Travel the Home Exchange Way

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.

Loved Bridgerton? Plan a home swap in Britain and visit the Netflix series’ beautiful locations

Bridgerton: the beautiful Regency city of Bath features prominently in the Netflix series

If you love British period dramas, you have probably already discovered a very recent TV series, Bridgerton (on Netflix), set in Regency England but with a very modern slant on the story. One of the joys of travel that many of us have been missing is the chance to visit locations we’re familiar with from films or TV. Bridgerton is a feast for the eyes with the Regency city of Bath featuring prominently as well as several locations in London plus Painshill Park in Surrey and Castle Howard in Yorkshire. Click here to view some of the lavish locations and read about them and the Bridgerton storylines set in each in an excellent article published by Visit Britain.

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To whet your appetite, here are a few examples of current home exchange offers in England that would make great bases for visiting one or more of the Bridgerton location settings (most of which are open to visitors):

	Bath: Formerly the Stables to the Manor House in the quintessential English Village of Wellow, our home is a haven of peace and quiet with a large garden overlooking fields and the c13th village church but only 15 minutes from the centre of Bath. View home exchange offer
	London: Four bedroom family home, one minute's walk from the historic Greenwich Park and it's world-famous Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, and a deer park. Across the park is Greenwich town centre where there are plenty of shops, pubs and restaurants as well as the Cutty Sark, an ancient clipper ship which is now a museum. At the weekend there is a market with fantastic food stalls.  View home exchange offer
	Surrey: Situated in the heart of the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty. A gated community set in natural grounds of nine acres. Our delightful apartment is very light and spacious with great views overlooking the tiered gardens. View home exchange offer
	Yorkshire: Period to bedroom cottage in the heart of York. 15 minutes to riverside walk to Cliffor's Tower, 25 minutes to York Minster. York is a beautiful historic city, often voted the best city to live in England. Surrounding York is amazing countryside with easy access to Yorkshire dales, moors and stunning coastline. View home exchange offer

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Travel may still be at the ‘dreaming of’ stage for some weeks to come but the roll-out of a number of vaccines to protect against Covid-19 gives us reason to hope for better days to come before too long.  Most people will want to remain cautious when taking those tentative first steps to travelling again and one of the safest (and cheapest) holiday options is to swap homes with another family. Home swappers take great care to clean and prepare their homes for their guests’ comfort (and to leave homes entrusted to them in the same condition at the end of the exchange holiday) and, no doubt, will now incorporate even stricter cleaning regimes (see Home Base Holidays guidelines for making your home Covid safe). You may not be ready to fix firm dates for an exchange just yet but, as it can take several weeks to agree to a swap, giving the opportunity for you and your exchange partners to get to know each other, now is the perfect time to join Home Base Holidays and start contacting members whose offers are of interest.

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Useful links:

• Search the latest home exchange offers
• Preparing for a home swap checklist 
• Things to do at the end of a home swap
• Cleaning tips for home swaps during COVID-19

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Join Home Base Holidays: start planning your home swaps Looking for a much needed getaway? Arrange free holiday accommodation by choosing to swap homes rather than book hotels or holiday rentals. View the latest home swap offers then sign up to Home Base Holidays.

Merry Christmas & happy home swaps in 2021

Well, 2020 has sure been a strange year (and that’s putting it mildly); we just hope that you're all doing really well and that you have a lovely relaxing Christmas.

 

We're increasingly optimistic that the new year will bring us all much better news and we'll enjoy home exchanging again in 2021. 

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas xx 

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Latest home swappers newsletter:

• Featured home swap offers: stone and flint cottage in Norfolk (England) | apartment in Chamonix with views of Mont Blanc (France) 
• Trip report: members' November staycation home swap between Oxford and Cornwall
• Cleaning guideline: cleaning recommendations for home swapping in 2021

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>>> View the Xmas issue of the Home Swappers newsletter

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Home exchange holidays in 2021:

• Search the latest home exchange offers
• Join Home Base Holidays
• Preparing for a home swap checklist 
• Top 10: things to do at the end of a home swap
• Cleaning tips for holiday home swaps during COVID-19

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Join Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Looking for a much needed getaway in 2021? Arrange free holiday accommodation by choosing to swap homes rather than book hotels or holiday rentals. View the latest home swap offers then sign up to Home Base Holidays.

Trip reports: members' UK home exchange staycations

It's been such a tough year for everyone that loves to travel and we all just hope that 2021 turns out to be a much (much!) better year. However, it's been so nice to see that many Home Base Holidays members have, when the travel restrictions have allowed, still been able to enjoy a much needed home exchange getaway. Shown below is some recent feedback from home swappers Cat and James who swapped their townhouse in Bath for a few days in Laura's family home in North London. With both members being pet owners, this staycation swap enabled them to take their dogs on the exchange and they also agreed to look after each other's cats. Purrrfect!

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Laura's beautiful townhouse in Bath backs onto the canal

Wonderful Autumn home swap break in Bath "We had a wonderful home swap during October half term with Laura and her son to their lovely town house in Bath. Laura was very easy to talk to and make arrangements with before and during the swap. We each took our dog/s with us and looked after each other's cats which worked out really well. Laura's home was tidy and spacious with plenty of room for our family. She had left us a lovely bottle of wine and treats for the dogs which was a lovely touch. The location was wonderful. Their garden back gate led straight onto the canal and the sky line walk with beautiful views of Bath. We walked our dogs there every day. This was the first time we used Home Base Holidays and it was a great experience." - Cat & James (London, England)

 

Cat & James's beautiful garden in North London (with their two gorgeous cats!)

Lovely short break in a beautiful house in North London "In October, my teenage son and I spent a lovely 3 days in Catriona's and James' gorgeous house with our spaniel, Rocket. I was new to the whole house exchange process, but Catriona was very informative and helped me organise what I needed to do. When we arrived the house was warm and tidy and Catriona had left us coffee and milk as a welcome as well as treats for Rocket. The location meant it was easy to get to shops, tube stations and good walks with the dog. We had a very relaxing time there and on return to our house they had left it spotlessly clean as well! I would recommend Cat and James as home exchange partners without question." - Laura (Bath, England)

 

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Meet the members:

Home swappers: Laura & family  Laura is a teacher and her husband is a web developer. They have two teenage boys and also have a well behaved cocker spaniel called Rocket.  View Laura's home swap offer in Bath

 

Home swappers: Cat & James We are a family of two adults and two young children. We love animals and have two well-behaved dogs who like to travel with us and two cats who stay home and entertain home swap guests! We are very happy to look after people’s pets. View their home swap offer in London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Plan your 2021 home exchange holidays:

• Search the latest home exchange offers
• Preparing for a home swap checklist 
• Top 10: things to do at the end of a home swap
• Travel reopening? Country by country guide
• Cleaning tips for holiday home swaps during COVID-19

Home swap travel tip: promoting local attractions

If you live in a tourist area or a major city, you may think that potential home exchange partners will only be interested in how easy it is to get to well-known attractions from your home; of course, it is important to provide such information, and details of public transport, but don’t ignore those lesser known attractions closer to your home that you may take for granted or even not be aware of, for example, if you don’t have children living at home. Home swappers tend to be adventurous and open to exploring local neighbourhoods and will appreciate your suggestions which, of course, you can expand on when in direct contact during your home exchange arrangements.

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Anna and Jeremy, along with their toddler daughter and baby son, live in Herne Hill, a suburb in southeast London. They have included in the Home Base Holidays home swap offer a detailed and really inviting list of attractions in their area. See below the description of their local attractions. 

 

Within walking distance… 

• At the bottom of the road you’ll find Sunray Gardens, a peaceful public garden and play-park, with an artisan bakery and coffee shop nearby. The glorious Ruskin Park with wild flower garden, paddling pool and views across London is 10 minutes away on foot and you’ll pass the Grade II listed art-deco Carnegie Library en route. 
• Herne Hill, with its pedestrianised hub, is 8 minutes away on foot. You’ll find a flower shop, book shops, gift shops, artisan bakeries and restaurants amid live music from the street piano. The buzzing Sunday market sells a wide range of high quality food alongside vintage collections and designer craft.
• Herne Hill is directly opposite the magnificent Brockwell Park, South East London’s largest park, with orchard, rose garden, ponds, Lido, large children’s play area and cafes. There is a 600 year old oak tree and a fantastic view across London. 
• Dulwich Village is 15 minutes away on foot, home to the famous Dulwich Picture Gallery, serene Dulwich Park with its American Gardens, bike hire, boating lake and enticing café and ice-cream parlour. There’s also a historic pub in the village, plus more restaurants, cafes and gift shops to explore. 

Within 10 minutes by car or an easy bus ride away you’ll find…

Visit the fabulous overstuffed walrus in London's Horniman Museum

•  The unmissable Horniman Museum, with its natural history and musical instrument collection, gardens, butterfly house, aquarium and panoramic view across London (the famous over-stuffed walrus in the museum is shown in the photo).
• East Dulwich and Lordship Lane; home to a fantastic range of restaurants, including a pastificio selling to-die-for handmade pasta, a lively Saturday street market, plus cinema and boutiques.
• Brixton Village, you’ll find a maze of small, independent food outlets, selling authentic dumplings, pancakes, craft ales, Italian Cuisine, tapas and cocktails alongside unique galleries, clothes boutiques and gift shops. Brixton also has the elegant, refurbished cinema, the Ritzy.
• The South London Gallery in Camberwell, a famous contemporary art gallery, with café, bookshop and landscaped garden. 
• Sydenham Wood: one of London’s best kept secrets, a delightful mix of new and ancient woodland with remnants of Victorian gardens, home to more than 200 species of trees and plants as well as bats, birds and woodland mammals.
•  You`ll of course have all of all London available within easy reach - whilst there is much to enjoy within the immediate local area too.

>> View the family's home exchange offer in London 

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During the current uncertainty over worldwide travel due to Covid-19, with guidelines and restrictions likely to continue to fluctuate, some members understandably will not yet want to make firm travel commitments. However, it is a really good time to start contacting members to discuss possible home swaps, even if some members will not yet want to finalise dates.

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Planning a home swap holiday:

• Preparing for a home swap checklist 
• Top 10: things to do at the end of a home swap
• Cleaning tips for holiday home swaps during COVID-19
• Search the latest home exchange offers

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Join Home Base Holidays: start planning your travels for 2021 Whether you're looking for staycation ideas or planning ahead to overseas travel in 2021, by arranging a home exchange vacation through Home Base Holidays, you'll cut the cost of your getaways by up to 90%. View the latest home swap travel offers and join for free.