Our house is in Kew, part of the lovely and historic borough of Richmond-upon-Thames in Greater London. The house is at the end of a cul-de-sac. It is mainly open-plan downstairs, with a large, modern kitchen and lounge seating areas to the front and back. The dining table can seat 10-12. We love art and books and there are plenty of both! There is a separate office downstairs and WiFi throughout the house. There is a utility room with washer and drier. Upstairs there are two double bedrooms, two singles and a den at the top of the house with a sofa bed (it's a double, but probably more comfortable for two children or one adult). There is also a narrow single pull-out bed which can be placed in either double room, if wanted. There are three modern bathrooms upstairs (1 with bath, all with showers) and also a downstairs WC. We have PS3, Wii, Virgin Media (300+ channels) and WiFi.

Outside there is a lovely and private sunny decking area with sofa, chairs and table. There is a wide lawn, big enough for football, table tennis, boules and the trampoline to be enjoyed all at the same time! The garden is very secluded.

While part of London, Kew sees itself very much as a village - with great local community events such as art shows, a monthly village market, concerts and plays to enjoy. We are within walking distance of the World Heritage site, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with its beautiful walks, glasshouses and exhibitions, with amazing activities for children and adults alike. Just five minutes drive away is Richmond Park, which was established as a private hunting ground by Henry VIII, and is still home to wild deer.

Kew is part of the borough of Richmond, which is famous for its beauty and the view from Richmond Hill, which has been painted by various artists down the centuries. Richmond is full of great boutiques, stores, cinemas, galleries and numerous wonderful restaurants. There are some lovely river walks along the Thames, too.


Kew Village and its station is a 5 min walk away and has a small supermarket, Starbucks, two restaurants (one with a Michelin star - I can book this in advance for you), bakery and other stores. Richmond boasts two theatres - one mainstream which hosts many shows on their to - or from - the West End, and the fringe Orange Tree Theatre. Also nearby is Barnes, home to the famous London Wetlands Centre - regarded as Europe's best urban wildlife viewing point for birdwatching - and a beautiful place to visit itself.

If you are interested in researching your family history and genealogy we are also just a 10 minute walk from The National Archives, which houses over 1,000 years of historical documents and you can research your family history.

We are within 30 minutes drive/train ride of historic sites such as Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle. It is around a 30-40 min train ride to Victoria station or the heart of London. Theme parks such as Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Thorpe Park are also within easy driving distance. We are less than 30 mins from Heathrow Airport.
We have a weekly cleaner and can arrange for her to come in if you wish.
A car swap could be considered - we have a Mercedes ML350 (4 x 4) which seats 7 (2 seats in rear for kids), although you can easily get by without a car.

We are looking for Summer 2013 only as we can't do other dates this year, unfortunately.

Happy to look at Spain, France and Italy. We would prefer to have a pool, but are open to suggestions.

Alex works in commercial property in central London and also volunteers as a coach for the U10s football team with the local football club, every Saturday. Pippa is a journalist and author (non-fiction) and publishes two local magazines. We both help organise an annual local fair on Kew Green, which attracted 7,000 visitors in June. Jonah (17), Cameron (15) and Findlay (11) are all great boys, who love travelling and are big foodies - eating out at good restaurants is a favourite family pastime!

While there may be just five of us travelling, it is possible that my sister and her family, who live in New York, may join us.

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