When it comes to holidays in Somerset there are certain things that just have to be done, things that capture the essence, the character of the West Country – like visiting a cider shack where the ‘elixir of life’ (as the locals call it) is still made to traditional methods, buying proper job Cheddar from a farm shop, and of course, spending time in a lovely old country pub. When it comes to the latter, the problem is – which one? There are so many! Well, here’s one we’re more than happy to recommend – The Farmers Arms at Combe Florey.

The excitement has been mounting in the office since our team went out to see Dustings a few weeks ago and we’ve been working hard to get it ready to show you – and here it is; once a stable block on a working farm, now an amazing large group holiday home for 16 in Somerset. With a hot tub and a games room it’s a great one for all kinds of group stays – it would suit multi-generational families, three or four young families with children, walkers, hen parties and corporate groups for both team building and hospitality. What’s more, dogs are welcome, so bring the family pooch along too.

We woke to a world of white down in Somerset this morning, the first sprinkling of snow this year but even though it’s so cold now it won’t be long until Spring is here and everything starts to warm up. Spring is a popular time for large group holidays, particularly around the Easter period; if it’s something you’ve been thinking about now is the time to find that perfect holiday house whether it’s for a whole week, a few days or a weekend away. Most of our luxury self catering holiday accommodation is already booked for the Easter weekend but we do still have some availability so read on to see what we’ve got.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS! Hope you’ve had a blast – a right merry old time of it spent with all the people who mean the most to you. The trouble is sometimes you just love it so much you don’t want it to end so when the new year comes and it’s back to work and the kids are back to school everything can seem a bit dull and flat after the excitement of Christmas and New Year’s Eve – but hey, don’t worry because before you know it it’ll be spring again, and in the meantime there’s much to get happy about.

Well, it’s certainly feeling a lot more like Christmas now, isn’t it? We’ve all got our trees up and presents wrapped, we’ve been out carol singing, and today it’s mince pies, Christmas jumpers and festive music in the office. Oh yes, here at Sleeps12 we are stepping into Christmas big time!

Well, Christmas is just around the corner and here at the Sleeps12 office we’re all looking forward to taking time off, putting our feet up and being in the moment with friends and family, but in the meantime there’s much work to be done. What a year it’s been - busy, busy, busy! We’ve taken on some fabulous new properties, seen additions and improvements to some of our long timers, and we’ve got more lined up to visit in the new year. We’ve met more lovely people, had a lot of laughter, and on occasion, it’s been hectic, but we’ve done what we strive to do - another year of happy customers enjoying amazing holidays and short breaks at our large group holiday houses in the UK and France.

Our team have been up to Hampshire this week, to Lyndhurst in the heart of the New Forest to be exact – and look what we’ve got! Boy oh boy, we are so thrilled to add Ortus House to our portfolio; we’d be doing cartwheels in the office if we could! This is a truly amazing house with a lovely history – it used to be a maternity hospital so lots of bonny babies came into the world there, curling their little toes, the source of much rejoicing! Maybe that’s what makes it so perfect for celebrations and entertaining, the laid back happy feel that wafts through every room.

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat; if you haven’t done it already, it’s time to plan something to look forward to and how good does a gathering of friends, family or colleagues in a gorgeous house in the country sound? The thing is, Christmas gets very, very busy, we all know that, and what with other commitments, it’s not always possible to do these things during the festive holiday, so do it earlier in the month and kick start that wonderful build up to Christmas with a weekend or a midweek break away at a luxury Sleeps12 holiday house.

Life seems so much busier these days and everyone gets caught up in the constant ebb and flow of work and school, chores to do, keeping on top of things, and well, just everything really. Eventually you reach the stage where you just think “I need a holiday” and then you find your friends and your family are saying it too, and actually, you haven’t caught up with them properly for a while, so hey, why don’t you sort the numbers, put your heads together and book a big house holiday?

We get a lot of enquiries these days from people who have a property that they think is right for the Sleeps12 collection. Sometimes it’s a house or cottage that’s already been run as a large group holiday let for months or years, sometimes it’s a newly built or developed property and sometimes, it’s just a collection of old barns waiting for a new lease of life.