Who are we?
We live in Nelson, New Zealand. A few years ago my wife and I joined the growing
numbers of people over 50 after a career in fruit production, and an
increasing involvement in the IT industry. Since 1980 my wife and I
have travelled overseas frequently to many countries around the world and
in particular the UK. Our favourite destination
is without doubt the UK.
We want to share our passion for
the UK
with you...
By 2005 having explored the UK for more than 20 years we decided to build
this website to share our experience of the UK with others. We believed that
we could offer more than other websites offering Self Catering Holiday
Cottages by using our experience including pages of photographs of various
parts of the country with additional information to help visitors decide
which parts of the country they would like to explore.
Today three years later we have more than 900 pages containing information
about exploring Britain on this website, and in addition thousands more
pages listing more than 15,000 Holiday Cottages
across the UK, including Ireland,
plus France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
This website has been developed with a passion for the diversity, colour,
history, and dramatic scenery of the British Isles. This
passion grew from the experience of a bus tour of the heart of England
in 1980 my wife and I undertook. Coming from New Zealand we were so impressed with the richness of
the history, the quaint villages, and beautiful gardens that we have
returned regularly to explore and discover more about the real Britain.
We returned many times during the next 20 years travelling throughout
England from North to South, exploring the richness of the country. We
stayed in Hotels and Bed & Breakfast lodgings however it was not until 2005
that we discovered Self Catering Holiday Cottages as the ultimate way to
taste the real flavour of Britain.
What is it about Self Catering Holiday Cottages?
There is no doubt that if you seriously want to get off the beaten route and
discover the real Britain for yourself, quality Self Catering Holiday
Cottages offer a real advantage over group tours, hotels and Bed & Breakfast
accommodation.
Virtually wherever you are in the UK, you can drive
in any direction and encounter quaint villages, historic sites; magnificent
gardens open to the public or diverse coastal scenery. Drive off any
motorway and down winding country lanes; discover villages in close
proximity to each other full of picturesque cottages. In most of these
picturesque villages Self Catering Holiday Cottages blend into the peaceful
village scene. We discovered to our delight that we could shed our tourist
image by taking a Self Catering Holiday Cottage for a few days or longer and
get to know the local area at our own pace in a way that we never could had
we been on tour with a group..
Don’t wait 25 years...
It took us 25 years of visits exploring the UK to
discover Self Catering Holiday Cottages. Go to any travel agent and you will
be presented with brochures offering a huge range of pre-packaged tours,
accommodation and itineraries. It is unlikely that you will be offered Self
Catering Cottage accommodation by a travel agent.
Fact: Hotels can be expensive and Bed & Breakfast much cheaper. Self
Catering Holiday Cottages start at prices comparable to Bed & Breakfast per
person per night.
Why commit to tours and packaged holidays where others
organize your time when today you have all the tools you need at your
fingertips to research and make your own arrangements?
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The pitfalls of renting directly with the
owners
We rented cottages from a range of providers over the
years and found that the quality and presentation of the properties varied
considerably.
We found that booking a cottage through a reputable
organization representing many cottage owners was much more straightforward
than dealing with private owners directly.
For example one cottage we hired for a week directly with the owner turned
out to be over a fish and chip shop, making arrangements from New Zealand
was difficult and the décor and standard of the property pretty ordinary. We
were unable to take out insurance and had to forward a substantial
refundable deposit as a bond.
Then we discovered organizations that specialized in offering privately
owned quality assured self catering cottages.
Britain's Premium provider of Holiday Cottages
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One organization in particular having been a leader in
the provision of Self Catering Holiday Cottages for more than 25 years today
offers more than 15,000 Holiday Cottages throughout The UK, (England,
Scotland, Wales, Ireland) France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Holiday
Cottages Group Limited is a substantial company with more than 250 people at
its head office in Lancashire and regional managers in each region.
cottages4you
is
a Holiday Cottages Group brand name.
Each
cottage is handpicked, regularly inspected, and must
be maintained to documented
high quality standards.
Having rented a number of cottages from Cottages4you we were so impressed
that we negotiated a partnership arrangement with the company and
re-structured our website to offer visitors the opportunity to book cottages
directly with Holiday Cottages Group through our website.
In Partnership with
Holiday Cottages Group Limited we give you the tools to
research and put together your own Cottage Holiday online.
When you book a cottage through our website you are booking directly
with The Holiday Cottages Group at their prices using their secure
booking pages.
If you prefer to book by phone in the UK, choose
the cottage you wish to book then dial Cottages4you on their UK
phone number 0870 192 1206.
Click here
if you are dialling from outside the UK for the
international phone numbers.
You will be speaking directly with
one of the internet marketing people at the Head Office of
Cottages4you in Barnoldswick Lancashire
where they employ more than 250 people.
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Secure online booking
We have
taken the trouble to ensure that the processes you use to make online
bookings are as secure as modern technology permits and
you can rest assured that thousands of other people are using the same level
of security as you to make payments online each day.
Because we have partnered with carefully selected providers you have the
advantage of being able to plan your complete holiday using our website
knowing that you are dealing directly with organisations who are leaders in
their field.
We are adding enhancements to this
website virtually every day...
The development
of our product does not finish here
and we are constantly working
to enhance its value, so
please re-visit our site frequently. User feedback is very important to
us; feedback is helping us to further develop our product.
You will have
noticed a significant changes to the content
of our website in late November 2005, mid 2007 and
early 2008 following our regular
visits to the UK when we stay in cottages in various parts of the UK.
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TOP OF PAGE
Home Page
Each time we
visit the UK we gather fresh material and ideas to make our website more
useful to our customers.
When you make a booking online
you will find a clear description of how you
will receive your confirmation by email immediately following your
having made the booking.
It is our wish that you will create
your ultimate holiday online and find the experience of your time away
from home rewarding and fulfilling. Please email us using the address at
the bottom of this page if you have complaints or compliments, we will
answer your email.
Don't worry that we are based in New Zealand - we visit the UK
often and stay in the cottages we promote - in fact we probably have as
much current cottage holiday experience as many. |
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Be
prepared to discover nice little touches that make every cottage
a pleasure to stay in.
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