own pitch and putt course – one that’s ideal for all ability levels.
Ok, so the weather there is rarely Mediterranean. But the nine-hole course – averaging about 100 yards – does boast lovely views, as it is surrounded by greenery and rolling hills.
I was amazed at how lovely and well-kept the course was, considering it is free for guests and home owners to play. I’ve paid a pretty penny in the past to churn up worse courses. 
For me, it was also guilt-free. That’s because my son and I always had it to ourselves, so for a change I wasn’t worrying about delaying other golfers as I searched for my mishit ball.

Just like the golf course, the rest of the beautifully manicured Poston Mill – a tranquil 35-acre touring, holiday home and self-catering park in Herefordshire – is an absolute delight.
It even has its own ‘village green’ with a water feature.
You’ll find it between the city of Hereford (home to the world’s oldest medieval map) and Hay-on-Wye (the book capital of Britain with over 20 shops) just over the Welsh border.
Known as the ‘Golden Valley,’ the area is carved between two river valleys and the dramatic Black Mountains, with only a scattering of picturesque villages.
The multi-award-winning Poston Mill park has 118 holiday home plots, and for the first time some of them are being allocated for self-catering visitors.
My family-of-four stayed the weekend in a ‘Silver Birch’ home, which afforded me my best sleeps of the year so far. It was stylish, comfortable, and had a lovely enclosed outdoor seating area.

We enjoyed yummy, locally-sourced and very generously-sized meals at The Mill, the on-site, family-run, dog-friendly pub. It boasts a lovely beer garden and takeout is available.
The park has a large secure field for exercising dogs, another for exercising children, plus a playground with table tennis and nets for both badminton and tennis (just don’t expect your balls to bounce very high).
The River Dore meanders beside the park and offers opportunities to fish. Walking trails start on the doorstep and a bus stop is located at the main gate.
Besides Hay and Hereford, there are lots of other places of interest in the area, including a cider museum, a small breeds farm and the magical Hampton Gardens.
But with our time limited (a lot of which was spent on that pitch and putt course) we kept our exploring as local to Poston Mill as possible, with the following all within five miles (and all free):
+ Snodhill Castle: Fine views can be enjoyed from the atmospheric ruined keep of one of the country’s earliest stone Norman castles – a reward for those who climb the steep hill.
+ Arthur’s Stone: The large remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb over 5,000 years old which were once covered in earth. According to legend, it was here King Arthur slew a giant.
+ Abbey Dore: Founded by French monks in 1147 and in a serene spot, it was restored after the Dissolution and has a wooden screen, a wooden ceiling and the original stone altar. 

All very interesting and photogenic… but it was another local ‘attraction’, one with much later origins, that will perhaps stay longest in the memory.
The ‘James Blunt Museum’ is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the chart-topping singer-songwriter inside a working red telephone box down a country lane.
It displays dubious ‘facts’ about his life: his skills as a puppeteer, his T-shirt printing business and how he left the Army ‘‘because he didn’t like it’’.
Before making the short journey back to the Midlands, we called in at Viking Games, just 15 minutes away, for our first ever game of laser clay shooting.
It has all the thrill of traditional clay pigeon shooting, using authentic rifles, but replaces live ammunition with laser beams, and the clays with re-usable plastic discs.
This not only makes the sport quieter, safer and eco-friendly, but it also allows children aged 11 upwards to take aim at the sensors on the flying targets.
The best bit is that everyone in your group of family or friends shoots at the same disc, with a scoreboard showing hits and misses – making it super competitive.

Under Kevin’s brilliant tutelage, it was one of the most enjoyable activities we’d ever done. My teenage daughter didn’t even think about her phone for an hour!
Viking Games, located on a diversifying farm, also offers archery, paintball, axe throwing and, as the name suggests, traditional Nordic games.
It was a lovely finale to an all-too-brief stay in a part of the country that would leave James Blunt exclaiming: ‘You’re Beautiful’!

Travel facts

Morris Leisure is a family-run business with seven peaceful touring caravan sites and holiday home parks located across Shropshire, Herefordshire, and North Wales. All offer holiday homes for sale, while its Herefordshire site, Poston Mill, also features self-catering rental options. For guests travelling with caravans or campervans, touring pitches are also available. Each location is set in tranquil surroundings and offers excellent on-site facilities. While Morris Leisure isn’t geared towards families, the Poston Mill park welcomes them. Prices at Poston Mill start from £280 for a two-night self-catering stay, sleeping a maximum of six. Click on www.morris-leisure.co.uk / email Poston@morris-leisure.co.uk  or call 01981 550225.

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