The Long Road Festival has fast become one of the most loved country and Americana festivals in the UK if not the most loved.

Held every year over August Bank Holiday weekend, the three day event takes place on the grounds of Stanford Hall in Lutterworth. Camping is provided for those who wish to camp, glamp or stay in a live in vehicle but for many of us, we just aren’t campers!!!

We go as a family of four! The kids are 3 and 7 so that places a little more anxiety for me on the camping front as my youngest tends to wake up a lot!

In previous years we have just driven home every night which takes 2 hours which was obviously exhausting but has since become even more exhausting now we have two children.

This year, we booked a lovely hotel called Ansty Hall about 20 minutes out from the festival! We were driving so for us, it wasn’t an issue at all, in fact it didn’t even take quite 20 minutes but just slightly less. We saw taxi’s too so that is also an option. They’re located just off the B4065 at M6, J2 and 1 mile from M69. For satellite navigation systems their postcode is CV7 9HZ.

Much like Stanford Hall, the surroundings of Ansty Hall are stunning and you feel completely at peace. A very large building, parking is very close to both reception and your rooms so you aren’t lugging your bags around too much. One thing we would advise would be to check in first and leave bags in the car (unless in a taxi) as you may be located in the building closer to the car park which means you will be going back on yourself!

Ansty hall dates to the 17th century, with eight acres of beautifully landscaped gardens complementing its handsome facade. You’re also ideally positioned to explore the surrounding area which features a fascinating blend of history and myth, industry and culture.

Whilst we of course only saw one bedroom, it was probably one of the nicest! We actually wished our bedroom at home was like it! It was large and spacious which is a rarity when there are four of you! A double bed and a put up bed, we still had plenty of space. What we loved was that the room had stairs leading up from the bathroom/entrance to the main bedroom area!

A large wardrobe, a chair with a foot stall, there was also a nice sized tv and a table with complementary tea, coffee and biscuits. I was also taken by the fact the bathroom products were Elemis which are lovely and very high priced products (shampoo, bath and shower gel) so to have these for complimentary use during our stay was such a treat!

The bed was comfortable and big enough for myself, husband and youngest to share whilst our eldest had the put up bed.

The kids had plenty of space to run around in the morning too!

The rooms also include complimentary breakfast which I wasn’t aware of at the time so that was a nice surprise! On the first morning it was a buffet breakfast with the typical English Breakfast goods and then a wonderful continental spread that included fresh watermelon, other fruits, yoghurts, cereals, small pastries and more! With kids who are relatively fussy, they both found a fair bit to eat!

The second morning was order service and you had choices such as porridge with honey and berries (compote), English Breakfast, Eggs Benedict and more! This also included the compliment buffet. Every breakfast includes complimentary tea and coffee as well as fruit juices.

We sadly didn’t have time to explore the grounds or the building but hopefully we can next year!

It was such a lovely stay and we felt very welcomed by staff.

We paid £174 for a family of four for two nights including breakfast!

Here’s to next year!

Visit the website here