So Spring has officially sprung! It might still seem a bit gloomy out there but look around and you’ll see there’s so much going on – birds are busy nesting, the trees are starting to come into leaf, flowers are pushing up and bursting into bloom, and there are clouds of blossom in the hedgerows and in gardens everywhere. It always seems a bit of a struggle from the dark days of December to now, but next weekend the clocks go back so the days will be longer, and soon it will be Easter - a great time of year to get together with a group of family or friends and enjoy a large group holiday in the country.

Well, what a beauty! We’ve been bursting to show you the latest addition to our ever increasing portfolio of large group holiday homes, and at last, here it is – Pippinsands, a gorgeous and very welcoming big holiday cottage in Devon with a hot tub and snooze space for 14. The location? In a word, wonderful – amidst the wide open fields and big skies of the Blackdown Hills, overlooking the Otter Valley, just a mile or so from Honiton. If you crave the kind of holiday that takes you far, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, where you can completely relax and unwind, Pippinsands is for you.

Finding a holiday house for 10 is easy enough but finding a holiday house with plenty to keep you all entertained can be quite a chore – until now. We have this gem in the Devon countryside – Foxhill Lodge, and it’s perfect in every way, it ticks all the boxes. This gorgeous holiday home sleeps 10 and has a hot tub, BBQ lodge, outdoor table tennis and use of an outdoor pool.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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