The Hall is set off the Brecon to Clyro road - 1½ from the centre of Hay-on-Wye, and is accessed down a long narrow drive. The Hall, although it appears much older, was built in 1839, by Thomas Baskerville for his second wife, Elizabeth. It is set in a 100 acre park and has absolutely superb views over the hills of the Brecon beacon National Park. As Thomas built this purely as a house for entertaining in it is highly appropriate that this building is now available to party in. There is a strong Sherlock Holmes connection as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a family friend who often stayed at the Hall and during his visits he heard the local legend about the hounds of the Baskervilles. It is even said that he wrote the majority of the famous Holmes novel whilst a guest at the Hall. He did agree to set the novel in Devon to "to ward off tourists" but of course nowadays the Hall’s owner would wish to "put the record straight."

Since 1984 it has been under the present ownership and every attempt has been made to retain the original features whilst offering modern facilities for guests. The rooms on the first floor are upmarket and fairly unique suites with stylised decor. Ours had an en-suite shower room, a high four-poster bed with steps up to it (we needed the steps to be able to get in and I certainly wouldn’t wanted to have fallen out from the height of the bed). Others we saw had large circular baths in the main bathroom with separate shower room and wc’s. Our son’s and his fiancée had a brilliantly extravagant room with superb 270° views across the Brecon Hills. Our view was less inspiring – roof tops and the rear access to the disco!

The grand hall way, with its fireplace and "resting area" on the landing is impressive and although you don’t really need to rest you will need to make a choice about which of the staircases to choose. They both lead to the first floor so it’s not a major dilemma but it does give a certain elegance to the building. On this floor are the main bedrooms, as already described, and then there’s a rabbit warren of stairs and corridors to access the remaining bedrooms. Some of these back corridors are in need of some tender loving care and I presume work is still in progress to upgrade the smaller bedrooms on the top floor.

The nooks and crannies in Baskerville are fascinating and I "got lost" on each of the three days that I was there. Check out the music room’s ceiling and the view from the "corner room"

With advance notice Baskerville had arranged a clay pigeon shoot for the guys whilst the women enjoyed some on-site pampering with a visiting beautician and masseuse. I am by no means an expert shot (I’ve never tried hitting moving clays before) and although I wasn’t over-keen it soon became clear that our tutor was extremely good. We started off with a group briefing and then as we stepped forward to centre stage we were given a couple of minutes guidance. After a couple of shots most of the group became fairly proficient and were picking off the clays with amazing accuracy. Although I’m not absolutely sure that I’ll remember the lessons if I ever have another go.

Meanwhile "back at the ranch" the women folk were enjoying their hour of pampering with Indian head massages, reflexology, nail painting etc. It certainly relaxed them in advance of the big event the following day.

The hall is available for corporate events as well as weddings and offers a host of prearranged activities including quad trekking, mountain biking, go-carting, canoeing, abseiling, pony trekking and golf. Alternatively you can enjoy a gentle walk around the grounds enjoying the tranquillity of the area, the backdrop of the Brecon Beacons and the huge Lebanon Cedar Tree that dominates the front lawn. Our daughter-in-law wanted to be married under this tree but apparently there was some concern that it may loose the odd branch and fall on the assembled gathering. I accepted that as reasonable, until I noticed that the "top table" was situated right underneath its mighty boughs. I can, however, report that there were no causalities.

The catering for the wedding and the breakfasts was superb, but Baskerville let itself down with poor bar meals. These, despite the fact that we gave good notice were poorly presented and the fish, in particular was not cooked at all well. I reckon, I’d eat out in the neighbouring town of Hay-on-Wye, if I were to return.

Venture outside of the grounds and there is a range of walks within an easy drive. Being near the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountain national park (520 square miles between England and Swansea) there’s loads to do in the great outdoors. It is a stunning area and, as if you’ll need reminding, each view from Baskerville Hall offers a great vista. A truly picturesque setting in a magnificent region of the country.