Home Swappers: the Home Exchange Newsletter, April/May10

"I wanted to tell you what a great experience we had exchanging our cottage in Canada for England and Scotland and how well it all worked out.

We had planned an exchange for the fall, a great time to visit Ontario as the fall colours are out of this world but October is a difficult time for families with school age children. And, anyway, Canada is at its best in the summer!

So we arranged a non-simultaneous exchange with the English family using our cottage in August. We were meant to have their house in Bath in October while they spent time at their cottage further north. In the meantime their situation changed and they needed to be in Bath and now found themselves homeless, because we were due to move into their house for 12 days.

Amazingly they quickly arranged another exchange with their cottage (for different dates), so when we arrived at the train station, we were offered three choices: their own house as agreed, their cottage (as they did not need it any more for our 12 days) or another older house in Bath they had just secured on a second exchange.

We looked at the older house first and fell in love with it and the other exchange family were happy for us to move in instead of our exchange hosts. It was a very old, large former farm house, beautifully redone with an Aga stove in the kitchen and close to everything in Bath. We walked everywhere and just did some train trips to London, Bristol and the seaside/Minehead (West Somerset) and bus tours (Stonehenge) and sightseeing bus tour in Bath. We never needed a car. We had the most wonderful time and did not want to leave at the end.

Before our exchange in Bath we had arranged our 'exchange' in Bo'ness, Scotland, again close to everything. We did not need the owner's place for this exchange, and we just had a very private suite in her very large apartment, which was wonderful. We overlooked the whole town. With her help we did excursions into Edinburgh and the Highlands. There was a special train trip (with a steam engine) just around the corner and the Scottish Train museum. My husband was in heaven, as he is a fan! We will never forget the Scottish meal our host cooked for us and the special Scottish breakfast she prepared every day! We would love to do another exchange like that, just with an apartment or part of it, as two people do not need a full house all the time for fairly short stays. We could offer the same, a self contained suite. We just loved the extra attention and help our host gave us and would do the same for the other party in our home. We only had four days in Bo'ness and, without our host's help, we would only have seen half of what we experienced.

What a wonderful, exciting way of travelling. We can't wait for our next exchange!"

Hans and Barbara Richter. See the couple's exchange offer and lovely cottage on Lake Eugenia, Ontario, HE21504

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Note: When a simultaneous home exchange is not possible, Hans and Barbara's story demonstrates how arrangements can be adapted to best suit the needs of those taking part or to fit in with changed circumstances. Their exchange in Bath was non-simultaneous while they were hosted in Bo'ness, a hospitality exchange (if reciprocated at another time) or bed and breakfast (if one way hospitality for an agreed charge).

To find members offering any of these additional options, use Detailed Search and choose an option that interests you from the drop down list beside 'Type of Exchange'. Mention any types of exchange you would be interested in when contacting members with your offer.