Holidays that are out of the ordinary

The Jacksons invested in the Holiday Property Bond in December 1988. “My sister and her husband were Bondholders,” Elizabeth recalls, “and Geoff and I came into a small inheritance when my parents died. It wasn’t a huge sum of money, but it seemed sensible to do something with it that we could all enjoy, rather than have it sit there languishing in a bank somewhere. For one thing my mother and father would have preferred it that way! The Holiday Property Bond was a known quantity to us – so that’s what we chose to do with it.”

Having joined HPB at the end of 1988, Geoff and Elizabeth took their first Bond holiday in summer of the following year – to Constant, in France’s Dordogne region. “A superb experience,” Geoff says, “and one that reconfirmed our decision to invest.”

Since then the Jacksons have used their Bond extensively. Overseas trips include Stigliano in Tuscany; Encosta Cabo Girão in Madeira; La Reserva de Biniorella in Majorca (“especially out of season – so many interesting places to go”); and the Bond’s three French sites – Le Mont de St Siméon in Île de France, just east of Paris; Le Manoir du Hilguy in Brittany; and, of course, Constant (“one of our favourites, rather like the UK in the 1950s. Changing a bit now though.”). In the UK the Jacksons have holidayed at Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire; St Brides Castle in Pembrokeshire; Sibton Park in Kent; Langton House in Dorset; Lodge Yard in the Yorkshire Dales; Henllys in Anglesey (“many times”); and Duloe Manor in Cornwall, where this photograph was taken.

“One of the things we love about HPB is that we can be as active – or not – as we want to be,” says Geoff. “We both love gardens, which are a feature at most HPB sites. I like to walk, and all the sites are in good walking country. And we like to sit and while away the hours in tranquil surroundings – doing crosswords, reading, or just having a snooze! Our Bond homes are very restful places.”

Pictured with Elizabeth and Geoff are son Matthew, his wife Sarah, and children Thomas, two, and Adam, four. “Matthew and his family don’t tend to holiday independently of us, using our Points – though they’re welcome to them if we can spare them,” says Elizabeth. “But it’s funny, they quite like to come along with us when invited! We love it though – the chance to spend quality time, three generations of the family together. You can’t beat it. Our other son, Paul, is an Assistant Pastor; he and his family don’t get to benefit from the Bond quite so much (though we did all get together for a wonderful weekend at Henllys at the beginning of March to celebrate Geoff’s 70th birthday), but we’re sure they will, in time.”

For the future, are there any sites the Jacksons particularly want to visit? “This may surprise you – but we’re really got our hearts set on Merlewood in the southern Lake District, the Bond’s newest home,” says Geoff. “It’s only a stone’s throw for us; we’ve called in from time to time to check on developments, and it’ll be great to see and enjoy the finished article.”

“Investing in the Bond was one of the best decisions we could have made,” Elizabeth reflects. “We’re not exactly exceptional: there’s Geoff, and there’s me, and our boys, and our grandchildren, and we all muddle along somehow, just like most families do. Mr and Mrs Average, if you like. Who, thanks to HPB, have enjoyed well over 20 years of way above-average holidays!”