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House swaps
: So if someone DID want to swap houses for a few days for a cheap holiday...
(176 messages)
So if someone DID want to swap houses for a few days for a cheap holiday...
...and if someone hypothetical who looked a lot like me and sounded a lot like me and who lived where I live said they wanted a house swap, would anyone actually be interested?
I don't want to give too much personal info out but I live right on the border of Staffordshire, Shropshire and South Cheshire.
What would you need to see on offer to tempt you into a houseswap in the Heart of England?
Note: The Mumsnet house swaps topic is intended for Mumsnet members who want to organise house swaps with other members. It's not for individuals or companies to advertise house swaps or holiday lets. There's a small business classified topic where, for £30, you can advertise your company or products for 90 days. If you are a larger business and wish to advertise on Mumsnet, please email contactus@mumsnet.com.
Oh god, i'm gonna have to namechange after this aren't I <boo hoo, and I love Wilf so much>...
Well, the area:
Day 1: Alton towers - thrills, screams and now a spa... Day 2: Walking in the Roaches, followed by boat trip on Rudyard Lake and afternoon tea in Buxton Day 3: Beeston Castle, the best castle view in the world Day 4: Chester Zoo Day 5: Drayton Manor Day 6: Gladstone pottery - throw pots, visit history of the toilet exhibition (yes, really). Day 7: Hang out here, walk in woods, sunday lunch at the local pub, pick a few tomatoes and rocket leaves from our veg patch, drink sparkling wine by candlelight under our trees...
Or there's also: Trentham Gardens: barefoot walk, fantastic play area, fabulous Italian gardens, Lake, Monkey forest (with real monkeys), Go Ape treetop thingy, outdoor entertainment etc; or further afield, many things to do in Cheshire (Stockley Farm, Tatton Park), Shropshire, even Manchester and Birmingham...
Stoke is a dump; Staffordshire on the other hand, is an utterly beautiful county, undiscovered and often untouched.
Perhaps if anyone is seriously interested they could post or CAT email details and I can send you stuff about the house <don't want to post it all up here>. Feedback on the whole idea welcome on this post though
haven't definitely decided we want to do this yet so am testing water, but suffice to say we have three kids between 9 and 1 so largeish house and very child friendly...
I don't want to swap with you but I'd look for what I always look for in a holiday place:
- places to visit nearby, suitable for children - proximity to beach - playpark nearby where kids could let off steam before tea - nearest supermarket - attractiveness of setting
Oh you're putting me on the spot now! I was idly wondering and now you're gonna want me to book dates aren't you? <hyperventilating about actually having to clean house properly>
Well, I guess the usual: would need to be big enough for all 5 of us with baby stuff (cot, highchair, stairgates - we have all this at home BTW)
happy otherwise to go/consider anywhere that would be holiday-ish and we like: rural, little towny villagey with places to push pushchair to and eat in cafes etc. Would love art gallery or mountain or lake or beach as added bonus.
London or other funky city swap would be good (not Manc: too close and, er, come from there...)
area sounds great, bet your house is too - am sure you could sell it with a few choice pics of veg patch and sparkling wine under trees scenario. I've never done a house swap (flat in my case) - but would definitely be sold on a place if the house was gorgeous.
- places to visit nearby, suitable for children - proximity to beach - playpark nearby where kids could let off steam before tea - nearest supermarket - attractiveness of setting
Well I would be on a non starter here then
- there's Wickstead Park, and I'm sure there's others too - Gullivers(?) in Milton Keynes, - not sure about anything else as we never go out
- beach - almost as far as you can get really
- park - oh yes - we have one of those - 1 minute (maybe less?) walk from the front door and you have a lovely big park with enclose play area (plus climbing thing for older kids)
- nearest Supermarket.....well depends if you don't mind Morrisons - 10 minute walk away, also have a HUGE Tesco 5/10 minute drive away and a small(ish) Sainsburys (Aldi in town).
- attractiveness of setting
<<<<<<<<<<<FAQ takes this opportunity to walk away from the thread and say nothing more than it's Northamptonshire - what do you think >>>>>>>>>>
<<<<<<<<<<Whispsers that she does have plenty of bed - Double bed, double sofa bed, single cabin bed, single sofa bed, and bunk beds>>>>>>> (there's only 4 of us in the house lol)
I don't want to swap with you because you clearly live very near my mum. But I can say that the area is lovely and has lots to offer in terms of nice countryside, farms and walks and stocking up on crockery.
I have thought about this houseswap idea before - we are in Liverpool, 5 mins from the beach [with the Gormley Iron Men on it]. Perhaps there is a need for a whole swapping thread?
You know, not a house swap as such, but I was just wondering the other day whether I could persuade someone to come and live in my flat on the outskirts of Milan for a couple of weeks while I go on holiday. No need for a swap, but would have to be a cat lover as my 2 pussies would need looking after and cuddling....
Just testing the water to see whether there'd be any interest for the future....
Would you be interested in a northern Italian break? Unfortunately the flat is only 2 bed as only have 1 dd but there is a sofa bed in the lounge as well.
I'd quite like a break in the heart of England. Have never been down that way.
Cargirl, no actually I would be interested in doing Legoland/Thorpe Park long weekend sometime so don't rule it out. But need to think about it obv. we considered going to a local hotel recently but ran out of cash so house swap would be much cheaper actually...
Still haven't run this past the DH - may find my big plans totally kiboshed.
Okay well email me, I'm quite happy to do Autumn time etc when the theme parks are quieter etc. Have you got merlin passes, like I say we are an easy daytrip to Chessington (have sea life centre there), Thorpe, Legoland, London Eye, Madame Tussauds etc etc
But there are mega cheap Easyjet flights all the time! Plus Italian trains are dirt cheap so you could flit all over the place for a tenth of what you spend in the UK.
Not sure about 5, it would be a bit of a squeeze. I have got a huge bathtub though. Pussies might find it a bit wearing though.....
Would love to get into this house swapping lark but have yet to convince dp...he's abit about it all.
Going to keep this thread for future ref if that's all right. I'm in a 3 bed house (1 with cot) in the 'burbs of Glasgow (West) very near to buses and trains. Local big supermarket 10 mins away. Tons to see and do for the kids in Glasgow and can get trains through to Edin, Perth etc.
Oh and I have 2 cats too who would need fed and watered
Really fancy Legoland with my 2 but by the time you price up flights and hotel/car hire its just not worth it.
hey, it can be an open thread and we can be vaguely interested until someone says they deffo want to swap and then just do it.
Moondog posted on my other thread on this that she swapped successfully with someone on MN. Apparently CD (countess dracula?) was trying to get something going too.
I'm just outside Brussels - not that exciting I know - bit loads for kids to do. I would certainly consider Shropshire/South Staffs as sister is near there and it is alwaus good to be close but not too close...I have dead posh new rental house...
If anyone would like to do a London/Manchester swap for a few days/long weekend this summer, let me know!
We've got a lovely house, big garden in Stockport and would love a weekend in London sometime.
We've got 1 x double bed and 1 x bedroom with single bed and cabin bed in plus a box room with no room for a bed at the moment as it's pretending to be a library...!
brangelina i do hope you are joking as if not i think you may be swapped with lovely mumsnetters including myself who would love to go!!! always wanted to go to milan. have 2 cats and 2 ferrets so love animals. if you are serious for the future let me know.
would love to do a house swap, however, as nice as my little town is. it isnt the sort of place you would want to come on holiday. no beach, lakes, theme parks etc under an hour.
have CAT'd you justabout but not sure how long it takes to get through...
you can mail me at wilfsell at gmail dot com
as can anyone else who is seriously interested in swapping with me though bear in mind I haven't actually decided whether we can/will yet... <flakey but enthusiastic>
There was a houseswap thread or topic last year, I was arranging a house swap with someone near London on it (we're in Devon). Til I realised that our main bathroom and stairs were going to be knocked out and rebuilt during the month we were planning it for.
And then I got cold feet, read too many of those good housekeeping threads and I think it would just take us too long to get the house presentable to Mumsnet Good Housekeeping standards. I think we'd have to spend a week cleaning in preparation.
Hey Fennel, I believe you and I are in the same business. If you fancied Staffordshire (might be a bit of a busman's holiday for you though given exactly where we live (!) you'd probably understand the piles of books, papers and general clutter in our house
a) no-one really want to go on holiday to Northamptonshire do they
b) my house just isn't really up to letting someone else stay there (most of it needs redecorating, the carpets need cleaning, I'd never getting it looking good enough for guests)
Honestly you lot, register with Homelink and keep sending emails to people: some expect to exchange 2 up-2 down for 10 bed villa with pool and maid but once they start being offered Heart of England or Northants rural idyll for a bank holiday, they may just do it.
Don't be unrealistic but equally ask people to consider exchanging for long weekends within UK
Yeah I might do that anyway and then direct any interested MNers there (I think you have to pay though - I suppose it would sort us goats from sheep and all...)
Obv only once I've finished making my sitting room curtains (silk, I might add ) and clearing red plastic from back garden to photograph in Best Possible Light...
lol Wilfsell, I think I can work out where you live now. I have stayed there a few times with work.
but we only recently moved to Devon after many years in Manchester so we don't need to go and stay in that direction really.
I do think that we'd be quite into houseswapping some time though with someone, we do live in a very holidayish place so it make sense. If we can get the house up to the right standard. Which is debateable.
3 double bed detached with gardens and fields to the rear which lead to the sea (pebble and sand baeches within footpath walking distance) golf club 8min walk away historic city 5 miles away fab playparks within walking highchair, tiny table and chairs, bunk beds, cot, kingsize bed, open fires, bigger than normal double ended whirlpool bath , good sized enclosed garden with swings ,playthings and trampoline, grubby carpets (beige and fields do not mix) and some clutter
Looking for London or Scotland if this thread gets going...
Amyjo, no not joking, I've been toying with the idea for a while now. It's just a question of building up the courage to take the plunge.
Trouble is my place is a 2 bed flat, so no garden, although I have 2 small balconies (but not big enough to sit out on).
However, I have all mod cons, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, cot, high chair, fans and AC, excessive heating in the winter. Proximity to train station and only 15mins by train to central Milan, 1 hour by car to lakes, mountains, ski slopes and Switzerland.
Anyone interested in (FAQ particularly )in a 4 bedroom 17C stone cottage with uninterupted countryside views for an "outdoorsey" sort of holiday. Loads of walks straight from the door - great stream for paddeling and fishing ( well never actually caught a fish yet!!).
Forest a mile and a half away with cycle trails and walks, adventure playground and cafe
Lazy evenings with glasses of wine and a good view from our garden
Slightly further afield: Lovely canal village with walks and a pub, great shopping centre, A couple of Nat.Trust properties.
Car needed as nota shop or pub within walking distance!!!
I would be very interested next summer in swapping with a family in London. We have a four bed house in North Devon which is close to a great swimming/surfing beach and not actually entirely shite as Cod would have you believe.
Wilf, it's not my name. It's just a name I like and would have chosen for myself. I'm slightly amazed that the pics work! I need to investigate how to get the captions smaller though.
Yes, PirateCat I do like to spin my wheel of justice.
There is an outside chance we will not be able to evade a visit to the ILs later this year. They're in Lancaster and not staying under the same roof as them is the key to a healthy relationship.
Art Deco flat, 2 x queen beds, 1 fold-out single plus a cot, French Concession, parquet floors and bay windows, walking distance to everything historic and more shopping than you can poke a stick at.....
ooh, JN, I might be interested if I could persuade DH (50 /50 chance I figure). We only have a small trampoline and no pool, but our house is in Zone 2 and has a nice garden for sipping wine in. You'd have to promise to take the electronic games on holiday with you though - or hide them - am trying to avoid their introduction in the legalalien household.
I would love to do this sometime but DH is not keen (security conscious).
We have a big 3 bed house with a huge garden in Normandy with chickens, nice patio, cows in the field behind etc.
5 miles from a small market town and a bit further to a big port.
Like a pp, not sure my house-keeping is up to Mn standards, although, come to think of it, it's mostly my towel-washing that was considering slovenly - people could wash their own towels every day if they really wanted to I suppose!
I would go to Bucks WWW - we struggled to find somewhere to stay when we wanted to visit the Roald Dahl museum - ended up in a dive of a hotel (Gamekeepers Inn or some such thing) in Borehamwood.
Would no-one be worried mumsnetters would snoop around and JUDGE? Y'know, the books on th eshelves, the food in the cupboard etc etc? Not that there]s anytihng wrong with either of those in my house, obv
JN, we might be interested (subject to dh approval etc...)... we live in biggish flat in W London, walking distance from Holland Park, Ken High Street, easy bus/tube links to museums, etc.... I have 2 small dc, so we have cots, high chairs (have no idea how old your dc are). No pets. Your place looks gorgeous! Would you do a long weekend or half term swap?
lol at 5th best, no I don't like shopping. We have Bicester village, Stowe landscape gardens, oh yes, ROALD DAHL museum (!) nearby. cleaner comes twice a week, Waitrose deliver, no garden mind you but parking for 2 cars (big wupp!) And you can be in London in an hour from Bicester North (Marylebone) or 40 mins from Milton Keynes.
Mine is 5 beds on 3 floors but is new build and sadly have no cleaner. There is parking on the drive for 2 cars (3 at a push) but you can park outside and use the driveway as an extra play area as we have gates, so the dc can ride round on bikes etc.
We have a trampoline, swing and slide, good size garden for a new build and small patio for meals outside.
Will ask dh tonight but will not be able to post until Monday as out to lovely pub tonight and then off for a day trip tomorrow
Oh god, mine will be too small for you then! It's only 3 beds and the third is tiny with an Ikea child's bed in it. The other 2 are doubles but ds's double room isn't huge. Only 1 bathroom but 2 loos.
Hey it's ok no worries Fimbo, we have lots of day trips planned and one of these days I intend to take the children and stay in the Victoria at Holkham, I've always liked the look of it!
You see what I reckon is you can make almost anywhere a holiday venue if you're open and creative. God if I can make somewhere next to Stoke on Trent sound plausible, then surely Bucks can be?!
I am obv worried about judgey judgey nosey stuff (ALL our secrets out on MN ) but the way I figure it is the sensible swappers will a. keep it to themselves and b. amass enough ammunition for revenge if anyone spills the beans on here about slatternly habits or poor taste issues...
ok, we live 10mins drive/bus ride from the coast where there is loads of sandy beach, boating lake, paddling pool, snadpit, leisure centre, theme park. 15min walk from town centre which is pretty good for shopping, lots of supermarkets in the town, nice parks with lakes, woods, play areas 5min drive, cities of lincoln, hull and other coastal resorts within an hour drive away, lots of countryside, petting farms, small towns/villages to visit nearby. house is 3 bed semi (2 double beds, one cotbed which is set up as a bed at mo) reasonable sized garden with swing, slide etc we dont have any pets
Oh, I like the look of this thread. I houseswopped last year (although it was with a friend) and it worked out really well. Only thing was having to clean your house really well before you went then clean friends house before you left. We are in Edinburgh, just outside the town centre if anyone fancies that? Easy to get to beaches, countryside, as well as city things like castle etc to do.
I would throw New York into the mix but we're leaving for the UK in 6 weeks. When we get back we'll be in Greenwich which is lovely and well worth a visit if anyone fancies a house swap early next year!
bumping for Friday post-school-runners who might be interested in keeping the noseyhousesnooping house swap thread going.
come on ladies, there's offers of Brussels, Shanghai, Milan, [almost New York], London, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire on the table already...!
It has to be a good idea? MN must surely do a houseswap topic for us, no? Or even a little spin off site? i've looked at the main websites and while they are global and excellent they are money: 100 quid to register on the main homelink one and then an extra 10 quid for each photo (I imagine it is a good idea to do lots of photos). MN could do us a little mini-site, shooooorly? Gonna post this in site stuff actually...
I would have to run it past DH but I'd be interested in a long weekend swap with someone!
I have a 4 bedroom house in Ipswich with garden. Have cot and all baby stuff here.
Within about half an hour driving distance of all these:
Felixstowe beach Colchester zoo Pettits adventure park Norwich (shopping!) Easton Farm Park Hollow Trees Farm Alton waters (reservoir with nice walks, hires bikes etc) Needham Lakes (feed the ducks, have an ice cream!)
Hope this thread carries on - probably too late for us this summer, but would certainly be interested in this perhaps for October half term.
We are in Yorkshire - we are 10 mins of the M1 and within a 20/30 min drive of:
Holmfirth Leeds MeadowHall Escape
Only a bit further to the Peak District and The Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is a mere 5 minute drive away! We have great walks around us! We have a double bedroom and two kids' rooms - each have one bed but could easily each take an airbed/campbed!!
Hi- I would love to do a house swap.. can I interest anyone?
I live in Brighton, well, Hove actually, in a large 4 bed house with a great garden. 1 km from seafront. The house is in a really nice, quiet area with parking.
Areas I'd be particularly interested in would be anywhere near:
Cornwall Devon Near west Wittering Beach Dorset
but Im very open to other ideas.
As i'm new to this I'd be quite happy with just a couple of nights or a weekend break-
All my family live in Brighton, but now that I live further away (its just over 3 hours away) and have 2 children we very rarely get to go and visit as none of my family have spare rooms!
Can I join? (I as avenanap). I have a small 2 bed house in Derby city centre (at the bottom of the peak district), drivable to the peak district, Chatsworth house, Kedleston Hall, museums, 10 mins walk away from a big park (playground, boating lake, train), small park around the corner. House has washer, dryer, 1 double bed, 1 single, lots and lots of lego and books, internet access. We would go anywhere that is accessible by train/bus as I can't drive. Milan sounds lovely . No CAT but you can email me at jouelsie at fsmail dot net.
We have always thought tentatively about a house swap, and would be interested in Lincolnshire area, Shropshire, London, and Norfolk/suffolk, cos there are too many people we don't see often enough in these areas.
I am in a 3 bed semi in East Devon, walking distance to a pebbly beach, miles from a sandy beach, walking to heathland, various smallish touristy attractions. No cots or stairgates I'm afraid, but room to bring your own! Nice big garden with swings and a trampoline.
I would love to swap next summer with someone near legoland??? Although dont know anyone who would want to come to outskirts of Liverpool..small 3 bed semi which by next summer will have bunk beds in one room, midisleeper, king size bed and a travel cot[maybe normal cot aswell if needed] reasonable size garden to the back with a trampoline and triple swing set,playhouse, sand table etc [enough to entertain for a day]
rebel, come on, I was joking. I live here too (ish). You can see me selling the delights of Staffordshire elsewhere in the thread and they said I did a good job!
All we have to say to em is: Alton Towers. And they'll come.
20 mins from Cambridge City Centre, small village (pub, playground, no other facilities in village). 4-bed house, garden with kids play things - trampoline, swings, climbing frame, chickens.
Nemo we could well consider a swap to Liverpool (we are near Legoland), you'd have to bring your travel cot here as I think dd (nearly 3) will def be in a bed by then
From
WilfSell placed on Wed 23-Jul-08 20:15:31
) but the way I figure it is the sensible swappers will a. keep it to themselves and b. amass enough ammunition for revenge if anyone spills the beans on here about slatternly habits or poor taste issues... 
