The Barns at Blackwater Meadow
We stayed in 'Willow', a 'Retreat Barn'. It was lovely and clean and modern. Loved the hot tub and robes and 'sliders' were provided. There is also some garden furniture (table and chairs) and two sun loungers. Seemed to have a lot of amenities in the kitchen if you wanted to cook your own food (we didn't, preferring to eat out). Nice welcome gift of some snacks and there are maps and leaflets with places of interest.
Great location - walking distance to the town centre where there are pubs, restaurants, a Premier and a Tesco and some nice local shops.
Also walking distance to some nice walks, eg. the sculpture trail, canal and mere. Also did a walk to Welshampton, a nearby village where they have a pub which does food, although we didn't eat there.
Some pros and cons:
Space - the bedroom isn't very wide and for some reason has an unnecessary (in my opinion) chair between the bed and the 'closet' door, so you can't actually open the closet door unless you move the chair out of the way. We were only there 3 nights and travelled light, so wasn't much of a problem, however there really wasn't much storage space. Would suggest getting rid of the chair and perhaps putting some low shelves or a small chest of drawers in the closet. Also perhaps a small bedside cabinet to the left of the bed (when facing).
The bathroom is huge and has a lovely, modern deep bath and double shower (if you like that sort of thing) but it was like they had sacrificed space in the bedroom to make the bathroom bigger.
Loved the hot tub, but one cause for concern in my opinion. My husband had gone for a nap and I was alone in the hot tub. There is a big gate with no bolt at one end and a small gate also with no bolt at the other end, so personally I didn't feel able to fully relax when I was in the hot tub alone as I felt anyone could have walked in. Perhaps put a bolt on the big gate and install a bigger gate with a bolt at the other end?
Lastly, I left my (not cheap and relatively new) walking shoes in error. The Barns located them and said they would return them if I sent a returns label (fair enough) and I did get them back, so thank you.