The luxury of choice, thanks to HPB

John and Linda Corbett have been Bondholders for 15 years. The couple, from Lymm, Cheshire, invested because they wanted a variety of holiday homes, and locations, to choose from. “We could have bought a villa somewhere,” says John, “but we wanted to be able to visit numerous homes, and locations, in the UK and Europe – variety for us, and for our children: Daniel, then 10, and eight-year old Kirsty. My parents had a holiday place in Abersoch, on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales: a lovely spot to be sure; but there are other lovely spots – why limit yourself to just the one?”

To date, the Corbetts have enjoyed numerous HPB holidays. In the UK, they’ve visited Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire (“a beautiful location”); St Brides Castle in Pembrokeshire; Buckland Court in the Cotswolds; The Kings Arms, an HPB-owned former coaching inn adjacent to the Bond’s Lodge Yard home in Askrigg in the Yorkshire Dales; and the HPB-owned Ivy House hotel at Braithwaite in Cumbria, a stone’s throw from HPB’s Braithwaite Court site. “We like walking, so we tend to gravitate to the sites surrounded by good walking country,” says Linda. “Which, in practice, is most of them! We like to take our dog, Molly, with us – so the fact that so many sites are dog-friendly is another plus.” Overseas they’ve been to El Balcón de Santa Ana in La Gomera, the Canary Islands; La Reserva de Biniorella in Majorca; Stigliano in Tuscany, Italy (“Siena was fantastic – and buzzing; we were there just after the local canton won the famous ‘Palio’ horserace”); Santa Rosa in Lanzarote, the Canary Islands; Constant in France’s Dordogne region; and Le Manoir du Hilguy in Brittany, northwest France.

As well as walking, the Corbetts have latterly become keen cyclists. John and Linda have done the 64-mile Manchester-to-Blackpool ride, the 29-mile Great Manchester Cycle and the Cheshire 100, all in aid of Manchester’s Christies cancer hospital.

“We took our bikes to Hilguy,” says Linda. “Cycling around the Breton countryside was a lovely, relaxed way to explore the region.”

The Corbetts’ association with the Bond’s Breton château goes a mite deeper than that though. Son Daniel, no longer 10 but now a strapping 25-year-old and a qualified tennis coach to boot, “did” a summer there a few years ago running an HPB Activity Club, a feature at several of our overseas sites during the Easter and summer school holidays, popular with both children – and their parents! “He loved it,” says John. “Teaching the kids to play a bit of tennis – and just generally getting them involved in doing fun stuff, while mums and dads had a bit of a break; a rewarding experience for all, I’d say.”

Daniel has recently started using his parents’ Bond for his own holidays. “He’s just back from Lanzarote, and I’m sure has his eye on other options,” says Linda. “It’s great to be able to let the children use our Holiday Points. Just as long as they leave enough for us!”

Pressed to name a favourite site though, the Corbetts plump for Henllys in Anglesey, North Wales. “It’s a beautiful spot, with lovely views and nice grounds, on a glorious ‘natural’ island,” says John. “Plus which, I play golf from time to time – not rabidly, but it’s something I enjoy – and to have a Championship-standard golf course right there on site is a big bonus.”

So, where next for the Corbetts? “We’re going to Lower Knapp Farm in Devon next year,” says Linda. “I’m keen to visit Physkos, in Turunç – I’ve always had a soft spot for the Turkish coast. And we’d both love to visit Coreggia in Puglia; southern Italy is so beautiful, and so relaxing.”

“But we know that wherever we go, there will be no unpleasant surprises,” adds John. “The standards are of the highest, across all the sites. Self-catering it may be, but HPB’s accommodation and levels of service are up there with the best hotels.”