“There are many different reasons for choosing your home swap destination. Our first ever exchange was simply because someone sent us an offer and we thought, ‘Why not?’ It turned out to be a delightful apartment in a converted seminary in a pretty West Sussex village. A totally different type of property to ours is a great pull. Since then we've stayed in a converted farm building, a converted factory and even a converted cottage hospital - the whole hospital!
Of course we've exchanged to places we've always wanted to visit but never got around to, the two most obvious being Barcelona and Dublin, where we encountered possibly the only singing tour bus driver in the world.
Then I keep a regular check on the Home Base Holidays latest listings where I saw Kas and Bea's beautiful home in Switzerland, not a country I'd thought to visit but the description was appealing. The eventual swap was amazing, not just for the stunning scenery but because the Swiss people are so friendly, helpful and welcoming. And we made new friends in Bea and Kas.
Home exchange has given us the opportunity to spend more time in much loved places such as Dorset and Bath and we spent a week in Oxford, a city of frequent day trips but a joy to live in for a while.
We are just back from a swap to Kent. I saw Faversham (in photo) on a television programme and was amazed by the number of listed buildings, street after street of beautifully preserved architecture in a well-kept town with good shops and restaurants and a boat filled creek for good measure. I checked with Home Base Holidays and, lo and behold, a Tudor home was on offer! Patti, the owner, needed to be on London to attend a week long music course.
It's not only me who gets to pursue my passions through home exchange. My husband, Paul, enjoys horse racing and we've been to several race courses while staying in other people's homes.
Where to next? Off to the seaside on 1st September!” - Sandra Newnham
Click here to see Sandra’s home swap offer in London. We always look forward to receiving Sandra’s stories of her many home swapping experiences (she’s promised to write an article after her next exchange about one of her favourite subjects – food – and what foodie goodies she and Paul have discovered while on home swaps). Do you have a home exchange story to share? We’d love to hear from you. Contact Home Base Holidays: [email protected]
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