It's always lovely to hear from Home Base Holidays members about their home swaps. Sally Hadley sent in this lovely feedback after just returning from a two month home exchange holiday to the north shore beach area of Sydney, Australia. Sally and her husband are very experienced home exchangers, enjoying their first swap in 1990, with three swaps already lined up for 2025.
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Thinking about home swapping? Go for it... you won't regret it! "Back in the day - as they say - when our children were young teenagers we ventured on our first swap to Santa Barbara in California. A lawyer’s house with all kinds of goodies. Cars were swapped; we had a blow out at 37degrees of heat in the desert – our kids still remember it. But all was fixed and we had a wonderful time visiting the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Since then we have had a month in Brittany (very relaxed and quiet), ventured to Grenada in the West Indies (very hot and beautiful) and to Australia twice (Brisbane and Sydney). In fact, we have just returned from two months in Sydney up on the northern beaches, high above trees overlooking the yachts on Pittwater and Scotland Island. We couldn’t believe our luck that a couple close in age to us (70s) would want to come to the UK in the winter. But they loved it – even the ice and snow. I think they forged more friendships in our small Cotswold village than we have in the two years we’ve lived here. We loved their house and we were so sad to leave. It was such a s fantastic base from which to visit our family and friends travelling up to the Sunshine Coast and down to Melbourne and Point Lonsdale over the Christmas period and New Year. In addition to the big home swap holidays abroad, we have had lovely swaps closer to home here in the UK. We've swapped to Cornwall, Derbyshire, Kent and Cheshire... all of which have been amazing. No troubles, ever. We have returned each time to find the house immaculate and even lovely gifts left for us. The key to successful swaps is certainly to have a friendly approach with lots of communication, and we always choose to exchange with like-minded people. We have found it excellent to talk on the telephone and to meet the other members if at all possible. We have been approached by people who we felt would not get on well in our cottage or where their offers did not appeal to us, and so we have declined gracefully so that they could contact other members. We have always known almost from the first message we received if it felt like a good match and that they would enjoy our cottage and location. If you're thinking about home swapping, my advice is to go for it… you won’t regret it! We have loved our experiences and can’t wait for more - closer to home; Cumbria, Cornwall – already organised for 2025. Thank you Home Base Holidays… our best investment ever." Sally Hadley |
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Sally's stone house in Gloucestershire Bell Lane House was added to a much older house about 100 years ago. It is a lovely 3-bedroom stone built house with a garden overlooking the neighbouring church. It's in the centre of the small town of Minchinhampton, in the south west Cotswolds (the hilliest section). The ancient town is built on top of a ridge with wonderful views over the "golden valley", towards the river Severn and close to Stroud. An excellent location for walks in the beautiful countryside and there is a highly rated golf course nearby. |
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Home Base Holidays: start home swapping Sign up to Home Base Holidays and arrange your home swap swap holiday accommodation. Save over 90% on the cost of your next holiday!
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