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.
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):
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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. |
