A Two-Room Welcome on the Westwood Ridge
The smell of bread coming out of the oven reaches the dining room before you do. That is what guests write about first at The Westwoods, a small bed and breakfast on the ridge at Upper Westwood, a mile and a half above Bradford-on-Avon. Clive and Julie let two rooms and no more, both on the ground floor, each with its own front door, so you come and go without ever crossing a lobby or waiting at a desk. Parking is free on the drive, the garden and the valley start at the edge of it, and a station within walking distance puts you in Bath in about twelve minutes. It suits couples and walkers who want the countryside without giving up easy access to the city.
Take it if you want a genuinely quiet base with a personal welcome, a proper home-baked breakfast and open fields at the end of the lane, and if you like the idea of hosts who remember what you asked for last time. Look elsewhere if your evening needs a bar downstairs, a restaurant on site or a member of staff on duty at midnight, because none of those exist here.
Two Ground-Floor Rooms, Both with Their Own Door
The Double is the compact one, roughly 10.6 square metres, with a king-size bed, hardwood underfoot, a small seating area and a dining table by the window. The Deluxe is the one to take if space matters: about 17.4 square metres, a super-king that can be split into singles and a further single bed, which is how two adults and a child fit in comfortably without anyone on a folding bed. One family has taken both rooms and slept five.
What the two share is more interesting than what separates them. Each opens straight onto the garden side of the house through its own entrance, so there is no corridor, no shared landing and no one walking past your door at night. Each has a private shower room with a walk-in shower and a separate WC. Each looks out over the garden. And each carries the detail that keeps turning up in guest reviews: fresh flowers on the dressing table, generous toiletry dispensers rather than sachets, a tray of Yorkshire Tea and coffee, and fresh milk in the fridge rather than the plastic pots you usually get.
Breakfast Is Baked in the House
Breakfast happens in a guest-only dining room with two tables, a printed card telling you what is on that morning, and jam in kilner jars. It is continental rather than cooked, and it earns its reputation on what comes out of the kitchen: a seeded loaf and a white one baked that morning, a warm muffin every day, a large bowl of fruit salad, croissants, cereals, yoghurts and good coffee. Guests who arrive expecting toast and a packet of cereal tend to write about it afterwards.
The other half of the story is the hosts. Clive has driven guests down the hill to the village pub and gone back for them at the end of the evening more times than the reviews can count, and has offered lifts into Bath. He hands out local suggestions unprompted. Julie's baking is the thing solo travellers mention. It is the sort of hospitality that only really works at two rooms, which is exactly why the house has stayed at two, and why dates between April and September disappear early.
Why Book The Westwoods?
The Westwoods works best for couples and walkers who want a quiet countryside base with a real welcome, and for small families who can take both rooms and have the house to themselves.
Your own front door
Both rooms are on the ground floor with private entrances and garden views, so you come and go on your own schedule with no stairs and no lobby.
Breakfast made here
A seeded loaf and a white one baked that morning, a warm muffin every day, fruit salad, yoghurts and proper coffee, served in a guest-only dining room.
Bath without the parking
Avoncliff station is about 1,050 yards away and direct trains reach Bath Spa in roughly twelve minutes, so the car can stay on the drive.
Hosts who go further
Clive and Julie hand out local routes, drive guests down to the village pub and back, and have shopped specially for a guest's dietary needs before arrival.
Check Availability at The Westwoods
- Free private parking on site
- Free WiFi throughout
Interesting Points About The Westwoods
- Satnav is the enemy here. Guests keep being routed up Jones Hill, a steep and narrow back lane, when the reliable approach is the main road climbing out of Bradford-on-Avon with BA15 2DG in the box.
- Two rooms, two hosts. Clive and Julie have run the house since around 2013 and let only a Double and a Deluxe, so the whole place is full at five or six people.
- The bread is baked in the house. Breakfast runs to a seeded loaf and a plain white one, a warm muffin every morning, a bowl of fruit salad, yoghurts, cereals, Yorkshire Tea including decaf and proper coffee.
- Aggregator sites invent facilities for this address. One of them lists 120 guest rooms, a seasonal outdoor pool, an on-site bar and a 2,500 square foot event space. There are two bedrooms, a guest dining room and a garden.
- The shuttle badge on some travel listings is not a scheduled transfer. In practice it reflects Clive running guests down the hill to the village pub and back, and offering lifts into Bath, all of it goodwill on the day rather than a service you can book.
- The riverside pub at Avoncliff has its kitchen closed for the 2026 season and is taking no table bookings, so the dinner recommendation here is The New Inn at 80 Lower Westwood, BA15 2AE.
- Westwood Manor, a few minutes up the lane, keeps the earliest Italian keyboard instrument in the country: a virginal dated 1537, alongside a Stephen Keene spinet of 1711.
Rooms & Accommodation at The Westwoods
Double Room
Up to 2 guests · Ground floor · 10.6 m²
Two walkers who are out on the footpaths all day and want somewhere calm to come back to will get the most from this one. It is the compact room, about 10.6 square metres, with a king-size bed, hardwood floor, a seating area and a dining table by the window, and its own door onto the garden side of the house. The shower room is yours alone, with a walk-in shower and a separate WC, and the tea, coffee and fresh milk get topped up daily. Couples travelling light rarely miss the extra floor space.
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Deluxe Room (2 Adults + 1 Child)
Up to 3 guests · Ground floor · 17.4 m²
Space is the reason to take this one: roughly 17.4 square metres against the Double's 10.6, with a super-king bed that can be arranged as singles and a further single bed alongside it. That means two adults and a child sleep properly in one room, with no folding bed and nobody stepping over anyone. Same ground-floor position, same private entrance, same private shower room and garden outlook. Families of five have booked it together with the Double and had the whole house.
Check PricesAmenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Free WiFi
- Flat-screen TV
- Tea and coffee tray with Yorkshire Tea, decaf and fresh milk
- Electric kettle and toaster
- Hardwood or parquet floors
- Seating area with a dining table
- Wardrobe, clothes rack and drying rack
- Heating
- Iron and ironing facilities
- Socket beside the bed
- Child safety socket covers
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Not available: Air conditioning
Your Private Shower Room
- Walk-in shower
- Separate WC
- Refillable shampoo, conditioner and soap dispensers
- Towels and a heated towel rail
- Hairdryer
Breakfast and the Dining Room
- Continental breakfast in a guest-only dining room
- Seeded and white loaves baked in the house
- A warm muffin each morning
- Fruit salad, croissants, cereals and yoghurt
- Guest fridge, microwave and toaster
- Not available: Restaurant
- Not available: Bar
- Not available: Room service
Outside the House
- Free private parking on the drive, no reservation needed
- Garden with outdoor seating
- Terrace
- Picnic area
- Bicycle parking
- Not available: Swimming pool
- Not available: Gym
- Not available: Spa
Access and Services
- Both rooms on the ground floor
- Private entrance to each room
- Housekeeping 11:00 to 13:30 on request
- Non-smoking throughout
- Children of all ages welcome
- Cots subject to availability
- Not available: Extra beds
- Not available: 24-hour reception
Location and Getting Around
Upper Westwood is the ridge-top half of Westwood village, a mile and a half south-west of Bradford-on-Avon. The post town is Bradford-on-Avon and the county is Wiltshire, whatever some travel listings say: the BA postcode belongs to Bath, the address does not. That distinction matters when you set the satnav, and it is the single most common thing people get wrong on the way here.
What you get for being up on the ridge is quiet and a view. Fields drop away into the Frome and Avon valleys, footpaths leave from the lane, and the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath at Avoncliff gives you a flat, easy walk in either direction once you are down the hill. The New Inn on Lower Westwood, a few minutes' walk downhill, is the pub the hosts send people to: log fires, a big car park, food four days a week and a Sunday roast. Book a table in summer. Worth knowing before you plan an evening: the riverside pub down at the aqueduct has its kitchen closed for the 2026 season and is not taking table bookings, so it is drinks and a deli shack rather than dinner. The Seven Stars at Winsley, just over a mile away, is the other reliable option with a garden and plenty of parking.
For Bath, take the train. Avoncliff is a request stop about 1,050 yards from the door, and the direct service reaches Bath Spa in roughly twelve minutes, which beats fighting for a city parking space. By car Bath is around seven miles. Bradford-on-Avon itself is a mile and a half down the hill, with the Saxon Church of St Laurence, the fourteenth-century Tithe Barn and a canal wharf worth an afternoon.
- Avoncliff station: About 1,050 yards, a short steep walk. Direct trains reach Bath Spa in roughly 12 minutes.
- Westwood Manor: A few minutes' walk. A 15th-century stone manor holding a 1537 Italian virginal, open April to September.
- The New Inn, Lower Westwood: A few minutes' walk. Village pub with log fires, a large car park, food four days a week and Sunday roasts.
- Iford Manor and the Peto Garden: About 1 mile. Grade I Italianate hillside garden laid out by Harold Peto, open April to September.
- The Seven Stars, Winsley: About 1.2 miles. Country pub with a garden and a big car park, open all week.
- Farleigh Hungerford Castle: About 1.5 miles. English Heritage ruin with a chapel, crypt and painted vault.
- Bradford-on-Avon: About 1.6 miles. Saxon Church of St Laurence, the medieval Tithe Barn and the canal wharf.
- Dundas Aqueduct: About 3.2 miles. Where the Kennet and Avon Canal crosses the Avon on Bath stone arches.
- Bath: About 7 miles, or 12 minutes by train. The Roman Baths, the Abbey and the Royal Crescent.
- Bristol Airport: About 24 miles, roughly an hour by car.
Getting to Key Locations
Photo: Adrian Farwell, CC BY 3.0
Westwood Manor
The National Trust manor is a few minutes' walk down the lane, which makes it the rarest thing a country B&B can offer: a 15th-century stone house you can reach in slippers. Inside is the earliest Italian keyboard instrument in the country, a virginal dated 1537, alongside a Stephen Keene spinet of 1711 that is still played. It opens from April to September on a short weekly timetable, so check the days before you set your afternoon around it.
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Photo: Scott Wylie, CC BY-SA 4.0
Iford Manor and the Peto Garden
About a mile down the valley, Harold Peto cut Italian terraces, colonnades and cypresses into a steep Wiltshire hillside and somehow made it work. It is Grade I listed and it rewards a slow hour rather than a quick lap, with the statue-topped bridge over the Frome as the picture everyone takes on the way in. The garden opens April to September and does not admit children under ten.
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Photo: nicksarebi, CC BY 2.0
Farleigh Hungerford Castle
A mile and a half away sits the ruin of a 14th-century castle that is more interesting than its size suggests, with a chapel still roofed, medieval wall paintings above the altar and lead coffins in the crypt below. English Heritage looks after it and the grass inside the curtain wall is the sort of place an afternoon disappears. It is an easy detour on the way back from Frome or Trowbridge.
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Photo: Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Tithe Barn, Bradford-on-Avon
Down the hill at Barton Farm, the 14th-century Tithe Barn is one of the largest medieval barns left in England and it costs nothing to walk into. Stand under the cruck roof and the scale does the work; there is no interpretation panel that beats it. It sits beside the canal and the packhorse bridge, so it slots neatly into a towpath walk from the wharf.
View on MapHow to Find The Westwoods
- Set the postcode, not the town: Put BA15 2DG into the satnav rather than a town name. The post town is Bradford-on-Avon and the county is Wiltshire; anything that files this address under Bath will send you to the wrong side of the valley.
- Climb out of Bradford-on-Avon on the main road: From the town, head south-west towards Westwood and stay on the main road all the way up. Do not let the satnav turn you onto Jones Hill: it is a steep, narrow back lane and it is where guests most often come unstuck.
- Coming from the south, keep to the wider roads: If you are arriving from Frome or Trowbridge, resist the shortcut through the single-track lanes past Iford Manor. They are tight, they have few passing places and they are slower than the road you left.
- Find Friary Close in Upper Westwood: Friary Close is a small residential close on the ridge. The house is number 1 and the parking is on the block-paved drive in front of it, free and with no need to reserve a space.
- Arriving by train: Avoncliff is the nearest station, about 1,050 yards away, with Bath Spa roughly twelve minutes up the line. The walk down is quick and the walk back up is steep, so if you are carrying luggage take a taxi from the rank at Bradford-on-Avon instead.
Bradford-on-Avon and the Avon Valley
Bradford-on-Avon is the reason to stay out here rather than in Bath. It is a steep little town of honey-coloured stone stacked up both sides of the river, with a packhorse bridge, a lock-up on the bridge itself, and the Saxon Church of St Laurence, which spent centuries hidden inside a school and a cottage before anyone realised what it was. The fourteenth-century Tithe Barn down at Barton Farm is free to walk into and still one of the largest medieval barns in the country.
The canal is the town's other trick. From the wharf you can walk the Kennet and Avon towpath west to Avoncliff and on to the Dundas Aqueduct, both of them places where the canal is carried over the river on Bath stone. It is flat, it is shaded and it is the best two hours in the area on a hot day. Closer to the house, Westwood Manor and the Italianate terraces of the Peto garden at Iford both open from April to September.
Bath is twelve minutes away by train and does not need the introduction. The practical advice is to go early, leave the car on the drive here and buy tickets for the Roman Baths in advance. April to September is the season the whole valley is built around: the gardens are open, the towpath is at its best, and this is also when the two rooms up here go first.
Bradford-on-Avon on Foot
A walk around the town below the ridge, from the packhorse bridge and the Tithe Barn to the canal wharf.
Is The Westwoods worth it?
Yes, for couples and walkers who want countryside and a personal welcome rather than a car park and a key card. Two ground-floor rooms with their own doors, a host who bakes the bread and will run you down to the pub, and a station within walking distance that reaches Bath in about twelve minutes. Look elsewhere if you want dinner on site, a staffed desk late at night, or a level walk home from the train.
What Guests Say About The Westwoods
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Exceptional
Two things come up in almost every review: Clive and Julie themselves, and the breakfast they make. Guests describe a welcome that goes further than they expected, from remembering an earlier stay to shopping specially for a vegan in the party, and they write about the home-baked bread and the warm muffins the way people usually write about a restaurant. The rooms are called spotless and the setting genuinely quiet, with walking straight from the door. The one recurring note is that the house takes some finding, and the connection is the least praised part of an otherwise glowing picture.
Found the room and shower room immaculate, and rated the hosts far beyond what he had expected: they looked back at an earlier reservation of his and went shopping so the vegan in the party was properly fed. He picked out the continental breakfast, the bread and muffins made in the house, and the quiet countryside on every side.
Colin
Found the room and shower room immaculate, and rated the hosts far beyond what he had expected: they looked back at an earlier reservation of his and went shopping so the vegan in the party was properly fed. He picked out the continental breakfast, the bread and muffins made in the house, and the quiet countryside on every side.
2026-07-28Called it one of the best bed and breakfast stays they have had. The bedroom was spotless and unusually well kitted out, down to a charging port, full-size toiletry dispensers, plenty of tea and coffee and fresh milk in the fridge. Clive then drove them down to the riverside pub and came back for them later.
2026-07-13Rated the setting highly and singled out Clive for running them down to the pub.
2026-06-14Was made very welcome and had his lift to and from the local pub arranged for him. The home-made bread was the highlight of the stay. His only difficulty was pinning down the exact address on the way in.
2026-06-01Said she would score the house far higher than the scale allows. A lovely host, the best breakfast she had eaten, a comfortable bed, pretty decor and fresh roses in the room, with bread baked here each morning.
2026-05-21Enjoyed a beautiful, quiet spot with excellent walking from the door, and found the host wonderfully helpful.
2026-05-21Loved the countryside setting and the village pub nearby. Clive suggested places to go, drove her and another couple down to the New Inn and collected them later, and offered to run her into Bath. She liked the decor, the flowers in both rooms, and the seeded loaf and muffin at breakfast.
2026-05-12Came back for a second stay and intends to return again. She described a quiet, peaceful, happy house where everything at breakfast is made fresh, and named the muffins and the fruit salad as her favourites.
2026-05-10Good to Know Before You Book
Finding the house
Parking is free on the drive and there is always space, so the only tricky part of the journey is the last mile. Climb out of Bradford-on-Avon on the main road and put BA15 2DG into the satnav; guests who let it pick its own route often get sent up Jones Hill, a steep and narrow back lane. Call the hosts on the number on your confirmation if you are not sure.
Arriving by train
Avoncliff station is close enough to walk and Bath Spa is about twelve minutes up the line, which makes a car optional for the whole stay. The climb back up from the station is steep, though, so with luggage it is easier to take a taxi from the rank at Bradford-on-Avon.
Breakfast
Breakfast is continental and largely made here, with a seeded loaf, a warm muffin, fruit salad, cereals and yoghurt. Whether it comes with your room depends on the rate you choose, so confirm it at the time of booking rather than on arrival.
Lifts to the pub are a kindness, not a service
Clive has often driven guests down to the village pub and collected them afterwards, and has offered runs into Bath. Some travel listings turn that generosity into a shuttle badge. Treat it as the hosts being kind on the day rather than a transfer you can reserve in advance.
Two rooms only
This is a house with a Double and a Deluxe and nothing else, which is why the welcome is as personal as it is. Dates between April and September go early, so book ahead, and ask for both rooms together if you are travelling as a family.
Cancellation and prepayment
Terms vary with the rate you pick and are set out in full before you confirm, so check the conditions attached to your chosen option rather than assuming. The house does not take hen, stag or similar parties.
Photos of The Westwoods
Frequently Asked Questions
The Westwoods is at 1 Friary Close in Upper Westwood, a mile and a half south-west of Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire. Climb out of the town on the main road and use the postcode BA15 2DG rather than a town name. Guests who follow the satnav blindly often end up on Jones Hill, a steep and narrow back lane best avoided altogether. Friary Close itself is a small residential close, so call ahead if you are unsure.
Parking is free and private, on the block-paved drive in front of the house, and no reservation is needed. There is room for the cars of both rooms, so you can arrive whenever suits and leave the car where it is while you walk the valley or take the train into Bath.
Breakfast is continental and largely made in the house: a seeded loaf and a white one baked that morning, a warm muffin each day, a large bowl of fruit salad, croissants, cereals, yoghurts, Yorkshire Tea including decaf, and coffee. It is served in a guest-only dining room with its own fridge, microwave and toaster. Whether breakfast is included depends on the rate you book, so check the option before you confirm.
The easiest way is the train from Avoncliff, about 1,050 yards from the door, which reaches Bath Spa in roughly twelve minutes on a direct service. By car it is around seven miles. The walk down to the station is quick and the walk back up is steep, so plan the return leg or arrange a taxi if you are out late.
Pets are not accepted at this property. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on site, and parties or events are not allowed either, including hen and stag groups.
Arrivals are welcomed between 15:00 and 18:00, and the room stays yours until 11:00 on the morning you leave. Because the house is owner-hosted rather than staffed around the clock, give the hosts an idea of when you expect to reach the ridge, and ask early if you need to turn up outside that window.
The Deluxe Room takes two adults and a child, with a super-king bed that can be arranged as singles plus a further single bed. Children of any age are welcome. Cots depend on availability and there are no extra beds, so a family of four or five usually takes both rooms and has the house to themselves.
There is no scheduled airport transfer here, whatever the shuttle badge on some travel listings suggests. What guests actually report is Clive driving them down to the village pub and back, and offering lifts into Bath, done as a kindness on the day rather than a service you can book. Bristol Airport is about 24 miles away, roughly an hour by car.
There are two letting rooms, a Double and a Deluxe, and no restaurant, bar, pool or spa on site. Aggregator sites that advertise a hundred-plus rooms, an outdoor pool and an event space at this address are simply wrong. Dinner means a few minutes' walk to The New Inn at Lower Westwood, or a slightly longer trip to The Seven Stars at Winsley.
No, they are two different houses several hundred miles apart. This is The Westwoods at 1 Friary Close, Upper Westwood, near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, hosted by Clive and Julie. Westwood, The B&B with a View is in Cockermouth in Cumbria and has its own owners. If your trip is built around Bath, Bradford-on-Avon or the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Wiltshire address is the one you want.
Other Stays Near Bath and the Cotswolds
Charlecote House, Bath
Take this instead when you want to be in Bath itself and cook for yourself: two-bedroom apartments with kitchens, free parking and a bus stop outside, but no host, no breakfast and no fields at the end of the lane.
Silcox House Bath
The city-centre opposite of this stay. Self-catering apartments with keycode entry a short walk from the Abbey and the station, which suits late arrivals and anyone who would rather not keep to a breakfast time.
The Fox Inn, Hawkesbury Upton
Pick it over The Westwoods when you want a bar and a log fire downstairs in the evening rather than a private front door. It is an 18th-century Cotswold-stone inn on the Cotswold Way, and it takes dogs, which this house does not.
Ready to Book The Westwoods?
Bread out of the oven, a quiet ridge above the Avon valley and hosts who will run you down to the pub. There are only two rooms, and between April and September they go early, so check your dates while the one you want is free.
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