June 18, 2019

My Weekend at Hewenden Mill Cottages

Nick Everything Else reviews, property, travel 0 Comments

I have just returned after a three-day break at Hewenden Mill Cottages in Yorkshire.

I was there to visit my sister Liz and her family, who live in Wilsden, near Bradford. They don’t really have room for me to stay with them, so I did an internet search and discovered Hewenden Mill Cottages, which was just a mile and a half from them.

At first I assumed that, as these were self-catering cottages, they wouldn’t be suitable for a solo visitor who was only coming for a long weekend. Turns out I was wrong, though. They were very happy to accommodate me for three nights, and the cost was, if anything, cheaper than staying at a hotel (see Financials, below).

Hewenden Mill Cottages is in a secluded location between the villages of Wilsden and Cullingworth. I have embedded a map of the area below (courtesy of Google Maps.

Table of Contents

The Accommodation

Hewenden Mill Cottages and Apartments (to give their full title) is based around not one but two old mills which have been converted into holiday cottages.

The main Hewenden Mill complex (which includes the reception, shown in the cover photo above) is easy to access from the B6144 (also called Lane Side). I was staying at Bent’s Mill, however, which is a short distance from Hewenden Mill. It’s a seven-minute walk from one to the other through some picturesque woodland, but unfortunately it’s not possible to drive through this. I have posted a photo of Bent’s Mill below.

When I arrived I was met at reception by the charming Susan, who told me she was the owners’ daughter. She asked me to follow her in my car as she drove to Bent’s Mill. I was glad to have her as my guide, as the journey involved going on narrow, twisting country lanes, and for my first visit it was reassuring to have her car in front and know I was going the right way. It also came in useful when we turned a corner and met another car coming the opposite way. As there were two of us and only one of them, they had no option but to back up!

I was staying in the Wheel Pit House at one end of Bent’s Mill. As you may gather, this is where the water wheel once stood. It’s no longer there, but you can see the chamber where it was through a window in the entrance hall (or from the outside). You can read more about the Wheel Pit House on this page of the excellent Hewenden Mill Cottages website. Here is my own photo of the exterior.

My accommodation was on three levels. On the ground floor was the front door and entrance hall. Upstairs on the first floor was a double bedroom and bathroom. On the top floor were the kitchen and lounge, from which you could enjoy lovely views of the woodland and mill pond (see photo below).

I have to say I was very impressed by my cottage. It was spacious and comfortable, with everything you would need for a short stay (or a longer one).

The kitchen included an electric cooker with ceramic hob, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and washing machine – all very clean and modern, and considerably nicer than I have at home!

The cottages have free wifi, and all costs such as electricity and VAT are included in the price. There would have been plenty of room for a couple, and a young child or baby as well. To me as a solo visitor it felt palatial, especially after the compact ‘Forest Retreat’ I stayed in a few weeks ago at Aberdunant Hall. As a matter of interest, I worked out that at Hewenden my accommodation was over six times larger!

A nice touch is that the owners provide a complimentary ‘welcome pack’ of groceries on arrival. This included bread, milk, butter, preserves, orange juice, biscuits, and so on. A selection of breakfast cereals in individual boxes and sachets was also provided, along with coffee and Yorkshire Tea (see below!).

Hewenden Mill and (especially) Bent’s Mill are a bit off the beaten track and there aren’t any shops close by (though there is a Co-op in Cullingworth about a mile away). As I was mostly eating with my sister and her family that wasn’t an issue for me, but if I’d had to buy some provisions it wouldn’t have been a problem. There are also several takeaways, cafes and restaurants within a mile or two.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I need to say a few words about this.

I paid £327 (including VAT) for my three-night stay in the Wheel Pit House at Hewenden Mill Cottages, which I thought was very reasonable. I paid an initial £50 deposit when I booked, with the rest due on arrival.

Costs obviously vary according to the accommodation you want, when you want it, and for how long. I did though notice that the longer your stay the cheaper (per day) it works out. While you can book for one or two nights, it becomes much more economical if you are staying for three nights or longer.

The price I paid worked out to £109 a night, which – as I said above – struck me as very reasonable (and cheaper than most of the hotels I have stayed at recently). Of course, unlike most hotels, you don’t get a cooked breakfast, and neither is a daily housekeeping visit included. On the positive side, though, you do get far more space, a fully equipped kitchen, a separate lounge and bedroom, and complete privacy during your stay.

You can check current prices and availability on the Hewenden Mill Cottages website.

Things To Do

Obviously I was visiting family, so I won’t go into detail about everything I did while I was there. However, for the benefit of anyone who may be considering visiting the area, I will mention a few of the local attractions.

First of all, Hewenden Mill is just a few miles from Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily (indeed, the area is sometimes called Bronte Country). If you haven’t visited before, I would say this is a must-see. You can go around the parsonage where the sisters were brought up and wrote their famous novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The parsonage has been preserved (or restored) largely as it was in their day. I found it quite an emotional experience seeing the family home where the sisters lived, wrote, and tragically all died at an early age

The village with its cobbled high street is also well worth seeing, and there are numerous (enticing) tea and cake shops.

And finally, Haworth has a station on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a heritage steam railway which runs between Keighley and Oxenhope. The line and its stations has been used in numerous period film and television productions, including the film The Railway Children. More information and timetables are available via the KWVR website. You can get a 10% discount on a Day Rover ticket if you buy your ticket more than seven days in advance.

Also nearby is Saltaire, the Victorian model village built by textile magnate and philanthropist Sir Titus Salt to house the workers at his mill. The mill itself is still there, and large parts are open free of charge to the public. Inside is a bookshop, and you can still see some of the old heavy machinery there that was used in the mill. There is also a bustling coffee shop and restaurant, along with displays and exhibitions. The River Aire runs alongside the town (hence the name, of course), and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal too (great for a brisk walk along the towpath!).

And, of course, the whole of the area is incredibly scenic, with lots of scope for country walks, runs or cycle rides, as you prefer. From Hewenden Mill Cottages there are various walks you can take, from a five-minute stroll to Goit Stock Waterfalls (see photo below) to much further afield.

Final Thoughts

As you may gather, I very much enjoyed my stay at Hewenden Mill Cottages and thoroughly recommend them. Obviously, the fact that they are only a short drive from my sister’s home was a big attraction for me. Even if that wasn’t the case, though, I would definitely consider going back for a short break.

There is plenty of choice of accommodation, though at weekends especially it does get popular, so it’s definitely advisable to book a few weeks in advance.

If you want complete peace and seclusion, I can highly recommend staying at Bent’s Mill, where the only noise to be heard is birdsong. My one slight reservation is that, as mentioned earlier, getting there by car involves a somewhat nerve-racking drive along narrow, twisting lanes, where you really hope you don’t meet someone coming in the other direction! it’s perfectly do-able, of course, but if you don’t fancy this particular challenge then staying at the main Hewenden Mill might be a better choice for you.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about Hewenden Mill Cottages, please do post them below.

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June 11, 2019

Have You Tried Nextdoor?

Nick Everything Else reviews, property 0 Comments

Excuse the slightly tongue-in-cheek title. Nextdoor is actually a free social network for local communities.

I’ve been a member for about a year now. In the last few months I have seen the number of people who have signed up in my neighbourhood grow considerably. So I thought today I’d share my thoughts about it.

Table of Contents

What Is Nextdoor?

I’ll start by quoting from the Nextdoor website:

Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbours and your community. It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbours to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it’s free.

People are using Nextdoor to:

Borrow a ladder

Organise a Neighbourhood Watch Group

Track down a trustworthy babysitter

Find out who does the best paint job in town

Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog

Find a new home for an outgrown bike

Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name

Nextdoor’s mission is to provide a trusted platform where neighbours work together to build stronger, safer, happier communities, all over the world.

That’s a reasonable summary, I think. It corresponds with the types of uses people in my local area are putting it to, as the screen capture below illustrates.

Here are my personal thoughts and experiences of Nextdoor as a member…

How I Use Nextdoor

As well as keeping an eye on what is going on in my neighbourhood, I have also used Nextdoor as a way of finding reliable tradesmen. This has worked pretty well, although I do find that when you ask for recommendations from your neighbours, what you actually tend to get is a stream of replies from the tradesmen themselves angling for your custom. Of course, it’s quite understandable that tradespeople are cottoning on to the fact that this can be a good way of getting work.

I have also found Nextdoor good for finding local people willing to do smaller jobs that the average tradesman might not be interested in. Here’s an example message I posted recently…

Man (or Woman) with a Ladder Needed

I recently had some scaffolding up at the back of my house. When the scaffolders took it away, they left a couple of short metal tubes near the edge of the roof. Despite several requests they haven’t come back for them and I’m concerned they may cause damage if they fall down. So I just wondered if someone with a ladder might be willing to pop over and remove them for me? Should only be a five-minute job and I’m happy to pay a tenner or donate the money to your favourite charity. Will also give you a review on any relevant website if you’re a tradesperson.

I got a reply on Nextdoor within an hour from the wife of a local roofer. She said her husband would be happy to come and do this for me. We exchanged private messages, and the roofer (Clive Byrne of CMB Roofing – many thanks!) came over that afternoon and removed the offending items for me. As per my message, I paid him £10 and put a review on Google for him. This solved a niggling problem for me with the minimum of hassle, and is a good example of the sort of thing Nextdoor can work well for.

Any Drawbacks?

As with any social network there can be differences of opinion, and worse…

I have seen a few instances where people have been criticised for things they have said or shared on the platform. Sometimes (in my opinion) this may have been justified, but other times I think those concerned have been, shall we say, rather thin-skinned.

One issue that has arisen a few times has been when someone reports suspicious activity and others then criticise them for stereotyping or being too quick to make judgements. I do accept that this can be a difficult issue, but personally I think that if someone observes suspicious, possibly criminal, behaviour, it’s not unreasonable to alert their neighbours about it. But like it or not, if you do this, you can expect to be criciticised by some people.

Unsurprisingly, politics (national and local) is another contentious area. For example, where I live the local council is currently considering a planning application for a KFC drive-through. Some people expressed their disapproval about this quite forcibly, while others argued (equally forcibly) that it would be beneficial for the area. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of robust argument, but some of the comments became unpleasant and borderline abusive. Some people get hot under the collar when they discover that their neighbours don’t share their views, and it can rather spoil the friendly, community vibe that Nextdoor is trying to promote. Of course, the same thing happens on Facebook and other social networks, but if you join Nextdoor you need to be prepared for this.

Nextdoor is monitored and supervised by what the network calls ‘Local Leads’. These are – as I understand it – ordinary members who have additional powers, e.g. to delete posts that breach the community’s guidelines. I now know who my Local Lead is, but only because I researched this carefully. I haven’t ever seen any posts by them on the platform, much less any evidence of constructive interventions. Maybe all this goes on behind the scenes – I don’t know. I do think Nextdoor could be more up front about who the Local Leads are and how they are chosen.

Finally, it would be wrong not to mention that joining Nextdoor has privacy implications. As a member, you can see the names of people in your local area and (in most cases) their street and house number. And they, of course, will be able to see yours. This information is only available to people in your immediate area and pseudonyms are not allowed. I can understand the reasons for this, but if you are uncomfortable with it, Nextdoor may not be for you. In any event, be careful about sharing personal information in your profile, especially anything you might not want your neighbours to know!

How to Join

If you do decide to give Nextdoor a try, you can sign up for free at https://www.nextdoor.co.uk. Fill in the short form on the front page (see screen capture below) including your postcode, then click on Find Your Neighbourhood. You will then be able to see recent posts by your neighbours, with other information (e.g. a map of your area) available via the left-hand menu.

You can also access Nextdoor via a mobile phone app. Versions are available for Apple (via the iTunes App Store) and Android (via Google Play).

Final Thoughts

Although (as stated above) I do have certain reservations about Nextdoor, overall I feel I have benefited from it, and it has certainly increased my awareness of events going on in my neighbourhood. I have also, as mentioned above, found it a useful resource for finding tradespeople and getting recommendations.

I’d love to hear your views about Nextdoor, and also your experiences (good or bad) if you’re already a member. Please do leave any comments below as usual.

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June 4, 2019

Ten Ways to Save Money When Buying Carpet

Nick Saving Money sponsored post 2 Comments

Carpet isn’t something you buy every day, but when the time comes the cost can be substantial. Fortunately there are various ways you can save money on carpet without compromising on the things you want. Here are ten top tips to guide you.

Educate yourself on the different types of carpet available. There is lots of helpful information online. The more you know, the less likely you are to waste money on something that is unnecessarily expensive or just plain unsuitable.
In particular, get to know about carpet fibres, synthetic and natural. If you want a synthetic, nylon offers the greatest durability and resilience. However, it will also cost you the most per square metre. If you don’t need as much durability, alternatives such as polyester are cheaper and have other benefits, e.g. better stain resistance and eco-friendliness. Wool carpets are generally more expensive than synthetics but offer the greatest level of comfort and will retain their colour and elasticity for many years.
Shop around before you buy. This will give you a good idea of the options available and how much you can expect to end up paying. Don’t just go to the usual high-street and out-of-town stores, though. You may be able to save a lot of money by buying carpet online.
Think about how long you plan to go on living in your house. There is no point paying top whack if you expect to move on in a year or two. On the other hand, if you plan to put down roots, it clearly makes sense to buy good-quality carpets that will last a long time.
Although the obvious option would be to get the same carpet across the whole house, it may not be the most sensible. For rooms that get a lot of use, such as the lounge and master bedroom, clearly you will want carpet that is hard wearing as well as comfortable. On the other hand, with rooms that get less use, such as the spare bedroom, you can get away with something a bit cheaper and less durable.
If you are carpeting a small room or flat, you may be able to save money by purchasing offcuts or remnants. These are basically left-over sections of carpet at the end of rolls. They are usually discounted to clear, so can be great value if you can find something suitable for the room (or rooms) you have in mind.
Do as much of the preparatory work as possible yourself. In particular, move furniture out of the way before the fitter (or fitters) arrive. Most will move furniture for you, but they will charge you extra. If large pieces of furniture are too heavy for you to move, buy (or borrow) furniture sliders. You just slip these under your furniture and can then easily move large items around. Packs of reusable furniture sliders are available for a few pounds from Amazon.
You may also be able to save money by removing and disposing of the old carpet yourself. Take it up carefully, removing underlay and staples as well. Don’t remove the tack strips, though, as this could damage your floor (in most cases anyway the fitters will use the tack strips again). Taking the old carpet to the tip yourself can also save money, as commercial installers typically have to pay a fee for doing this.
Remember that as well as the carpet itself, you will need to pay for underlay, gripper rods, and so on. Be sure to get a fully itemized quote from your chosen supplier showing everything included as well as the total price you will have to pay. This should help to avoid any nasty (expensive) surprises later.
But finally, DON’T try to save money by fitting the carpet yourself, at least unless you have professional training and experience in this field. Carpet fitting is a skilled job, and if you make a hash of it you could end up wasting a lot of money as well as voiding any guarantees (which often stipulate that carpets must be professionally fitted).

Good luck, and I hope you save loads of money on your new carpet!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Flooring Superstore, the UK’s leading online flooring specialist.

As always, if you have any comments or questions on this post, please do leave them below.

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June 3, 2019

Guest Post: The Money-Making Apps You Need to Download Now

Nick Making Money guest post 0 Comments

Today I am pleased to bring you a guest post from my fellow UK money blogger Bronni Hughes

In her article below, Bronni sets out a number of mobile phone apps you can download for free that can help you earn a useful sideline income, generally for little or no effort.

Over to Bronni then…

Phones can be expensive. After buying your handset and then forking out for your minutes, texts and data on a monthly basis, it can feel like you’re just throwing money away. This is why I think it’s important to use money-making apps to try and make some of it back.

Unfortunately, you’re not going to pay your rent with the money you’ll make from these apps, but you could get a tidy stack of Amazon vouchers to put towards Christmas. Not bad!

Jobspotter

If you don’t have this app yet, what have you been doing?! I must have made over £100 in Amazon vouchers since I first downloaded it.

It’s very simple to use, how it works is:

Download the Jobspotter app for Android or iOS.
Sign up for an account.
When you’re walking around town use the app to snap photos of any job adverts you can see posted outside businesses.
Earn Amazon vouchers.

It really is that easy! You need to take a clear shot of the job advert itself and one where you can clearly see the name of the business.

Jobspotter will then assess the photo and decide how many points it earns. One point equals 1 cent (USD) of an Amazon voucher. All ads earn points, but one for a chain cafe will earn a lot less than an ad in the window of your local takeaway. If someone’s submitted the job before it won’t earn as many points.

The most points I ever earned in one go was 144 from an estate agent in my local town. It honestly takes seconds to submit each one, and the money can rack up pretty quickly.

There’s no minimum you need to cash out, and the Amazon voucher arrives after about 48 hours usually.

Field Agent

Have opinions about what you buy in the supermarket? Who doesn’t!

Field Agent pays you to share that opinion. Download the app here. Jobs usually involve going to the supermarket and photographing certain shelves and saying which product you’d choose to buy. There are ones on the app right now for £10, and they don’t generally take any longer than 20 minutes to complete.

You won’t qualify for every job – sometimes they’re looking for cat owners or people with kids, for example. There are often at home surveys paying £1 or £2 each too.

The app is free to use and download, so it’s worth trying out to see if you like it.

App-based banks won’t make you money, but they do make managing it a lot simpler. Read my review of the Starling joint account.

Shoppix and Receipt Hog

I’ve grouped these two apps together, because I always scan every receipt I get on both apps.

Shoppix is available on Android or iOS – download here. If you use the referral code 3PGPHDNK we both get 200 points.

You’ll get 30 points for a receipt snapped the same day, and 25 points for one submitted any later. You also get good bonuses for using the app every week too, plus extra points for filling out their very short surveys.

You need 3200 points to cash out £5 via iTunes, Amazon or PayPal. It usually only takes me two months of snapping to be able to cash out a full £20.

Receipt Hog is a bit less generous than Shoppix, but as you can scan one receipt on both apps you may as well get it. It’s available for Apple or Android here.

How many points you get depends on how much you spend on the receipt. It’s 1,500 points to cash out £5 via Amazon or PayPal. Remember you’ll get bonus points for snapping every week too, as well as “hog slots” where you can win extra prizes.

Want more ways to make money? Find out how I added £10k to my house deposit.

Many thanks to Bronni for an eye-opening article. I’m definitely going to download all those apps to my own phone!

Do check out also Bronni’s stylish and informative blog at https://bronni.co.uk/ .

Don’t forget either MobileXpression, the app I wrote about on Pounds and Sense last year. I am still receiving £20 Amazon vouchers every few weeks like clockwork from this. All you have to do is download the app to your mobile phone, and every so often check in to the app to claim any points you have been credited.

If you know of any other good money-making (or saving) apps, feel free to post details below. And, of course, you are very welcome to post comments or questions, for me or Bronni, there as well.

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May 30, 2019

Should You Delay Taking Your State Pension?

Nick Pensions & Benefits pensions 6 Comments

I know many readers of Pounds and Sense are coming up to the state pension age. That includes me. I have just over three years to go, assuming the government doesn’t change the rules again!

One decision everyone in this situation has to make is whether to start claiming the state pension as soon as they are eligible, or defer it. You might wonder why anyone would choose to put off receiving their pension, but the government does offer a modest incentive for doing so. For every nine weeks you defer, you get an extra 1% added to your pension payments thereafter.

If you are in good health and don’t need the money (perhaps because you are still in work) delaying may be worth considering. Even so, it’s something to think carefully about, as you may have a long wait until you are in profit from doing so.

Crunching the Numbers

Here are my (admittedly somewhat simplified) calculations.

The current new state pension is £168.60 (people who retired on the old state pension are likely to be on less than this). One percent of this is £1.686 per week.

If you opt to sacrifice 9 weeks of the state pension, that has a total value of 9 x 168.60 = £1517.40. If you divide this by the extra weekly pension you will receive after this, you get a figure of 1517.40/1.686 = 900. In other words, you would need to be claiming for 900 weeks, or just over 17 years, simply to break even.

Deferring for a year will earn an increase in your pension of 5.8% but cost you – at the current rate – a total of £8767.20. The extra pension thereafter will be worth an extra £508.50 a year, but again it would take you a little over 17 years to recoup the year’s pension you didn’t get.

Overall, then, for most people I don’t believe that deferring will be a desirable or sensible option. This applies especially if you have any health or lifestyle issues that may reduce your life expectancy.

However, there is one other thing to take into account, and that is tax…

Tax and the State Pension

Not everyone realises this, but the UK state pension is taxable. That means if you have other sources of income that use up your personal allowance, you will have tax deducted from your state pension at your highest marginal rate.

If that applies to you, the case for postponing your state pension is stronger. Assuming you pay tax at the basic rate of 20%, then 168.60 x 20% = £33.72 would be deducted from your weekly pension in tax, leaving you with just £134.88. If you do this for 9 weeks, you will therefore receive 9 x 134.88 = £1213.92 in total after tax. Dividing this by the 1% extra you would get from deferring gives you a figure of 720 weeks or 13 years and 8 months to break even by deferring. That’s still a long time, but if you are in good health you are more likely than not to live this long after reaching pension age. Of course, this does assume that once you start claiming the state pension your total taxable income is covered by your personal allowance. If that’s not the case and you have to pay tax on your state pension, the payback period after deferring will be longer.

Like all the calculations in this post, the above assumes for simplicity’s sake that the state pension remains the same in future. In practice it is likely to go up every year, increasing the value of that extra 1% (or whatever). That means the time period before you recoup all the money you turned down is likely to be a bit shorter. On the other hand, the effect of inflation is likely to offset this.

Another potential issue could arise if you are already earning a substantial income and claiming the state pension would push you into a higher tax band. This could be another good reason to consider deferring.

Summing Up

Overall, it seems to me that if you expect to be on a modest (or even average) income in retirement, there is unlikely to be much benefit to deferring your state pension (and I don’t intend to myself). If you are a higher earner and in good health, however, there might be.

Obviously everyone’s circumstances are different and I can’t give individual advice, but it’s well worth speaking to a qualified pensions adviser if you think that deferring the state pension may be beneficial for you.

Finally, if you do decide to defer, no special action is required. Four months before you reach state pension age, you should receive a letter and booklet from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) telling you how to claim your state pension. You can just delay claiming and it will be assumed that you wish to defer.

As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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May 26, 2019

My Weekend at Aberdunant Hall Hotel Near Porthmadog

Nick Everything Else reviews, travel 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I enjoyed a long weekend (three nights) at the Aberdunant Hall Holiday Park and Hotel near Porthmadog in North Wales.

It was the first time I had stayed at Aberdunant Hall (as I’ll call it from now on), but I know the area pretty well. I used to stay at the Tremeifion Hotel just across the estuary from Portmeirion, but unfortunately this closed last year. So I went online to research alternatives in the area and discovered Aberdunant Hall. It had generally excellent reviews, so I decided to check it out for myself.

Aberdunant Hall is about four miles from Porthmadog, near a small town called Prenteg. I have embedded a map of the area below (courtesy of Booking.com).

Booking.com

Table of Contents

The Hotel

With the help of my satnav I had no difficulty finding Aberdunant Hall. On the main road there is a gatehouse and you have to turn in here and follow a narrow, winding road through some scenic woodlands before you reach the hotel.

The hotel is actually quite small – it has only about a dozen rooms for guests – and the reception area is basically a desk in the dining room. A friendly and helpful young man took my details and showed me to my room.

I say my room, but I had actually opted to stay in what the hotel describe as a Forest Retreat. This is a small cluster of wooden cabins a few minutes’ walk from the main hotel. Here is a photo to give you an idea. Mine was at the top of the hill, in the middle of this picture. You can see the view from my balcony in the cover image (above).

The Forest Retreats are certainly compact (the website says they they measure 14 ft by 10 ft). There is a fold-down bed which when pushed up reveals a sofa with a mirror above it (the mirror in mine was cracked, unfortunately). There is a small but well-equipped kitchenette by the door and a bathroom with a shower cubicle at the back.

You also get a balcony with a table and chairs. I know if I had been staying with my late partner Jayne, I would have ended up being banished here quite often while she was getting dressed and ready! There isn’t much space for hanging clothes or putting things away, so I wouldn’t recommend this type of accommodation if you are planning to stay any longer than a few days.

If you are in one of the Forest Retreats – or any other accommodation in the hotel and holiday park – you have the option of eating at the hotel restaurant if you wish (you will need to book in advance). I ate there on the first night and enjoyed an excellent meal of potato and leek soup, smoked haddock with poached eggs and spinach, and vanilla cheesecake with a strawberry topping. The other two nights I cooked my own meals, but that was just for convenience (and to save a few pounds) really.

A cooked breakfast is included in the price you pay. This is basically a self-service buffet, though a waitress was around to answer questions, fix the drinks machine and toaster when they broke down, and deal with any special requests (e.g. vegetarian/vegan options). I enjoyed the breakfasts. I rather prefer the buffet style, as you can choose exactly what you have and when you have it (e.g. I prefer to have my toast at the end). It would have been nice if scrambled eggs had been available as well as fried, but that’s a very minor criticism.

Although you don’t get any sea views at Aberdunant Hall, the country park location is undoubtedly picturesque. As well as trees and plants, the park (which also houses lots of static caravans and lodges) is criss-crossed with small streams. My Forest Retreat was wonderfully peaceful, and I slept very well while was I was there.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a few words about this.

I paid £395 (including VAT) for my three-night stay in a Forest Retreat at Aberdunant Hall, which I thought was reasonable. My three-course meal in the restaurant including a drink came to £29.75, which again I didn’t think excessive.

There are plenty of other accommodation options at Aberdunant Hall. They include a variety of rooms in the hotel itself, from a basic single room starting at £85 a night to a Victorian-style luxury room with four-poster bed starting at £185 a night. Or if you prefer to stay in the park rather than the main hotel, you can book a Woodland Escape Suite. These are over twice the size of the Forest Retreats and cost from £185 a night. I like the sound of them, even though they are (of course) really aimed at couples. You can see all the accommodation options at Aberdunant Hall Hotel on this page of their website.

One comment I would make is that – a little surprisingly – there is no shop on the site. So if you are planning to cater for yourself at least some of the time, you may want to bring some provisions with you. The nearest shopping centre is Porthmadog, about four miles away. This has a large Tesco and a variety of other shops.

Finally, I should mention that (as I often do) I booked this break via Booking.com. I like this site for a number of reasons, including the fact that it shows you what rooms are available on any given dates for your accommodation and even suggests alternative dates if your first choices are unavailable. But you can, of course, also book directly with the hotel if you prefer. I find there isn’t usually much difference in price one way or the other.

Things To Do

Aberdunant Hall is on the edge of Snowdonia, so there is no shortage of things to do in the area. As well as walking, there are some popular tourist attractions as well. Here are the main places I visited and things I did while I was there…

1. Portmeirion

This is about twenty minutes’ drive from Aberdunant Hall and I spent my first morning here. Portmeirion is a beautiful Italianate village created by the architect Clough Williams Ellis. These days it is probably best known as the location for the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. It is a wonderful place to while away a few hours. I recommend taking one of the guided tours that start near the entrance and run more or less continuously through the day. I also recommend the woodland train, which offers an effortless way of exploring the wooded area behind the village and includes a photo stop at a viewpoint above the village (see below). There is an admission fee to get into Portmeirion, but you can save a pound or two by booking at least a day in advance on the website.

2. Festiniog Railway

This heritage steam railway has two separate lines, both of which run from Porthmadog. The Welsh Highland Railway takes you on a two-and-a-quarter hour trip through the heart of Snowdonia to Caernarfon, while the original Festiniog Railway takes you on a one-hour trip to Blaenau Festiniog. As I only had the afternoon I took the shorter journey, but I have done the Welsh Highland Railway trip before and highly recommend it as well. You can get more info on both (and book in advance if you wish) via the Festiniog Railway website.

3. Snowdon Mountain Railway

On my second day I drove to Llanberis, which is about 40 minutes by car from Aberdunant Hall. At Llanberis you can get the Snowdon Mountain Railway, which will take you all the way to the peak of the highest mountain in Wales. This is a very popular attraction, so I highly recommend booking in advance, which you can do via the website. I was fortunate that on the day I went the weather was perfect and so was the visibility. Here’s a photo I took on the summit, although no photo can really do justice to the amazing views in all directions.

4. Electric Mountain

This is another tourist attraction in Llanberis, so I thought I’d combine the two. Electric Mountain is actually the Dinorweg hydro-electric power station. For a modest fee you can take a one-hour guided tour on a mini-bus which takes you deep into the mountain. I found this interesting and informative, and the engineering on display is undoubtedly impressive. No photos of this, as they don’t allow you to take cameras or mobile phones on the tour, presumably in case you are planning a spot of industrial espionage. You can book tours in advance on the website. At the time of my visit they were renovating the visitor centre, so visitors had to collect their tickets and assemble for the tour at a portacabin in the car park.

Closing Thoughts

i enjoyed my visit to Aberdunant Hall and would certainly consider going again. I am not sure if I would stay in a Forest Retreat another time, though. Even for me, as a solo visitor, it felt cramped. If you are going as a couple, I’d imagine that staying more than a day or two could put quite a strain on your relationship!

There are many positives, though. The woodland location is peaceful and picturesque, and allows easy access to Snowdonia and the Lleyn peninsula. All the staff I met were charming, and the food was very good as well. Although I’ve been a little disparaging about the size of the Forest Retreats, mine was spotlessly clean and had all the facilities needed for a short stay, including a cooker, fridge and microwave.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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May 21, 2019

Make Money Watching TV With The Viewers

Nick Making Money reviews 2 Comments

Today I wanted to give you a heads-up about a market research company that is always looking for new members for its (paid) audience panel.

As the name suggests, The Viewers researches people’s TV viewing habits. They regularly run studies about this and pay participants in cash (via PayPal) or Amazon vouchers.

One type of study they run is focus groups. These are typically held in large cities. They generally last 90 minutes and involve discussing current and planned TV programmes in a small group led by a researcher. You can expect to be paid at least £40 (cash in hand) plus free refreshments for a 90-minute group discussion, and often more if the project involves tasks to complete before or after the discussion.

The Viewers also run online focus groups, which (obviously) you can do from the comfort of your own home. Payment is similar to the physical focus groups, though without the refreshments!

They also run a variety of other studies and surveys. A recent one I took involved tuning my TV to a number of Freeview channels and taking photos of what was on the channels in question, including the station logo at the top of the screen (see sample photo below). I used my mobile phone camera to do this, and uploaded the photos to the website as instructed.

This whole task took me about 20 minutes and I received a £5 Amazon voucher in payment (I could have opted for a slightly smaller amount in cash, but as I’m always buying stuff from Amazon, a voucher was just as good for me).

As well as these paid studies, The Viewers also run some shorter ones where payment takes the form of prize draw entries. Here’s one I was sent recently by email:

You could be suitable to share your thoughts on a TV actor or actress. Those taking part will initially be entered into a prize draw with some participants invited to an optional longer paid survey within the next week. If you would prefer not to hear about prize draw surveys, please update your research and communication preferences towards the bottom of this email.

Reward: Entry into this project’s prize draw with 1 x £50 flexi e-gift card and 10 x £10 flexi e-gift cards up for grabs. These can be spent at Amazon, Argos, Cineworld, M&S, Pizza Express, Tesco & more.

Additional prize draw: All taking part (including those who don’t qualify) will also be entered into our additional May prize draw which runs across all surveys with 1st prize of £100 amazon voucher, 2nd prize of £50 amazon voucher and 5 runner up £10 amazon vouchers!

Time required: 5 minutes (approx)

There is no obligation to do these (or any) studies, as there is no guaranteed reward. But if I’m not busy with other things I tend to, as they are usually quite interesting and take no more than five minutes to complete.

Obviously, if you never watch TV, The Viewers isn’t going to be for you. But you don’t have to be a telly addict either. On the website, they say, ‘ We want to speak to all manner of viewers, from ardent fans of a programme to those who just catch the odd bit of TV. Please just be completely honest when registering and you will be contacted when a project is right for you.’

Clearly nobody is going to make a fortune from The Viewers, but it can be a great addition to your portfolio of sideline-earning opportunities, and the studies are generally interesting and enjoyable as well.

To register with The Viewers, click on this link (or any of the links in this post) and click on the Join Now button. Enter your details and you will then receive emails from them any time they have a study you may be eligible for. In my experience, payments (or online gift vouchers) normally arrive within a week.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about The Viewers, please do post them below.

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May 18, 2019

Infographic: Transferring Property Ownership After Death

Nick Everything Else property, infographic 0 Comments

Today I’m bringing you an infographic created by I Will, a firm of solicitors who specialize in will writing. I published their previous infographic, An Essential Guide to Writing Your Will, back in 2017.

The infographic below is all about what happens with a property when the owner dies. As the graphic says, when the house is in joint ownership (as is typically the case with a married couple) and the surviving partner wants to go on living there, it is usually just a matter of notifying the Land Registry and (if relevant) the mortgage-holder.

If the house was in sole ownership, though – e.g. after the second partner dies – as the graphic says, the situation is more complicated, and there are various important things the executor will need to take into account.

It’s quite a long graphic, so please take a little time to scroll down it, and I’ll see you at the other end!

Thanks again to I Will Solicitors (not an affiliate link) for permission to use their graphic.

The company specializes in Islamic wills, but offers numerous legal services to people of all faiths and none, including Probate, Lasting Power of Attorney, Deputyships, and more. They say, ‘The writing of Sharia-compliant Islamic Wills is our specialty, but we are by no means a “Muslim-only” legal services provider.’

As I have said before on Pounds and Sense, where wills are concerned I strongly recommend using a properly qualified solicitor (and even more so where property is involved). I have had several experiences within my own family where failing to do this has caused serious delays and problems. In my view it really isn’t worth trying to save a few pounds by using a cut-price ‘will-writing service’ or attempting to do it yourself, not to mention all the hassle this can entail.

If you have any comments or questions, as ever, please do post them below.

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May 9, 2019

How to Save Money When Buying a Garden Building

Nick Saving Money property 0 Comments

A garden shed or cabin is a serious purchase. Erecting a building in your garden doesn’t come cheap after all, even if it is made of wood.

As it’s such an expensive buy, you’re going to want to make sure that the shed is going to be fit to serve you for many years to come. The ultimate way to waste money when buying a garden shed is to have to replace the thing after a year or two!

Some shed manufacturers make sheds that look just like their higher-end peers, only they have been built using every shortcut in the book. Some might feature inferior wood varieties, construction methods, glass, or delivery options. Spending a bit more up front and going with a quality supplier will ultimately save you the most money, since it will need minimal maintenance work or repairs over its lifespan. Remember, you’re buying something for years here, not simply a few months!

Unfortunately, there’s not really any getting around the fact that your new shed or cabin is going to cost a reasonable amount. Whilst there are loads of manufacturers that are happy to sell you a building for less than the average asking price, these are often shoddily constructed, and the likely result is an angry customer needing to replace their shed much sooner than they expected.

One possible way to relieve some of the sting from your wallet when buying from a quality manufacturer is to use a discount voucher. This will allow your money to go that little bit further and, ultimately, you’ll end up with a much more rugged and durable building. Remember the mantra: buy cheap, buy twice.

There are loads of different manufacturers around that all run different promotions throughout the year. You’ll find two such special offers– one for Waltons discounts here and one for Shed Store discounts here. Both of these companies offer exceptionally high-quality garden buildings and these promotions make their products a little easier on the pocket.

Save Money by Getting it Right First Time

As is often the case, the best way to save money on a new garden building is to spend a little more up front and go for the highest quality possible. Although it is perhaps counter-intuitive, higher quality sheds pay for themselves in a couple of ways. Firstly, a superior garden building is much more likely to protect whatever you store in it from the elements as well as would-be intruders. If you end up having your lawnmower nicked because you bought a cheap summer house or shed with a rubbish lock, did you really save any money?

Secondly, a higher quality shed will need much less spent on it in terms of either maintenance, repairs, or even replacement. The cost of a new shed is certainly going to be more than whatever you saved by buying the cheap one in the first place. Again, remember the mantra, buy cheap, buy twice.

With that in mind, here are some things to look out for to make sure you get the best shed possible first-time round:

Building materials – Is the wood used suitable for outdoor construction? Look for slow growing varieties and beware of manufacturers not displaying the type they use.
Treatment – Does the product come with a treatment included? Sheds coated in a protective treatment last MUCH longer.
Building techniques – How are components joined together? Look for tongue and groove here over square cut joints or shiplap cladding.
Door hangings – Are doors hung externally or rebated? Rebated doors are much more secure and offer far greater draft exclusion. Are hinges recessed?
Windows – Is the glass thick enough to offer protection? Is it even glass? Are they rebated?
Roof – Does the roof come with an adequate covering? Felting protects sheds from succumbing to the elements and isn’t always included in the asking price.
Delivery – Is delivery included or do the company charge extra for it? How are pieces delivered? Avoid companies unloading components to bigger sheds by hand.

Shop Around Before You Spend

It’s a really good idea to shop around, visit review websites, and read a load of customer reviews about different products. This will give you a good feel for what’s out there. It will also help you to determine if the shed you’re considering is priced highly versus the rest of the market or seems more in keeping with it. Check the different manufacturers’ specifications with the above bullet points in mind. Pay close attention to dimensions of components used. This is a common place for manufacturers to save a bit of money by offering something that isn’t really fit for purpose.

You can even pay a visit to most manufacturers’ showrooms. This allows you to see prospective sheds in action, so to speak. You can look at and touch the products themselves to determine whether the sheds on display have wobbly floors, ill-fitting doors, or other design imperfections.

It’s likely that the shed you were thinking of buying won’t be on display when you visit a particular showroom. Don’t let that put you off, though. You can still learn a lot about the manufacturer by looking at the other products they make. If the rest of their stuff seems exceptional, it would be very bad luck for you to pick the one rotten apple, after all.

By combining your own visits with internet research, you’ll be able to make a reasoned decision about your eventual purchase. It won’t feel quite so much like a stab in the dark and you’re much more likely to end up with a garden building that will last for years with minimal maintenance. Even if it costs an extra £200 up front, if it remains useful for five or more years longer than the cheaper alternative, you’re quids in really!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post, please do leave them below.

This is a collaborative post with WhatShed.co.uk.

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May 6, 2019

As I Write This Letter – How to Make Money with Magazine Letters

Nick Making Money guest post, writing 10 Comments

Today I have a guest post for you from my writing colleague S. Bee (her pen-name) on the subject of making money writing letters and fillers for popular magazines.

This is a money-making sideline I have a soft spot for, as many years ago I started my writing career doing exactly this. I remember, for example, having a series of letters published in The Sun newspaper, for which I received the not-exactly-princely-even-then sum of £2 each. I treasured those cheques when they arrived, though!

It’s good to know that this opportunity still exists, even in this digital age.

Over to S. Bee then…

When I began writing seriously in 2011, I focused on the fiction market for women’s magazines.

As I became more involved in it, I discovered that several of these short story writers had also enjoyed publishing success with letters in national magazines.

More importantly, they’d been paid a small fee for their efforts. If there was no fee, a prize was offered instead.

I thought, Why don’t I have a go at that? So I did, and eagerly began to send letters in.

My spirits were high. Surely I’d see my name and piece in print somewhere? But no. Sadly, I didn’t get anywhere at all!

After a few months, I felt ready to try again. However, this time I carried out research first. I studied the tone and style of the magazine I intended to submit to, and what type of letter was likely to be picked for publication, plus the subject of it. For example, I learned that positive feedback about a previous feature was very popular.

I kept my submission short and snappy – and my hard work paid off. I was absolutely thrilled to see my very first letter published in What’s On TV magazine. I was delighted to receive a payment of £10 for little more than a paragraph.

Since then, I’ve had lots of letters published in Woman’s Weekly, The People’s Friend, Yours, My Weekly, Web User, Vegetarian Living, Take a Break and Your Cat. And lots more in What’s on TV – I even made Star Letter status once! (I was paid £25, instead of their usual £10).

How do I find ideas for letters? It’s easy – you need to think of what could appeal to readers.

For Woman’s Weekly, I once wrote about the tests I undertook for breast cancer. I urged readers not to ignore any call-ups. (Thankfully, I was okay.)

I’ve also been featured with several opinion pieces for the ‘You’re Telling Us’ page in Take a Break magazine. The ‘You’re Telling Us’ question can be found on the TAB Facebook page. They request a photo of yourself and your age, too.

TAB also publish call-outs for a true-life reader experience type of feature in the magazine. I’ve had ‘A letter to your younger self’ piece published and a ‘Christmas cringes’ one too. These can pay more – up to £100.

The TAB letters page, ‘We’ve Got Mail’ currently pays £25 and £50 for the star letter. They like photos with the letter.

TAB also have call-outs in the mag for paid photo opportunities, e.g. pets or kids in a messy/awkward situation.

Some publications offer a prize to the star letter only.

I attempt it, and often I don’t win the prize, yet I’m still pleased to see my piece published.

I’ve won a small beauty prize for my star letter in the free TESCO magazine, and being selected for Your Cat‘s star letter scooped me a range of cat toys and biscuits. Your Cat will pay for true life cat tales, too.

Update: Tesco now only award a prize to the star letter in their mag – it’s a £50 Tesco voucher. That’s bound to help with the grocery bill!

My prize letters in a monthly writing magazine netted me a free one-year magazine subscription – twice! (a fantastic saving of around £160).

If you have a hobby, e.g. computers, gardening, cooking – pick a suitable magazine that accompanies it. For instance, my hubby is a very good cook and baker. He’s had several recipes published in Take a Break‘s My Favourite Recipe magazine. (He was awarded £25 per recipe.)

It’s not just letters. Some magazines also publish short poems.

I’ve had several poems published in the fortnightly Yours magazine, and a weekly, The People’s Friend. These magazines like rhyming, upbeat, reader-friendly material.

TPF award a small prize (I’m not sure, but it used to be a tea caddy and a packet of loose tea) if your poem is selected for publication in their letters page – however, they pay £15 per poem if you target your poems to their other publications, e.g. their fiction special, annual or fireside book. The magazine has different email addresses for these slots.

Yours pay £10 in gift vouchers per poem. The vouchers can be spent practically anywhere. They pay a £10 gift voucher for a normal published letter too.

Yours regularly publishes call-outs in the mag for specific reader’s memory/nostalgia experiences. They sometimes require photos to accompany the feature, so you’d need to scan these in and send them with your article [or of course send digital photos – Nick].

Don’t forget that fillers such as top tips, funny photos, a ‘pet of the week’ type of feature, puzzles, jokes, beauty queries, travel articles (think about what’s interesting about about your town/city – photos required) and ‘items to be valued’ pieces are high in demand, too.

I’ve had my childhood teddy valued in Real People magazine (I earned £25). My cat has been featured in My Weekly (another £25) and I’ve had beauty questions featured in Take a Break. (They pay £25 for this.)

I’ve also made it to the TAB letters page, with their ‘What a laugh!’ slot. I was £50 richer for just a few lines of text!

A writer friend of mine likes to create her own word puzzles (not necessarily crosswords) and she has these published regularly in Real People magazine. If published, the fee for this is either £30 or £50.

I’m not a gardener, but my writing friends who are have hit the jackpot with letters and hints in gardening magazines. Prizes and cash are up for grabs.

Although you won’t be able to earn a regular salary with letters and fillers, the odd £10 here and there soon adds up.

Bear in mind that no matter how many letters you submit, you won’t be chosen every week. Consider the fact that the editor or team will become familiar with your name. However, saying that, they do appreciate regular contributors – just don’t swamp them!

Publications are always looking for well-written, entertaining, intelligent letters that fit in well with the editorial style of the magazine.

Always be cheerful and polite, don’t waffle, and make sure you follow the magazine’s submission instructions. It’s all done via email now.

Your subject heading should be: ‘Letter for consideration’.

Work can be edited, changed or even added to – to me, this doesn’t matter as I want to be published and I want to be paid.

Some magazines let you know beforehand if your letter/filler/poem has been selected, and some don’t. If you submit material regularly, this means a weekly scan of the magazines in newsagents or the supermarket to check if your piece is in.

Some prizes arrive completely out of the blue. One Christmas, I won a prize of a large jigsaw puzzle, yet I hadn’t a clue who had sent it or what publication my letter was in. All I had was a snail mail letter saying ‘Congratulations!’ from the makers of the jigsaw, which didn’t really help.

Later, I realised I must have been awarded star letter in Down Your Way, a Yorkshire-based nostalgic magazine. I quickly emailed the Ed and he confirmed it. (Update: I’ve won this prize a second time with a piece about phone boxes.) As it was approaching Christmas, it came in very handy as a gift for a family member who loves jigsaws.

So, what’s stopping you from having a go?

If I can do it, so can you! Get writing and good luck!

S. Bee

Thank you to S. Bee for an interesting and inspiring article.

I would just add that you don’t need any special writing skills to win cash and prizes this way. It’s really just a matter of keeping your ear to the ground about current events and issues, and coming up with positive, upbeat angles on them.

S. Bee isn’t being paid for this article, but she asked me to mention a charity ebook she is promoting on behalf of the RSPCA (who receive all profits). It’s called Paws for Thought – 27 Tail Thumping Stories (see front cover, right). It’s for a great cause and only costs £2.99 from Amazon as a Kindle ebook. If you enjoy short stories – and especially if you love animals – why not check it out? 🙂

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this article, please do post them below.

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