An old house, a new chapter
Swan House has been part of Kington for centuries. Originally a coaching inn, the Georgian building has watched travellers arrive and leave, businesses open and close, and the town change around it. Today Swan House is a home once again, a return to family roots for Francis, Tim and Simon the cat.
"We're not trying to recreate a hotel. It's a family home with three rooms for guests, and we want it to feel like one. You'll find traditional rooms, old beams, log fires, books, flowers from the garden and breakfast cooked in our kitchen. It's an old house we happen to live in, run the way we'd want a friend to run it for us."
We have more books than shelf space. Guests are welcome to browse, find something to read, settle into a comfortable chair - books about the Marches, gardening, art, history, walking, and plenty of other things. Make a cup of tea. Find a book. Stay awhile.
"A room without books is like a body without a soul." — Cicero
Kington isn't a place that performs for visitors — it just gets on with being itself, and we like that about it. We wanted Swan House to be somewhere that fits: no fuss, nothing forced, just an old house doing what it's always done — putting the kettle on for whoever turns up next.