Rain, Rain, Go Away….

Rick recently posted an article on the excellent Lay My Hat Forum about what would make the perfect rainy-day pack of activities. As well as being an excellent forum for holiday property owner information, why not read Rick’s post and add your suggestions? Here’s the link: https://www.laymyhat.com/. The aim is to collect and share as many ideas as possible. If it’s going to rain, you’re much better off in a holiday property than a hotel as you can do far more indoors (and make more noise). We’re going way beyond board games and jigsaws here; until you’ve tried these games, for example, you’ll have no idea how much Paper Dart Olympics or Balloon Baseball can contribute to a fun-filled family holiday until you’ve tried them. We’d love it if you could contribute your ideas, and we will summarise the best suggestions in a new blog post.

Games Consoles in Cottages:

Continuing the above theme, most of you will have learned that including a games console in a property can be an excellent way to keep children entertained when wet outside. Although many parents choose a property to escape from technology, many more don’t! Games consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 can also be a fantastic source of evening entertainment for the whole family. For example, although cordless handsets are popular, they depend upon batteries – which someone has to replace - and are more likely to ‘walk’ than those with cables. You can vote for the most popular console to place on your property on our Facebook Poll. (Not having a games console at all is also an option!)

The Top 4 Marketing Mistakes

Being in the holiday cottage industry, we see many holiday cottage websites. We see some real gems, but many could be so much better. It’s difficult telling people that their sites are losing their bookings, which is probably why so many continue to exist. It’s like trying to tell someone politely that their children are letting them down. You just can’t! So we’ve compiled a list of people's top 4 marketing mistakes on their holiday property websites. Read carefully and see if you can spot something that applies to you – don’t shoot the messenger, please – but feel free to ask us for further advice! And if you have any of your own tips, add them to the comments at the bottom of the article.

Google Analytics:

Alongside our monthly statistics emails, we encourage everyone on our site to sign up for Google Analytics, using it to discover ways to improve traffic to your site or see which directory sites work for you. As well as being a fantastic tool to monitor your other marketing activities, we’ve written a quick blog post to explain how to set up Google Analytics and how to check where your website’s traffic is coming from.

On My Favourite Holiday Cottages

We reached the 600 Cottage Mark at the end of June! A huge thank you to everyone who has registered with us. Cottage No. 600 was the beautiful Haven at Pennyland Farm on the Mull of Kintyre. We also recently raised our prices (we hate it when people say ‘revised’ as it only means one thing, and we’d rather be honest, so we say ‘raised’). From July 16th, the price for a single listing on My Favourites is now (2020 rate): £98.99) We’ve implemented a new sliding scale so that the more cottages you add, the cheaper each listing becomes.

If you want to add any additional cottages, you can see the complete list of prices on our List a Cottage Page. It’s probably appropriate at this juncture to mention site traffic figures. Earlier in the year, when prices were £35 a year, My Favourite Holiday Cottages enjoyed around 8,000 unique visitors a month. We’re now getting twice that, having begun to achieve more Google no.1, Page 1 slots – and with more about to appear, the number of visitors to our pages will continue to grow. 

Festival Cottages

Folk Weekend: Oxford has also signed up, so if you can recommend us a holiday cottage in the Oxford area which signs up, we’ll give you a free Featured Favourite listing for a whole month. Our Festival Cottages search function is growing in popularity –with the click-throughs from a Festival’s own website to their My Favourite page, which will feature your cottage if you’re in their catchment area, averaging about 200 a week. Send us contact details about a Festival near you that runs for two or more nights, and we’ll invite them to come on board and help promote your cottage.

Finally

If you’d like us to write a blog post about something you’d like to know more about or contact us about any of our other services, then feel free to contact us at 01598 710631. We hope you all have an excellent start to the summer holidays.

Farm Cottages are lovely places for those wishing to relax with family and friends in the countryside.

With wide open spaces, countryside views, and plenty of peace and quiet, many farms across the UK have chosen to make the most of their land and create a range of stunning farm holiday cottages for guests to enjoy.

Combining modern facilities with the rural charm of a bygone era, Farm Stays in traditional farm cottages on working farms are increasingly popular with families. By escaping to the country, children can meet the farm animals and have the freedom to explore, whilst parents can soak up the relaxed atmosphere in a rustic farm cottage.

My Favourite Holiday Cottages has an excellent selection of Farm Holiday Cottages from up and down the UK, so we have chosen six cottages from the North, South, East and West to ensure that you’re never too far away from your own stay in the countryside.

Threshers Barn at Bakers Mill Holiday Cottages    Sleeps 6 in Dorset

Relax on 200 acres of Dorset farmland at Threshers Barn near Beaminster

Located in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Threshers Barn is one of six cottages on the 200-acre farm at Bakers Mill near Beaminster, which offers a range of pet-friendly holiday cottages set deep within the Dorset countryside. 

In addition to the opportunity to try your hand at fishing in the coarse fishing ponds, the farm is also a haven for wildlife, with sightings of deer and otters.

Duck Cottage     Sleeps 8 in North Devon

Pet chickens, rabbits and Guinea pigs here!

Duck Cottage offers a real family-friendly farm experience in the tiny North Devon village of Little Torrington. Children (and grown-ups) can feed, cuddle and pet all kinds of farm ‘pets’ including chickens, rabbits and Guinea pigs, and join the farmer’s wife on egg collecting rounds (meaning fresh organic eggs for breakfast). When you’ve done with the animals, Duck Cottage guests enjoy access to a heated swimming pool, beautiful gardens with lawns perfect for picnics and ball games and an indoor games room.

This large holiday cottage in Devon sleeps 8 in a secluded rural location yet within easy reach of sandy beaches at Instow and  Westward Ho! The cottage itself is a beautifully presented, clean and spacious barn conversion. There are lovely rural views from its four bedrooms and a fully equipped kitchen for rustling up delicious meals prepared using local produce.

Brant View    Sleeps 6 in Sedburgh

Relax in the heart of the Cumbria countryside.

Brant View is a Grade II-listed 17th-century barn conversion with stout oak beams and exposed stone walls in the wild and rugged Cumbria countryside near Sedbergh. 

The three-bedroom, family-friendly cottage is part of a working farm and lies within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales and, a little further afield, The Lake District. 

When not exploring the farm and the surrounding countryside, it’s a lovely holiday home where you can relax, savour the rural views, or play pool at the cottage’s pool table.

Spinney Retreat    Sleeps 6 in Shropshire

One of the two games rooms at Spinney Retreat in Shropshire

Spinney Retreat is a delightful 2-bedroom rural retreat on a working farm in the Shropshire countryside near Cardington in the tranquil hamlet of Plaish. The family-friendly cottage lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has the added benefit of an indoor heated swimming pool, tennis court and two games rooms. There are pony rides on the farm for children who will also love the children’s play area and go-karts for pedalling around the farm. Once a stable, Spinney Retreat retains its exposed oak beams while offering comfortable self-catering accommodation for up to four guests. Enjoy beautiful walks in the Shropshire Hills rounded off with a refreshing pint or ale at the nearby Royal Oak – the oldest pub in Shropshire.

Creag-na-Sanais    Sleeps 4 in Newtonmore

Scottish mountain views all around from this farm cottage in Newtonmore

As its Celtic name implies, this farm cottage lies in the Scottish Highlands in the small village of Laggan near Newtonmore. Guests will be continuously reminded of its superb highland location with views of the Monadhliath Mountains from just about every room.

It is a delightful destination for holidays in the great outdoors. In summer, wander along the banks of the River Spey, go pony trekking, fishing or mountain biking (the cottage has lockable storage for bikes). In winter, the ski slopes of the Cairngorms lie within easy reach. As with so many farm cottages, Creag na Sanais is a barn conversion, which means that its thick, stout stone walls help to keep the cottage warm and cosy in winter and light and airy in summer. It sleeps 2-4 guests in two bedrooms and has a well-equipped kitchen to create tasty meals.

North End Farmhouse    Sleeps 14 in Bridport

Lakeside views at North End Farmhouse on the Dorset coast near Bridport

We couldn’t complete this article on farm cottages without including an actual farmhouse instead of barn conversions. So, it’s back to Dorset, and here is a beauty – an ancient thatched farmhouse overlooking a lake in Dorset. North End Farmhouse is a large holiday cottage on the Dorset coast in an idyllic rural location near Bridport.

This homely cottage dates back to the 16th Century, so expect bags of character with inglenook fireplaces (including a massive Tudor fireplace in the Great Hall), a bread oven and stone-mullioned windows. It sleeps up to 14 guests in 6 bedrooms and is ideally located for days out in the beautiful Dorset countryside or on the beaches at Weymouth, Lyme Regis and West Bay.

If you contact the cottage owners, tell them you found them through My Favourite Holiday Cottages.