Dilwyn

Dilwyn has no hotels of its own, so anyone wanting a proper bed for the night will usually look to nearby Leominster or Hereford, both within a short drive and each offering a range of options from town-centre inns to countryside guesthouses. Leominster, just six miles away, has a good spread of small hotels and B&Bs close to its priory and market, making it a practical base for exploring the Black and White Village Trail without having to travel far each day. Hereford, a little further south, offers a wider choice again, including larger hotels, along with its cathedral and riverside setting.

For those who prefer to stay closer to Dilwyn itself, the surrounding villages on the trail — Pembridge, Eardisland and Weobley among them — have their own scatter of guesthouses and inns with rooms, often in characterful timber-framed buildings that suit the setting well. Booking ahead is worthwhile, particularly in spring and summer when the orchards are in blossom or the trail is busiest with walkers and cyclists, since options in these small villages are limited.

Whichever base is chosen, the appeal of staying near Dilwyn is the same: quick access to a genuinely rural stretch of Herefordshire, with quiet lanes, working farmland and some of the county's best-preserved black-and-white architecture on the doorstep, away from the crowds of more heavily visited parts of the country.

Dilwyn is a quiet base for exploring the Black and White Village Trail and the rolling orchard country of north-west Herefordshire.

• The Black and White Village Trail — a signposted 40-mile circular route from Leominster through Herefordshire's best-known timber-framed villages, including Pembridge, Eardisland and Weobley.
• Weobley — a few miles south, with a Norman motte and bailey castle site, the tall-spired church of St Peter and St Paul, and a village trail past centuries-old timber buildings.
• Pembridge — often called the jewel of the trail, with its 16th-century open-sided Market Hall and the rare timber-built detached belfry at St Mary's Church.
• Dunkertons Cider Mill — a working organic cider and perry maker near Pembridge, using traditional Herefordshire apple and pear varieties.
• Leominster — the nearest town, with a priory church, independent shops and a regular market, plus rail links onward.

The village's own pub, the Crown Inn, is a 17th-century coaching inn turned community-owned pub, serving a changing seasonal menu of home-cooked English and Italian dishes. Beyond the village, Pembridge's New Inn and Dunkertons Cider Mill are within easy reach, and Leominster offers a wider choice of cafes, pubs and restaurants.

Dilwyn sits in classic rolling Herefordshire countryside, a patchwork of orchards, hopyards and pasture threaded by the Stretford Brook and, further north, the rivers Arrow and Lugg. It is gentle walking and cycling terrain rather than dramatic hill country, which suits relaxed, low-key camping trips built around exploring the Black and White Village Trail on quiet lanes rather than tackling serious ascents.

As with anywhere in England, wild camping is not legal here without the landowner's permission, so a pitch needs to be booked at a proper campsite, farm site or certified location. Herefordshire has a decent scatter of small, independent sites in this part of the county, often on working farms, offering a simple field pitch for a tent alongside hook-ups for tourers and motorhomes. Facilities tend to be straightforward rather than resort-style, in keeping with the quiet, rural character of the area.

Late spring through to early autumn is the best window for camping near Dilwyn, when the orchards are either in blossom or laden with fruit and the ground is driest underfoot. May brings the blossom, and with it some of the prettiest scenery on the whole trail, while September and October see the cider apple and perry pear harvest in full swing, with Dunkertons Cider Mill near Pembridge a good example of the traditional production still going on locally. Winter camping is possible but this is a wet, low-lying valley landscape, and conditions can turn heavy underfoot after rain.

For those who would rather have a roof and fewer guy ropes to worry about, glamping options such as shepherd's huts, safari tents and static bell tents crop up on farms across north-west Herefordshire, giving a similar sense of being out in the orchards and hopyards without needing to pitch a tent. These tend to book up in the busier blossom and harvest seasons, so it is worth planning ahead if a fixed date matters.