Lots of us need some extra help at times, but we don’t want the hassle (or expense) of hiring an employee. If that applies to you, have you considered using a remote (or virtual) assistant?
As the name suggests, remote assistants don’t work from their client’s premises. Rather, thanks to the power of the internet and electronic communications, they work remotely from another location, which might be an office or their own home.
They could therefore be based anywhere in the world as long as it has the connectivity required. For cultural and communication reasons, however, there are obviously advantages to using assistants in the same country or area.
So how do you hire a remote assistant? There are various methods, but if you want a simple, cost-effective solution, you might like to check out Remote Bob. This fast-growing company has offices in London and Croatia and offers a remote assistant service to individuals and businesses across the UK (and further afield).
So what services can you expect your remote assistant (or team) to offer? Here are just some of the services Remote Bob offers to individuals:
Planning holidays
Ordering groceries or food
Booking sports activities and hobbies
Organizing holidays
Searching for a new flat or apartment
Helping with online clothes shopping
Helping with picking restaurants
Filling in some forms on your behalf
Managing your household
Managing your lifestyle
Buying birthday presents
Managing personal budgets
Research on properties to buy
For entrepreneurs and businesses, the services Remote Bob offer include:
Supporting office teams and directors with general operational tasks
Scheduling and coordinating meetings, appointments, presentations, and other office-related events
Opening, sorting and distributing incoming electronic correspondence
Handling requests by answering questions and providing information and data
Organizing and scheduling travel arrangements
Booking conference calls, rooms, taxis, couriers, hotels, etc.
Developing and updating administrative workflow to improve efficiency
Preparing and modifying documents including correspondence, reports, drafts, memos and emails
Assisting in the preparation of presentation materials and agendas for meetings
Maintaining electronic filing systems
Resolving administrative problems and inquiries
Performing general accounting and bookkeeping duties
Examining and reconciling expense reports of office staff
Writing letters and emails on behalf of office staff
Maintaining up-to-date employee holiday records
The staff working at Remote Bob are all EU-based, thus minimizing any potential issues with time zones and significant cultural differences.
Remote Bob handle people management, regulatory arrangements and payroll, so you don’t have to worry about this. They say they only work with proficient, well trained and approved specialists, and pledge to deliver work on time and under budget.
Special Offer
Remote Bob are kindly offering Pounds and Sense readers a huge (36%) discount on their service. By clicking through this link you can request their Personal Assistant service for one month (five hours per week) for £320 per month instead of the normal £500. Just remember to enter the code SENSE2019 in the Discount Code box.
Note that completing the inquiry form does not create any obligation to buy. Clearly everyone will have their own particular requirements for their remote assistant/s, so Remote Bob say, ‘Talk to us, tell us about your goals, your worries and your hopes. We will then construct a customized route for all your needs.’ Only when you are fully satisfied with the proposed solution will you be asked to make any commitment to buy.
I would also highly recommend you spend a little time looking around the Remote Bob website, as this will give you a good idea of the range of services on offer and how the platform works in practice.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. If you click through a link in it and make a purchase, I will receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect in any way the service you receive or the price you pay.
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Today I have a guest article for you from my fellow UK blogger Neil Welsh.
Neil has a special interest (and expertise) in diabetes. In this article he talks about prediabetes, a common condition that can lead on to Type 2 diabetes if no action is taken.
Older people – such as many readers of my blog – are particularly prone to this condition. If it develops into full-blown diabetes, it can have life-changing (and potentially life-limiting) consequences. It’s therefore very important to be aware about it and to take action if required. I have a special interest in prediabetes myself, for reasons I will discuss at the end of the article.
Over to Neil then…
Prediabetes is no joke. If left untreated it can develop into full Type 2 diabetes in as little as 3-5 years and lead to complications such as nerve damage, heart disease, increased risk of stroke and potential blindness and amputations.
The tricky part is that it’s not easy to know if you are actually prediabetic or not. According to Diabetes UK, an estimated seven million people in the UK have prediabetes: an under-diagnosed condition that makes them up to 15 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
So what are the warning signs and how do you know if you do have prediabetes?
There are four commonly accepted indicators of prediabetes which are:
– Increased thirst
– Frequent urination
– Fatigue
– Blurred vision
Now, on their own, these are not particularly great indicators. I frequently display a number of these symptoms on a regular basis! So, realistically, these indicators need to be considered in conjunction with other risk factors. You are more likely to develop prediabetes if you have any of these risk factors:
– Being overweight
– Being inactive
– Having high blood pressure
– Having high cholesterol
– Having a family history of prediabetes
– Being of South Asian, African-Caribbean or Black African descent.
– Being over 40 years old
The only way to know for sure if you are prediabetic is to have a blood test. This can either be carried out by your medical professional or using a home test kit.
One of the most effective tests is the HbA1c test. HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. This blood test shows how much glucose (sugar) in your body sticks to your red blood cells. The result tells you your average blood sugar level for the past 2-3 months. If your body is not using sugar properly it builds up in your blood and sticks to the cells.
The longer you have had high blood sugar levels, the higher your HbA1C will be. Less than around 40mmol/mol (6%) is considered normal, 40-47mmol/mol (6.0-6.4%) is considered prediabetic, with anything over 48mmol/mol (6.4%) indicating diabetes. It’s different from an FPG (Fasted Plasma Glucose finger-prick test), which is a snapshot of your blood sugar levels at a particular time, on a particular day.
So what should you do if you are concerned that you might have prediabetes? The number one thing is to act now. Take it seriously and avoid the medical complications that may be around
the corner. Prediabetes is totally reversible. Type 2 diabetes is considered reversible only to the extent that you will be in remission and drug free, but the threat of the condition returning will be constant. The sooner you act on prediabetes, the simpler the reversal process will be.
If you are diagnosed with prediabetes or if you are just concerned that it might be on the horizon then the course of action is the same: make changes to your diet and lifestyle.These changes do not have to be dramatic; in fact, you are statistically better off if they are not. An old Chinese proverb says that it is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to take a great leap forwards only to stumble backwards…and in the case of prediabetes this could not be more true.
Making small changes that are appropriate for you and where you are in your journey is the key to success. Work out where you are now and where you want to be and then take small, consistent
steps in the right direction. It could just save your life!
Neil
About the Author: Neil Welsh specialises in helping people reverse prediabetes. He focuses on working with clients to make changes which product remarkable results. Click here to download Neil’s free Prediabetes Reversal Blueprint, a guide to helping you know what to eat and how to live to stop prediabetes.
Many thanks to Neil for an eye-opening article on an important subject that older people (especially) need to be aware about.
I was actually diagnosed prediabetic myself two years ago. How it happened is that on a routine check-up the doctor found I had hypertension (high blood pressure). As I gather is standard in these circumstances, he prescribed various tests to get to the root of the problem. One of these was an ECG – which came out fine – but another was a blood test. My HbA1C result (referred to above by Neil) was in the region defined as prediabetic.
My doctor was actually pretty dismissive about this. He said, “Prediabetes isn’t something we treat.” That wasn’t good enough for me, though, so I researched the topic and read a number of books about it, including the excellent Reverse Your Diabetes by Dr David Cavan. As a result of all this, I made various changes to my diet and lifestyle, in particular cutting down on carbs. To cut a long story short, when I was tested again earlier this year, my blood test results were back in the normal range. My doctor (I have changed to a different one now) said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep on doing it!’
I should also add that, probably as a result of losing some excess weight through my diet and exercise regime, my blood pressure has has gone down as well, and I am no longer on any medication for this. Win, win!
Anyway, I hope you will read and note the advice from Neil and download his free Prediabetes Reversal Blueprint. You may also want to check out his Habits for Life programme. By taking action now, you really can reduce the risk of developing full-blown diabetes further down the line. And even if you are already diagnosed with T2 diabetes, both Neil and I believe it is possible to improve your blood sugar control through diet and lifestyle changes and potentially reduce the amount of medication you have to take.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, for me or for Neil, please do leave them below.
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We all know how important a will can be for protecting your family. But not all of us get around to it: every year, thousands of people die intestate in the UK. According to one study, this costs bereaved families a collective £175 million in lost assets annually – not to mention the stress of untangling those estates.
If you’ve resolved to write your will this year, there’s a fresh crop of new online services that claim to let you do it quickly and easily from home. But is an online will right for everyone? Let’s take a look.
What is an online will?
An online will is a will that you make on a website, that’s all. The site will ask you questions about your family and your wishes, and use your responses to draft a legally-binding will. All you have to do is print it off and sign it in front of two witnesses.
The benefits of writing your will online
So why would you forgo the traditional solicitor and make your will online? Well…
Online wills are cheaper
Money Advice Service say that a simple will written by a solicitor usually costs between £144-£240. A similar will written using an online service can be much less. The best-rated online will service on TrustPilot, Beyond.life, charges just £90.
Special offers abound
On top of a cheaper initial cost, online will services often have additional special offers: Beyond offer couple’s wills (a will for you and one for your partner) for £135. An optional extra £10 a year subscription gets you unlimited new wills whenever you want, so you don’t have to pay hundreds in legal fees every time a grandchild is born.
Make your will in your own time
As urgent as making a will is, a lot of us don’t have days off to spare for visiting a solicitor. With an online will, this isn’t a problem. You can make a will online in 10 to 30 minutes. You can also do it from home or even in your lunch break.
On Beyond, the service lets you save your progress and log back in later as well – so you can make your will in dribs and drabs whenever you can spare the odd minute.
The drawbacks of making a will online
So that’s the pros taken care of – now for the cons. When is an online will not the best choice for you?
You can’t make complex requests
Online will services all make what’s called a ‘simple will’. This means you can use them to leave your money, assets and property to people, pass on gifts of belongings, choose guardians for your kids and pets, and select executors.
So far, so good. But if your affairs or your wishes are somewhat complicated, you will need a solicitor to sort out your will. For example, if you own properties abroad, have a difficult family situation, or if you’d like to set up various trusts.
A specialist will from a solicitor will cost upwards of £500, but it’s better to invest in that than try to use an online will to do something it’s not designed for.
You need to take care
Online will services use interactive tools to automate a certain amount of the will drafting process. This is why the will can be so much cheaper, but it also means that you have to make absolutely sure you’re giving the site the correct information. The site only knows what you tell it.
This isn’t a deal-breaker for most people. Just make sure you check and double-check all the names, dates of birth and contact details you share with the service. And follow the instructions on signing the will carefully.
You might not get to talk to a person
If you’re not comfortable with making a will without any input from an expert, an online will might not be for you. At Beyond.life, a dedicated team are on hand to advise you via live chat if you have any questions, and every will is checked by their team. But other online will services don’t always offer the same support.
Want to give an online will service a try?
You can see what it’s like to make a will online at Beyond: you can draft the whole will for free, and you’ll only be asked to pay if you choose to download it. Give it a try here.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Beyond.life.
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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.
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.
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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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.
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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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).
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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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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I recently spent a weekend at Lake Vyrnwy, a few miles over the border from Shropshire into Wales. I had wanted to visit the area since watching a TV programme a few months ago about the history of the lake.
Lake Vyrnwy is actually a man-made lake (or reservoir if you prefer). It was created to provide a water supply for Liverpool in the 19th century. It’s about 25 miles from Oswestry. I’ve embedded a Google Map below showing the area.
My Hotel
I stayed at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and Spa (pictured below), which is near the dam at the western end of the lake. I booked on the Booking.com website.
The hotel dates back to 1890 – it was originally built to accommodate senior managers and engineers on the construction project. Since then it has been extended several times, although as recently as the 1970s it was still owned by the water company (it’s now in private hands). The hotel doesn’t make as much of its interesting history as it could, in my opinion.
Anyway, I pushed the metaphorical boat out and booked a Premier Lake View Room via Booking.com. The view certainly didn’t disappoint, as the cover photo (taken from my balcony) indicates.
My room was on the top floor, up various flights of stairs. One thing to bear in mind if you plan to stay here is that there is no lift in the main hotel, though I was told there is one in the spa (which I didn’t go in, partly because you have to pay extra – see below).
My room was spacious and comfortable, with all the features you might expect from a four-star hotel, including tea and coffee-making equipment, flat-screen TV, refrigerator, walk-in shower, and so forth. There was also good free wifi in the room, and in the public areas of the hotel too (just as well, as there was no mobile phone signal!).
I had my breakfast and evening meals in the hotel. Breakfast was included in the fee I paid. Evening meals were extra, though to be honest there isn’t really anywhere else to eat in the vicinity (apart from a couple of cafes that aren’t open in the evening anyway).
A lot of people rave about the food at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. Personally I thought it was good but not exceptional. It was let down by little things, e.g. at breakfast on the first day the muffin with my Eggs Benedict was burnt. I went for the full Welsh breakfast the next day, and on my final day decided to chance the Eggs Benedict again. This time the muffin wasn’t burnt but dense and tasteless – I’m guessing it had come straight out of the freezer. I’ve had much better Eggs Benedicts at my local Wetherspoons. For the money I was paying I’d have expected better really.
You have two dining options at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel: the restaurant and ‘less formal’ brasserie. My top tip would be to stick to the restaurant and give the brasserie a miss. On my second night I tried it and found it crowded (it’s in a small room and the tables are pushed close together) and noisy. There were also young children running around apparently unsupervised. Okay, the brasserie might be a bit cheaper, but the main restaurant offers a much more relaxed, civilised dining experience, and much better views across the lake as well.
Financials
As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a few words about this.
For my Premier Lake View Room (with single occupancy) I was charged £589 including VAT for three nights. Obviously I could have booked a cheaper room without the lake view, but in my opinion it would be a shame to stay at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and not have this.
Evening meals in the restaurant were charged at £27 for two courses or £35 for three (there were supplements for certain dishes such as sirloin steak). You do also get a complimentary ‘taster’ of fresh soup with home-made focaccia bread, which I enjoyed and recommend.
At the brasserie you order from an A La Carte menu, so the price depends on what you choose.
As mentioned earlier, the hotel also has a spa, for which you have to pay an extra £10 a day admission charge. The spa has a thermal suite, including a sauna, steam room, ice fountain, whirlpool, and tepidarium (no swimming pool though). It offers various treatments at extra cost, including massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and so on..
Activities
One thing I should mention before describing what I did is that when I visited – the weekend before Easter – it was bitterly cold. The temperatures typically didn’t rise above 4 or 5 degrees, and when you factor in the wind chill as well, it was probably around freezing. I was very glad I remembered to take my quilted winter coat, gloves, scarf and woolly hat!
First Day
On my first day I walked to the dam down the precipitous bridle path from the hotel (I asked the receptionists how many guests they lost on this – they laughed but didn’t reply).
The dam is undoubtedly impressive and leads to a small tourist area with a visitor centre; this is a good place to start your exploration. A short film plays constantly inside with alternating English and Welsh narration. It tells you about the history of the lake, and the various plants and animals that live around (and on) it today. Nature conservation is quite a major theme around the lake.
Also in the village is an RSPB shop and a bird hide that is well worth a visit (see picture below). There is also a friendly cafe called The Old Barn, and Artisans, a cafe and shop where you can also hire bicycles. I had planned to do this myself, but the very cold weather dissuaded me. I did see quite a few – admittedly much younger – people cycling around the lake, though.
A short distance away is a sculpture park, and I recommend this if you fancy an enjoyable walk that isn’t too taxing. The sculptures are all made of wood, and some are quite striking. This one is called Mother Earth, for example.
In the afternoon I walked the opposite way from the hotel to the Victorian Straining Tower (picture below). This Gothic-style building filters the lake water through mesh before it starts its journey to Liverpool. Unfortunately it’s not open to the public, but you can admire it from the road. It’s a pity there isn’t an explanation board, just a forbidding ‘Keep Out’ notice.
Second Day
On my second day I decided to drive around the lake, stopping at points of interest along the way. There is a good (if narrow) road all round the lake, about 12 miles in total.
I had picked up a leaflet from the hotel reception about walks in the area, and decided to do the two-mile round trip to Rhiwargor Falls. This walk starts near the east end of the lake at a convenient car park. Despite the cold I enjoyed this. I didn’t see another soul on foot the whole time, although I did come eye to eye with a few sheep…
The waterfall is pretty impressive, and I imagine if it has rained recently it is even more so. Here is a video I recorded.
On the way back I stopped at another bird hide on the side of the lake, but there wasn’t a lot to see. I spotted a Canada goose and three mandarin ducks and duly logged them on the whiteboard. I erased the previous recorded sighting of six pterodactyls, as I suspected this wasn’t entirely genuine.
In the afternoon I took a short walk from the hotel to visit a church I had noticed before. This turned out to be St Wddyn’s (pictured below).
St Wddyn’s was built in 1880 to replace the original church of that name that was flooded (along with the rest of the old village of Llanwddyn) when the lake was filled. It is a quiet, peaceful place with some beautiful stained glass windows. It is well worth a visit if you are staying at the hotel, as it’s barely 10 minutes’ walk away. Again, I didn’t see another living soul while I was there.
Closing Thoughts
So that was my visit to Lake Vyrnwy. I didn’t hang about on my last day, as it was still very cold, and the wind was getting up as well.
I thought the area was beautiful and unspoiled (if you can say that about a man-made reservoir) and the hotel itself very good despite my minor reservations.
It’s probably not a place to take young children as there wouldn’t be a great deal to occupy them. But if you enjoy beautiful scenery and (especially) if you like walking, running or cycling, it would make a great short break destination. The Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and Spa is also a popular venue for people celebrating their honeymoon or anniversary, or wanting some serious pampering in the Spa. In view of the many steps and lack of lifts it’s probably not ideal if you’re physically infirm, though.
If you like the idea of visiting the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and Spa, if you follow any of the links in this article you can get a £15 discount via the Booking.com website. This is credited to your card once you have completed your break. I will also receive £15 as a reward for introducing you 🙂
As always, if you have any comments or questions about Lake Vyrnwy or the hotel, please do post them below.
Note: You can get the £15 discount on Booking.com wherever you go on your next visit, be it Lake Vyrnwy or elsewhere. Just click on my link and follow the instructions!
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I was gifted this automatic tyre inflator from RING Automotive – a company specializing in this type of product – in exchange for publishing an honest review. So here are my thoughts about it.
The RING RTC1000 is not the first automatic tyre inflator I have ever used, but overall it is the best I have tried to date. It certainly beats the old foot-pump I used in bygone days, and is a lot more convenient (and probably more accurate) than the machines on garage forecourts. And once you’ve bought it, of course, it’s free to use!
The RING RTC1000 Rapid Digital Tyre Inflator is undoubtedly smart looking. I like the round, flat design, which makes it very stable.
It comes with a range of accessories, including adaptors for bicycle tyres, balls and other inflatables, and even a set of plastic gloves for keeping your hands clean. There are also some spare valve dust caps and a spare fuse. These are all useful, thoughtful additions, though it would be nice if there was a compartment somewhere within the device in which to keep them.
Using the RTC1000 is simple and intuitive. You plug it in to your car’s cigarette lighter socket (it was quite a tight fit in my Vauxhall Corsa) and turn on the ignition. You can then set the target pressure you want by turning the small dial under the display (see photo below).
If you prefer, you can change from the default PSI to Bars or kPA by pressing down the dial (see below). This will cycle through the pressure measurement options available.
Once you have attached the air hose to your tyre using the brass valve connector, the device then operates to inflate it to your target pressure. I found this quick and surprisingly quiet. I did, though, find that it stopped inflating just below the selected target figure. I would guess that this is a safety feature to allow for any possible margin of error in the measurement, but it is still a little frustrating. Of course, you can get around it by setting a target pressure slightly above what you actually want, but I don’t really see why you should have to do this.
On the plus side, the device has a small recessed area on top in which to put the valve dust cap while inflating the tyre. This avoids the scenario of putting a cap on the ground and having it roll away and vanish (we’ve all been there). There is also a built-in LED light, which is great if you need to check your tyre pressures in poor lighting conditions.
Another welcome feature is the long power lead, which winds up inside the unit. There is also a recess on the side in which the air hose fits, so everything is neatly out of the way when not in use. And it comes with a zipped grey carrying case as well.
Overall, I think the RING RTC1000 is a great piece of kit to have in your car, with some excellent features and accessories. It is also by a distance the most user-friendly tyre inflator I have tried. It is a pity about the minor niggles mentioned above, but they don’t seriously detract from the quality of the product. If you need an automatic tyre inflator that is quick and easy to use (and reasonably priced), it is well worth your consideration.
The RING RTC1000 Rapid Digital Tyre Inflator is available from all good motor accessory stores and online suppliers including Amazon.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this review, please do leave them below.
Disclosure: As stated above, this is a sponsored post. I was gifted a RING RTC1000 tyre inflator in exchange for publishing a review of it here. This has not affected my review in any way. All comments and opinions set out in this post are mine and mine alone.
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Today I have another great giveaway to share with you. I’ve joined forces with some of my fellow UK Money Bloggers to put together a giveaway of not one, not two, but three Marks & Spencer Easter Hampers.
These hampers sell for £50 apiece on the M&S website. They contain an assortment of Easter goodies, beautifully presented in a stylish dark brown hamper. The full contents are as follows:
Assam tea (25g/10 bags)
Caramel eggs (120g)
Simnel cake bar (400g)
Cheeky chicks (120g/pack of 6)
Mini luxury hot cross buns (325g/pack of 9)
Hide and seek egg hunt bag (135g)
British strawberry soft set jam (113g)
Chicky choccy speckled eggs (100g)
8 Easter biscuits (200g)
Bubbly bunny (23g) x 4
Presented in a dark-stained wicker hamper with brown faux-leather handle and straps
In the event of supply difficulties, or with discontinued products, M&S say they reserve the right to offer alternative goods or packaging of equal quality and value. If you need to know about any possible allergens in the contents, full information can be found on the M&S website.
Here then are all the details you need to enter, provided by my colleague Emma Drew (who is co-ordinating this event). Good luck! It would be great if a Pounds and Sense reader wins one (or more) of the prizes 🙂
This Easter, some of the UK Money Bloggers have come together to offer you the chance to win one of three M&S Easter hampers. Three lucky winners will win an Easter hamper delivered before Easter. Keep reading to find out how you can enter.
Who are the bloggers behind the giveaway?
The UK Money Bloggers are a group of bloggers, podcasters, and influencers in the UK who are passionate about helping you to improve your finances. Whether you want to make more money, spend less, understand investing or pay off debts, we all contribute something unique to the community. Here’s who we are:
The giveaway is open until midnight on 14th April 2019, when the winners will be chosen.
The giveaway is open to UK residents only.
Winners will be contacted by email from hello@emmadrew.info
Should the Easter hampers be out of stock then a suitable replacement will be found.
How to enter
You can enter by completing as many of the Rafflecopter widget entry options below as you would like. You can also enter daily by tweeting from the Rafflecopter widget.
Comment with your best money saving tip to unlock more entry options.
