London, Great Britain
Member since
2001The member has not specified any exchange dates
House in London, Great Britain
My home is in a quiet tree-lined street and is full of light and sun, a very welcome place to return to after the crowds and noise of central London.
On the ground floor there are a large living room with big windows overlooking the garden and the trees beyond, a kitchen, utility room and lavatory with a shower.
The first floor has 2 bedrooms,one with a single bed and the other with twin beds. There is a small study with a desk and my laptop with a broadband connection. The bathroom with a shower over the bath is also on this floor.
The top floor consists of a big room running from the front to the back of the house, with windows overlooking trees on both .sides. There is a single bed and washbasin.
The garden is small and sunny, visited by lots of birds and squirrels as well as the occasional fox. There is a pleasant patio .
It is easy to get into central London with a bus stop about 3 minutes walk from where a service with big red London double decker buses goes to Lambeth Bridge,via Brixton Underground station. The buses are every 6-8 minutes in the main part of the day.
About 7 minutes walk away is Gipsy Hill railway station with 2 trains an hour in the main part of the day into both Victoria and London Bridge. The journey to both is about 25 minutes.
Upper Norwood, where Camille Pissarro lived and painted during the Franco-Prussian war, is about 10 minutes walk. It lies on the ridge of a low hill with the large Crystal Palace park running down one side and a good view over central London on the other. We are lucky to have a thriving small shopping district with a Post Office, a hardware store, an excellent small supermarket which never seems to close and a large Sainsburys supermarket a little further on. There are lots of places to eat (French, Thai, Italian,Indian to name just some) and several pubs.
I love travelling, especially through home exchange with the opportunity it gives not only to see some superb country and but also to learn more about a country or locality. I enjoy especially visiting art galleries and seeing the very different styles of architecture in new places. If there was a category of travelling similar to that of "slow food" I would be a "slow traveller", as while I am away I like to walk or use public transport.
I
I don't drive so towns or cities with good public transport are what I am looking for.
Our Family
- 1 Adults
- 0 Children
- 37 Exchanges made
Occupation
- Retired Nurse
Our Home
- House Type: House
- Floor: 0
- Environment: In the suburbs
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 1
- Sleeping Capacity: 4
References
In my house
- Pets - Not allowed
- Small children - Not allowed
Exchange Types
- Home exchange
Indoor
- Free internet access
- Central heating
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Television
Outdoor
- Garden
- Park / playground
Facilities
- Non-smoking house
- Seclusion/Privacy
Our Destination Wish List
- Open to any destination
- United Kingdom
- Germany
Spoken Languages
- English
- Deutsch
Our Neighbourhood
- Sainsbury supermarket (1.5 km)
An interesting suburb of London, set on the side and top of a hill overlooking the centre. A marvellous range of cafes and restaurants, a good supermarket, hardware store, post office and a mix of small individual shops. Excellent public transport and on the borders of the big Crystal Palace Park
Occupation
- Retired Nurse
Children
- We do not have children.
Pets
- We do not have pets.
References
This member has completed 37 home exchanges. Those referenced below may contain feedback/impression from its exchange partners:
Hoogstraten, Belgium
BE48Salamanca, Spain
ES571Chicago, USA
US462520Landerneau, France
FR020233Crediton, Great Britain
GB091928EDINBURGH, Great Britain
GB118530Roma, Italy
IT51275La Signora Clague è stata molto gentile durante tutto il periodo prima dello scambio, La casa è bellissima.
São Domingos de Rana, Portugal
PTOC0710La Rochelle, France
FR49288Even if I had nice conversations with Mrs Clague, and everyhing was prepared for our home exchange in septembre 2024, 3 days before my flight to London (on a Friday afternoon for a Monday flight) she wrote to me that she was so sorry but had to cancel everyting. She wrote that she had suddenly bad news for her health and had to stay in London to have other medical investigations.
For me it was also catastrophic : I had planned for months for this exchange, prepare my place in La Rochelle for Mrs Clague do stay in and find everything translated in English for her. And have had a new passport for me to go to London as French people have to after Brexit and many plans for my stay in London. Finally I've to find at the last minute another place to stay in London and it was extremely expensive and difficult for me.
When in London, I finally met Mrs Clague because I'd sent my La Rochelle keys to her and she gave them back to me and apologize.
But I learnt that she was 92 years old, even if till then she said that she was in good health.
Anyone could have sudden health reason to be obliged to cancel home exchange, but because of her age I think she should not have even try to exchange house.
Ghent, Belgium
BE585Paterswolde, Netherlands
NL0828Barcelona, Spain
ES152514Donosti-San Sebastián, Spain
ES2560Liverpool, Great Britain
GB1014228A great place in a super location with the nicest person