Travel: Weekend in Wales

Back in February, we packed our bags and drove from Scotland to Wales for a relaxing weekend in a lovely cottage which we arranged via GuestToGuest. It was a 6 hour drive each way, but we absolutely love road trips and after travelling with the kids to France and Poland a few times it was nothing to worry about. 

The place we went to was called Eglwys Fach and the 1840's cottage we stayed at was very quirky with loads of character, a real fire, a piano and a lovely terrace overlooking a nature reserve. The location was perfect with the reserve within a walking distance and nearby beaches and shops.

We weren't sure about the weather, but we actually got some sunshine, but also rain and wind, which you will see in the beach photos. The wind was so strong that we were struggling to walk and the waves were absolutely massive! 

The website we used for booking the cottage is called GuestToGuest and we were kindly provided with points to use to arrange our stay in exchange for this blog post. 

GuestToGuest is a home exchange website between nearly 270,000 homes in 187 countries with a free sign up and 500 free points. You earn GuestPoints when you host, and you spend GuestPoints when you stay as a guest. You don't have to host anyone to start using the website, just confirm your account and list your house, like we did. For example, with the free 500 points you could get a weekend stay in the UK or abroad without having to host anyone.

You simply choose your dates, contact the host and wait for their response and if the dates suit them they will pre-approve your stay and then you can get things like insurance and deposit organised (which is only 3.5% of the full amount). It's very simple and I am really pleased with the way it worked out for us. Our host Tracy was very informative and let us know everything prior our arrival. We actually looked after Tracy's cat while we were at her cottage as well and the kids loved it.

There was so much to do in the area, we didn't know where to start, but we decided to go to Aberystwyth, as it has a lovely beachfront. It was a very windy day, but the kids still had fun. I can imagine that it would be perfect during the Summer.

As the Ynys-hir Natural Reserve was right next to the cottage, we went to explore and we even managed to spot some birds! The views were beautiful!

Little explorers. It's true what they say - kids just love nature and don't need anything fancy to keep them happy. Walking, splashing in the water and just running around, taking in the views and enjoying their surroundings is what it's all about. 

The kids were very amused by the features of the 1840's cottage and it's feel and I really liked how quirky and unique it was, especially the kitchen and living room.

We had countless cups of tea, as it was a really cold weekend and we ate our weight in vegan pain au chocolat.

Zac loved all the board games and I had to buy his favourite one once we arrived back home, as he enjoyed playing it so much!

As I mentioned before, we also looked after our hosts cat - Kitty. She was very shy initially, but she quickly warmed to us, especially me and Zac.

Zac adores animals, so he kept sneaking out of his bedroom to go and see Kitty downstairs. 

All of us had a go at the piano with Scott trying to be the next Chopin. He has a thing for pianos and guitars and once he starts getting into it , it's game over.... Haha :) He's quite good at it, I must admit.

We spent most of our time in the upstairs living room, as it had big  glass doors with a terrace and a gorgeous view.

One of the bathrooms had a roll top bath which the kids loved so much! I really want one if we ever buy or build a house.


We had such a nice time in Wales! I would love to go again in the Summer (for a bit longer this time), so we could do more outdoor activities, like hiking up Snowdon and exploring the reserves and beaches. We might even book via Guest To Guest again, but we will probably go in a campervan next time.

If you want to try Guest To Guest yourself, I would definitely recommend it, as our experience was fab and hassle free. You might have to send a few messages before you manage to book a place, but it's worth it.

Sandra xxx


  
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