Antoine
France
Apr 11, 2020 - Apr 18, 2020
Became a member in: 2013
Renewal Date: 31/Mar/2023
Affinities
Watersports,
Skiing,
Cycling / Mountain Biking,
Large Families,
Hiking,
Wine Lovers,
Foodies,
The Arts,
Yoga / Meditation
MoreLessAffiliations
Law Professionals,
Technology Professionals
Profession
Sales Management & Barrister
Antoine
France
Stefan
Germany
Great hosts, great house, great neighbourhood, great stay. We had a very good time at your place and enjoyed London a lot. Many thanks!
Read Less...Paula
United Kingdom
We had a great time visiting London. The house is lovely and big, very convenient for the tube, trains and shops. Lots of nice restaurants within wa...
Read More...We had a great time visiting London. The house is lovely and big, very convenient for the tube, trains and shops. Lots of nice restaurants within walking distance and plenty of home comforts. We hope to visit again!
Read Less...Simultaneous Home Exchange
Smoking Not Allowed
Children Welcome
Use of Personal Car is not possible
Open to all dates | Open to all destinations |
Description of the home we are offering for exchange
Newly renovated period home (built 1898) in Balham, SW London. Lovely light and airy 5 bed 3 bathroom family house with galleried staircase and lots of original features. The house is extremely comfortable and well appointed with new a brand new kitchen diner with sliding doors to garden and 3 bathrooms. There is a master bedroom with a kingsize bed and down pillows, two of the children's bedrooms have truckle beds underneath for additional sleeping capacity and in the study, there is a further bed underneath which pulls out to make a kingsize double. So though, we are 5 the house can sleep 9. We are keen cooks so the kitchen is extremely well equipped. There is a Sonos system for music on the ground floor and first floor and a 55" TV screen in the living room with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV and X Box. The garden is south facing to maximise the sun we get and has a large patio with a seating area (seating due shortly as is more planting for the garden) electronic awning for shade and foldable table tennis table. There is an oval spring free trampoline, great for kids and adults to let off some steam. The whole of the ground floor and bathrooms have underfloor heating and there is a log fire in the living room and a fire in the kitchen for winter evenings. The house is well insulated and cosy in winter. The house is thoroughly cleaned once weekly. Easy access on both tube and overground into central London with lots of local amenities. The perfect base from which to explore London and the rest of England.
We have done 4 house swaps over the past 6 years prior to renovating the house (2 in UK, 1 in France and 1 in Sicily and loved each one.
Type
House - 2 or more floors/ Main Residence
Amenities
Entertainment
Extras
Setting
Description of our neighbourhood and surrounding area
We are in a diverse but family oriented neighbourhood in a suburb of London. There is an artisan bakery, coffee shop and bar within 200m and a new ice cream parlour within about 800m. At the other end of our road is Tooting Common (large park with Lido - outdoor swimming pool open May-Sept, playground, pond and tennis courts. There are about 50 bars and restaurants and lots of shops including some good independent shops within easy walking distance in Balham, and walking the other way takes you to Tooting which is famed for its Indian restaurants and some good pop up restaurants. We are easy walking distance (4 mins) to Tooting Bec tube and 2 local supermarkets and a 10 minute walk to Balham Tube and overground (with a further 4 local supermarkets just in case!) There is a local cinema in Balham and a leisure centre with indoor pool, squash courts and gym.
Outdoor Activities
Leisure
Cultural Activities
Transport Nearby
Neighbourhood Services
Our home exchange - places to go and things to do while staying in our home
We are a short walk to Balham and Tooting Bec stations 25 mins into the West End of London for theatres, sightseeing and everything else London has to offer. Balham overground takes you directly to Victoria in 17 mins, close to Buckingham Palace and the Mall for other sight seeing opportunities. You can get the tube to the O2, Wembley stadium, the Olympic Stadium and pretty much any attraction in London that takes your fancy. We have a plethora of eateries within easy walking distance, from Michelin starred restaurants to local cafes, breakfast bars, noodle bars and wine bars. We list a couple of our favourite below. Within a 10 minute walk you can eat Indian, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Moroccan, Asian Fusion, European, Burgers, fast food; anything you like. A new German Beer Keller has also just opened recently, but if you prefer to sample a proper British pint there are also lots of more traditional pubs. In terms of activities locally Tooting Bec Lido open air swimming pool is 91m long and 30 m wide, open from May to September with a shallow pool for younger children and a grassy area to picnic on. This is an easy 20 min walk or 10 min cycle/scooter ride from the house. There are tennis courts at the common here, a cafe, and a good (roughly 5k jogging/cycling route) and an adventure playground for kids. For those with really young children, there is an indoor adventure play zone within 500m walk of the house (Bertie and Boo). The local indoor swimming pool has inflatables every Saturday afternoon for kids to play on, and otherwise offers lane swimming. There are 3 commons (parks) within easy walking/cycling distance from our house and of course you have easy access to the gorgeous historic central London green spaces - Hyde Park, Green Park, Regents Park, St James' park. If shopping is your thing, we are not far from the Kings Road (you can get the bus directly from close the house - a nice pace to see London at) or you can hop on the tube and be at Harrods or Harvey Nicholls for Knightsbridge style shopping within half an hour, or Oxford street if that takes your fancy (their christmas lights and the ones on Regent Street are particularly good). It's about 30 mins directly on the tube to Camden Lock if you like mooching round vintage shops and original small scale jewellery and clothes manufacturers. The South Bank with its concert halls, gallery and multiple restaurants is an easy half an hour ride on the tube (very good christmas market there) as is Covent Garden and Leicester Square. Really the possibilities are endless!
Our favourite restaurants
Cafés & bars
Special places to shop
Leisure and cultural activities
Walks or jogging paths
Health or fitness clubs
Interesting day trips
Our home exchange - here are our Preferences and House Rules
This is a no smoking household. It is important to us to find our house neat and tidy on our return and that you take care of our home and the fixtures and fittings. We will of course reciprocate. Our house is thoroughly cleaned every week. Our cleaner can come in during your stay if you wish. If you do come with younger children just let us know and we'll put ceramics at a lower level away for safety! We have plastic ware for younger children for eating etc, though no high chair /cot any longer and no stair gate.
Conditions
Use of Personal Car
Home Exchange Type
Became a member in: 2013
Renewal Date: 31/Mar/2023
Affinities
Watersports,
Skiing,
Cycling / Mountain Biking,
Large Families,
Hiking,
Wine Lovers,
Foodies,
The Arts,
Yoga / Meditation
MoreLessAffiliations
Law Professionals,
Technology Professionals
Profession
Sales Management & Barrister
Antoine
France
Stefan
Germany
Great hosts, great house, great neighbourhood, great stay. We had a very good time at your place and enjoyed London a lot. Many thanks!
Read Less...Paula
United Kingdom
We had a great time visiting London. The house is lovely and big, very convenient for the tube, trains and shops. Lots of nice restaurants within wa...
Read More...We had a great time visiting London. The house is lovely and big, very convenient for the tube, trains and shops. Lots of nice restaurants within walking distance and plenty of home comforts. We hope to visit again!
Read Less...Over 70 years of home exchange experience
Local home swap representatives around the world to assist you
Travel, save and feel at home around the world!