Looking back …

Hi there everyone 😀

I was looking through the old notes on my phone, having a bit of a clear out, and I found this one … it was dated September 2020 and I’d clearly been starting to think about what we would want from a holiday home. I’d completely forgotten about it …

Holiday Home … What are we looking for?

Location?

• Not far from the sea ... say within 30 minutes
• Somerset, Devon, Cornwall or Dorset
• No more than three hours drive away from home
• Somewhere we will be happy to visit again and again
• Plenty of places to visit within an hour and a half’s drive

Park?

• Not too big
• Quiet
• Open 11-12 months of the year
• A lease that will outlive us
• Somewhere pretty rural 
• Ability to let to friends and family should we choose to
• Reasonable site fee cost ... say £3000
• Not too child friendly

Property?

• Within whatever we agree our price range to be
• A home from home, whatever the weather
• Minimum of two bedrooms ... three if within price range
• Decking and outside space 
• Luxurious
• As near to maintenance free as possible
• Parking 

So did I manage to tick off everything from my wish list?

Location?
Well I think we scored three out of five on this one when it comes to what we were originally looking for. We are definitely within 30 minutes of the sea … in fact we are spoilt for choice when it comes to beaches within 30 minutes.

We have the beaches at Criccieth … both of which are lovely …

We have another choice of beaches at Pwllheli …

There’s Trefor …

Nefyn …

… and Morfa Nefyn …

... Llanbedrog, Abersoch, Black Rock and a fair few others ...

We didn’t end up on the south coast, instead opting for the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales, which is a little further than our ideal of a three hour drive. It has actually taken us three and a half hours every time we’ve visited … but it’s such a lovely drive that the distance isn’t feeling like it’s a problem at all …

When it comes to places to visit within an hour and a half there really are too many to list. So far we’ve explored lots of places and have a few days out a bit further afield but still well within the hour and a half including … Beaumaris on Anglesey …

Penmon Point, also on Anglesey …

The pier at Bangor …

Carnarvon ...

Barmouth …

And Beddgelert …

We've found a few new gardens to visit including ... Plas Brodanw ...

... and The Hidden Gardens on Anglesey ...

We've also found a few favourite walks including the Porthdinllaen circular walk up over the golf course and back along the beach past Ty Coch ...

... the walk from The Gallery in Llanbedrog up to The Tin Man ... 

... and the walk to the beach at Borth y Gest ...

And we are literally just down the road from the most beautiful spot at Nant Gwrtheyrn ...

The Park?
Of my eight points making for an ideal park I think we really did pretty much hit the jackpot, with seven out of eight totally hitting the mark …

We found a lovely small park with just 50 ‘luxury’ lodges on. It’s always been quiet when we’ve visited, even in the midst of the summer holidays.

It’s in a lovely setting, in the heart of the countryside, beautifully maintained and landscaped and sometimes I think we might just have the best spot in the park ...

Friends and family can visit and we can let to them privately if we choose to at some point.

The park is only closed from 10 January to 1 March each year … so open for just over 10 months and we have a 50 year lease, with no requirement to replace the lodge within that time.

Whilst the site is child friendly, with a pool, tennis court and plenty of room for exploring … there is no kids' club, bar or organised activities and whilst there are children around in the school holidays it’s never been a problem ...

Whilst it is rural it is only a ten minute drive to the nearest Asda ... with this as the view on our way ...

I guess all this does come at a premium and I think I was maybe a bit optimistic when thinking what I’d like to pay when it comes to site fees as we have ended up paying a bit more than I’d hoped for

The property?

We did stick to our budget in this one and whilst there are other lodges in the park which are absolutely spectacular we are very happy with our choice.

Inside It’s very comfortable. It’s warm and cosy whatever the weather. It’s not decorated in a way that we would normally choose but it’s simpler, uncluttered and we’ve added a few of our own touches and we love it. We have a lovely outside space and we have room to store everything we need …

We have two bedrooms and the option to use a sofa bed if we need a third option for sleeping arrangements and we have two private parking spaces … off the grass. 

It’s not completely maintenance free but the park have been very good at completely any snagging. It is only two years old and is in very good condition. We will probably need to jet wash the decking once a year and there is lots of glass for cleaning … but this is quite a pleasant job on a warm and sunny day.

Other than ‘fly season’, which was a little stressful, we really have felt the weight lift every time we’ve walked through the door … it is a really relaxing and stress free environment and we love spending time there.

We can’t wait to get back 😀

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