Porlock Vale Exmoor
s e t i r u o Tea m fav GILL NICHOLLS Property Manager Gill has spent most of her life living in north Cornwall, a breathtaking area which combines wild coastland, moors and tors, farmland and fishing villages galore. Gill’s was a farming family, she explains, “We had our own summer visitors helping with the lambs and dairy goats.” She started working for Helpful Holidays in 2000 after spending 18 years building up the West
40 HH7_Staff Favourites_2.00.indd 40
Country property portfolio for a Welsh-based company. “Providing holiday accommodation sounds so simple,” says Gill, “but there’s a staggering choice, most of which can be accessed over the internet. So getting it right, from the start, is essential for success. And that’s where I come in – as a property manager with Helpful Holidays, I guide all sorts of people at all sorts of stages in their holiday home ownership. Some are at the early stage of looking to buy a suitable place, some have plans on the kitchen table, some already run accommodation but are looking to improve things, some own medieval manors or even castles! At Helpful Holidays we advise all along the way to tick important boxes. “It’s not all about property though,”adds Gill. “A holiday home owner’s attitude is very important – a real desire to offer a true welcome as you would if friends were coming to stay.
to just about most places in the South West and love the lush wooded valleys, dramatic coast and everywhere in between.” Despite living in Cornwall, Devon is very special for Gill: “Apart from my stunningly beautiful stretch of home coast, Exmoor is one of my favourite places – wild, uncompromising, like Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. Anyone who’s travelled along the A39 from Lynmouth to Porlock will know how breathtaking it is, with views across to South Wales. And yet, dip down into wooded valleys – Heddon’s Mouth, Oare valley – and you could be a million miles from anywhere. Exactly what’s needed for the majority of people who live cheek by jowl, day in, day out in teeming suburban communities to relax and unwind. “That’s why I feel so lucky to be living and working in such a fantastic environment.”
“Over the 30 plus years I’ve been involved in tourism, I’ve travelled
| Enquiries and Bookings 01647 434360 | www.helpfulholidays.co.uk
27/06/2016 16:49