A trip to Baileys Home and Garden
In the Wye Valley not too far from the town of Ross on Wye is Bailey’s Home & Garden Store. Run by Mark and Sally Bailey, the rustic store which is made up of a series of barns, sells everything you might need, or didn't know you needed, for your home and a range of clothing to wear around it.
We'd recommend travelling by car… it’s out in the countryside and you’ll need a way carry home your loot of objects.
On offer in the Threshing barn – a large, lofty space – is a tempting collection of useful objects and homewares: from soap on a rope, through piles of antique and stonewashed linen, to brushes made to fulfil your every possible need. Against the walls are stacks of wire baskets and crates filled with treats, cosmetics, candles, wooden children’s toys and much more.
As you wander through to The Cartshed you’ll find textiles from all over the world, including block-printed indigo table cloths, Ukrainian embroidered smocks as well as a complementing range of exotic and specialist foods.
The Cowshed houses things for your kitchen; ceramic jugs, hand-whittled wooden spoons, locally ground porridge oats and stacks of linen tea towels and dishcloths. If you’re inspired by the lighting in the store, don’t miss The Stable and Tack room, tucked around the corner. Antique shop fittings display everything you need to update the lights in your home.
And don’t miss The Loft, where you can test out their handmade ticking mattresses, upholstery and 1930s bathroom fittings, allowing you to imagine how your living room would look with a classic sofa upholstered in linen or velvet.
If you’re there on the weekend then we’d advise a stop off at the on-site Tin Tabernacle Tea Room, open from 10-4 for a delicious lunch.
The store is a real treat for any textile lover. Each shelf, surface or stack is neatly organised and made ready by Sally and her team, who constantly make sure that every display is as tempting as the next. A warning – it is very tricky to leave empty handed!
Nearby is the market town of Ledbury. A pretty town where we’d recommend a visit to Tinsmith’s. Tucked up the Dickensian ‘Tinsmiths Alleyway (look out for the large shears on the high street) the store is full of ‘beautiful and timeless things’. You’ll find Jenny Crisp baskets, stacks of ticking, printed upholstery fabric, prints from artists such as Mark Herald, Angie Lewin and James Brown as well as much more.
Tinsmiths, Tinsmiths Alley, 8A High Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire. HR8 1DS, Tues-Sat 10-5 www.tinsmiths.co.uk
Photographs by Aidan Taylor
6 comments
My husband laughs at me because every so often I have to go to Bailey’s just for a mooch and what he calls my ’Bailey’s fix ’!!!