Travel the Home Exchange Way

Home swap holiday looking after alpacas (and a cat)

Nadia & Stan had an excellent home exchange looking after Jo & Rus's four alpacas

"Jo and Rus were a real pleasure to home exchange with. The communication was excellent throughout which made the exchange run very smoothly. Their home is truly an amazing retreat, very relaxing, exceptionally clean and comfortable. Jo and Rus kindly offered their Annex for our family members which was also comfortable and spotless. Tufts Clump is a gem in a wonderful and peaceful part of the country. The Alpacas are such characters and our children loved looking after them as well as Tink the cat. We would happily exchange again with Jo and Rus!"

Nadia & Stan (HE39925)

Highlights from the home swap: Alpacas and cat were a pleasure to look after! Amazing peaceful location in an area of natural beauty Walking to the atmospheric pub “The Bull” Getting lost cycling and jogging through the woods

Photos from the home swap

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View the home swap offers:

Saffron Walden, England (HE39925) Converted granary dating back to 1820, located in the heart of a historic market town of Saffron Walden. View home exchange offer	Berkshire, England (HE39926) Lovely converted Berkshire barn with a cat and four alpacas! A fantastic rural retreat. View home exchange offer

 

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Euro 2020/21: England to Italy home exchange holiday

Anticipation is at fever pitch for tomorrow night's 8pm kick-off of the Euro 2020/21 final between England and Italy at Wembley stadium. This is England's biggest game in 55 years and against an Italy side who are on a 33-match unbeaten run. Good luck to both teams and both sets of fans!

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England / Italy home swap holiday: at Home Base Holidays we love hearing members' home exchange experiences. So, with England vs Italy very much on our minds, here's a lovely trip report from Barbara & Iain on their home swap holiday between their Cotswolds cottage and Christopher & Adrian's gorgeous Tuscan farmhouse.

 

Fabulous home exchange holiday between The Cotswolds and Tuscany "We enjoyed a fabulous home exchange holiday staying in Christopher and Adrian's converted farmhouse in Tuscany. Arranging the swap was really easy and the communication with Christopher and Adrian was always clear, very friendly and prompt. The area in Tuscany was fabulous! Up into the hills you can discover little villages where life goes on in an almost timeless fashion. But then just a twenty minute drive down the valley and you are in gorgeous Lucca. Also just a short easy drive away and you're in the Appenine and Apuan Alps - an ideal location for walking and exploring the coastal beaches and towns such as the beautiful renaissance towns of Prato and Pistoia. Florence is an easy day trip too! Christopher and Adrian's house, La Roccia, has a private driveway and overlooks a lovely peaceful wooded valley. There are four houses in the area, including one belonging to our hosts, who maintained a very helpful but discreet distance at all times. The other two cottages were set well apart from our home swap home. The house has several beautiful sunny terraces and a lovely sitting room and kitchen area that overlook the valley. A short walk from the home, down the hill, took us to the lovely swimming pool with recliners on the peaceful terrace. The bathrooms and kitchen were clean and attractive. There is also a huge rock in the kitchen/diner - an unusual but really interesting feature! There are lovely views from the large sitting room had elegant dining area. Christopher and Adrian were wonderful, generous, helpful hosts and left our Cotswold cottage in perfect shape after their stay. Thank you so much for a wonderful home swap!" - Barbara & Iain

 

Photos of Christopher & Adrian's home in Tuscany

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Photos of Barbara & Iain's home in The Cotswolds

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Meet the home swappers

	Barbara and Iain (HBH members #32409) Barbara and Iain's exchange offer is a beautiful 180 year old stone cottage in idyllic village in the heart of the Cotswolds.  View Barbara and Iain's Cotswolds home swap offer
	Christopher and Adrian (HBH members #36781) Christopher and Adrian's exchange offer, La Roccia, is a beautifully converted traditional two-storey Tuscan farmhouse. View Christopher and Adrian's Tuscan home swap offer

 

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Search the latest home exchange holiday offers Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

A fantastic home swap: our first break after lockdown

Home Base Holidays members, Karen & Chris, had an excellent swap in Swanage

"Our first break away this year, as lockdown started to ease, and it couldn't have been better! The flat in Swanage is newly refurbished, light, bright and airy, spacious for two people, very comfortable and well equipped with everything you could need, and Sebastian's art works to admire on the walls! The sea and beach view from the huge bay window is amazing, and when you can tear yourself away the beach is just steps away, with a great cafe at the other end - just enough of a walk to work up an appetite for breakfast or a thirst for a late afternoon drink! The weather was fantastic for April, so we fully appreciated the location. Swanage has a range of interesting shops and galleries to browse, but feels quite a compact town so you can easily walk straight into beautiful, rural areas along the coast path. Sebastian was a great host - communication was easy and we were able to meet briefly on our arrival in Swanage. He and Lisa took great care of our cottage and cats and left everything very clean and tidy. A fantastic home swap!" - Karen & Chris (Watlington, Oxfordshire, England)

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Highlight from the home swap:

1. Super newly refurbished apartment by the beach!
2. Stunning sea view from bay window
3. Breakfast at the nearby beach cafe each day

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Photos from Karen & Chris's home swap in Swanage

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Meet the Home Base Holidays members:

Member HE39026: Karen & Chris  Karen and Chris are both recently retired and are looking for exchanges within the UK and Europe. They are more than happy to look after any pets and to make sure your plants are watered, etc.. and are looking for people who would also be happy to do that for them in return. View their home swap offer in Oxfordshire

 

Member HE18816: Sebastian & Lisa  Sebastian and Lisa are experienced home exchangers having completed fifteen wonderful home swaps. Sebastian is a self employed artist, art festival manager and teacher. Lisa is a piano and ballet teacher and spent 10 years touring as a dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet. View their home swap offer in Swanage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Colourful beach huts in Swanage, Dorset

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Our home swap: the perfect post-lockdown tonic!

Sophie and Bill enjoyed a perfect post-lockdown home swap

"The moment we could after lockdown, we headed to Garway Hill for a home exchange with Corinne & Colin. Their attractive Edwardian house and large gardens lie in a beautiful, remote valley with wonderful views across to Wales. We were lucky, as the sun shone every day we were there and so we were able to enjoy fabulous walks from the door. We know the area quite well and there is much to see & do in the area: the characterful towns of Monmouth, Hay-on-Wye, Abergavenny and Hereford are all within easy reach and we were able to make another visit to the amazing Kilpeck church. Corrine & Colin were perfect exchange partners; they looked after our house perfectly and even cared for our cat. Would we exchange with them again? Like a shot!" - Sophie & Bill (Bradford-on-Avon, England)

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Highlight from the home swap:

1. The view from the top of Garway Hill
2. The comfort of Corrine & Colin's house
3. The stunning, unspoiled countryside, with newborn lambs everywhere!

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Perfect post-lockdown staycation in Garway Hill

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Meet the Home Base Holidays members:

Member HE39837: Sophie & Bill  Sophie is a professional musician who gives recitals internationally and teaches from home; Bill teaches at a local secondary school. They have a very friendly cat, Darcie, who has something of an international fan-club, built up through their house swaps over the years! View their home swap offer in Bradford-on-Avon

 

Member HE39186: Corrine & Colin  Corrine & Colin love the countryside and exploring other places and cultures. They are also interested in short city breaks when they feel like an injection of shops and galleries and museums. View their home swap offer in Garway Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Best location: home swap staycation in central London

Best location: Julia and David's home is in central London's Marylebone

"We had such a wonderful home exchange in Julia and David's central London apartment. We absolutely loved the flat and the location, it really was the best location ever - smack bang in Marylebone ...it really would be hard to find a better place to stay! Julia was in touch throughout and gave tons of local tips and great advice. Her flat was immaculate and so was ours when she and her hubby left it. Our neighbours fell in love with them, as did our cats, who were very well cared for. Staying in such a lovely central London location for free meant that we had lots of spare money to spend on restaurants, river boat trips, etc - and we made full use of this! We are very lucky people to have had this opportunity. Thank you so much to Julia and David for a wonderful swap in London!" - Diana & Alexander (Loch Long, Scotland)

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Highlight from the home exchange:

1. Our home swap partners, Julie and David, were extremely lovely
2. Unbeatable location and such a stylish clean, quiet and comfortable apartment
3. London ...of course!

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Julia & David's home in central London

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Diana & Alexander's home on the shores of Loch Long, Scotland

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Meet the members:

Diana & Alexander:  We are a tech teacher and mental health counsellor from Scotland. Our kids are all grown up and we are ready to explore the world. We are open to suggestions and can be spontaneous but will aim towards travelling during the Scottish school holidays. We have two lovely cats. View their home swap offer on the shore of Loch Long

 

Julia & David:  We are a British (English & Scottish) married couple. For UK and European city short trips/weekends we often travel as a couple although it would be ideal if we could arrange an occasional swap that accommodated the in-laws and both kids, particularly to Sydney where we have family. View their home swap offer in London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Wonderful home exchange staycation in Windermere

Lake District home swap: beautiful Lake Windermere

"We had a wonderful week long home exchange staycation in Windermere in the Lake District. Fiona and Dave’s place is immaculate, centrally located in the village of Windermere. There was loads of information in the house, with helpful recommendations from Fiona and Dave. They live nearby so we met them a couple of times and they were really helpful advising us what to do and see in the area - there was a lot to choose from. We enjoyed some lovely, not too strenuous walks on the ridge above Troutbeck, up to Alcock Tarn near Grasmere and from the house up to Orrest viewpoint. We only used the car one day, as we enjoyed getting to places via the ferries on the lake and the open-top buses. In the village there are plenty of shops including a supermarket just two minutes from the house and lots of independent shops including craft shops, a health food shop, art shops and ones selling lovely local produce. There are also numerous restaurants, cafes and takeaways too. Fiona and Dave were a pleasure to exchange with, we had such good communications throughout. A big thank you to Fiona and Dave!" - Jimmy & Anne (Glasgow, Scotland)

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Highlight from the home exchange:

1. Paddling with a view in Alcock Tarn
2. A day on Lake Windermere' ferries, with an all day ticket
3. Afternoon tea in Grassmere

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Photos from Jimmy & Anne's exchange 

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Meet the members:

Jimmy & Anne:  We are Jimmy and Anne, live in Glasgow. Jimmy is a Freelance database developer, Anne works for the NHS. View their home swap offer in Glasgow

 

Fiona & Dave:  We are looking for a week away, in a small town or village, and would like to bring our dog so we can relax, have local walks, and explore the area. View their home swap offer in Windermere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Home Base Holidays: join for free and start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). Home swap guarantee: second year free if you do not arrange a swap during your membership.

Our home exchange holiday in beautiful Tuscany

Sally and John's beautiful home in the Tuscan village of Tempagnano

"We loved our ten day home exchange staying in Sally and John's home in Tempagnano, Tuscany. The house is beautiful both inside and out - comfortable, full of character and with glorious views from every room. For four nights my brother and his family joined us and they loved it too - we had three nights dining together on the terrace and one in Lucca which was at its best in the late afternoon and evening as it's cooler. As well as Lucca, we also went to Barga, further up the valley, which we'd recommend to any visitors. It's a beautiful hilltop town and the 360 degree views from the church are stunning. We loved being able to swim in the river - there were several spots a mile or so beyond Bagna de Lucca that were perfect for this purpose. The local public pool is lovely too - to swim surrounded by mountains and trees is such a treat. We also enjoyed a very atmospheric walk up through Fiume Candalla - which was a very attractive 50 minute drive from the house. It's quite a climb but the steps up to the house were good training and on a hot day it was perfect exploring the waterfalls and plunge pools and abandoned mills. Any queries we had, Sally and John were quick to reply and it was great being able to swap advice and suggestions of places to go." - Sarah (Brighton, England)

Photos from Sarah & Tom's home swap holiday in Tuscany

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Meet the members:

Sarah & Tom  Sarah is an author and Tom is a chef. They have completed a number of successful home exchanges (mainly with the US but would like to explore other options too). They can supply home swap references.  View their home swap offer in Brighton, England

 

Sally & John  Sally and John are a retired couple from England who for the majority of their time live in Northern Tuscany. They love to travel, enjoy the coast, countryside, visiting historical sites, visiting cities, museums and art galleries and walking. View their home swap offer in Tuscany, Italy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Home Base Holidays: sign up for free and start swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays two-week free trial or select a full membership (6-month membership is just £29 and 1-year at £49). >> Search the latest home exchange holiday offers  Home swap guarantee: if you don't arrange a swap we will renew your membership free of charge.