Where was my first experience of villa holidays?
Hmm, not quite the answer you’re expecting, perhaps.
As a youngster, born not long after the war (gosh, did I say that?!) – times were tough for my parents. They were farmers, with a house which needed renovating and a farm which needed money to buy stock. So, holidays were scarce. In particular, holidays with both parents were almost non-existent. I think I only remember one occasion when Dad managed to come away with us.
Mum took us on holiday to a hotel in Ayr – and that was a real adventure. She loaded the three of us up in to the car, drove to Ayr and found the hotel ok. When she opened the boot (trunk) to get the luggage out, she found that she had not only brought the luggage, but Dad’s working collie dog, Laddie, had also climbed in! What a panic – she had to find a way to get him back to help with the farm work; although I am sure we would have loved it if he’d stayed with us, he was needed back home. A trip to the local bus depot – and it was arranged that Laddie would travel back the 50 miles home by bus and Dad would collect him at the end of the road. Simple pleasures!
Mum was an entrepreneur (I wonder if she would recognise this description of herself!) She saw a new market emerging in tourism and was one of the first to start a bed & breakfast business in our area. She then looked round our farm and saw a farm cottage, standing empty and decided to upgrade it for holidaymakers. There was quite a bit of work to do to it – but once it was done, she did some advertising and, slowly but surely, filled it up with visitors.
That’s where my first experience of self-catering accommodation started!