On a Home Exchange in London? Free Things to Do in the City

When you have been running a small business for several years, you see many others fall by the wayside after a fairly short time (it's never as easy as it looks!) Those small business owners who are still going strong after more than 20 years are the people I most admire. One such is Maggie Dobson, a Director of At Home in London, a bed & breakfast agency which has been actively trading for almost as long as Home Base Holidays has been providing a home exchange service. Maggie and I are in contact from time to time (there is an overlap in our home based accommodation travel services and we are happy to refer potential customers to each other).

I subscribe to Maggie's excellent newsletter, Grapevine, a monthly ezine which, although written to provide interesting ideas for things to do in London for her agency's B & B guests, is a very useful resource for anyone visiting (or indeed, living in) London. Check out the latest issue (main headline, Free London) for ideas for free things to do on your stay here. Maggie includes some of my own favourites such as simply strolling along the Southbank (in the summer there's lots of free entertainment along the river too). Click the link, 'Read GRAPEVINE, my monthly insider's guide' on the home page to access this issue and the full newsletter archives.

If you arrange a home exchange in another part of the UK and want a few days in London, do check out the many homes offering bed & breakfast, mostly in or near central London. At Home in London is a partner in Visit London and a founder member of the Bed & Breakfast and Homestay Association.