Richmond is probably the most beautiful suburb of London with the river Thames and numerous designer shops and good resaurants and pubs. We are just twenty minutes from central London on overground train and about half an hour from the big London museums by underground. Kew Gardens is on our doorstep, Windsor Castle and the Royal Palace at Hampton Court are all easily accessible. We are two minutes from St Margarets Village, which offers several highly regarded local restaurants, delicatessen, small supermarket, butcher, cheese shop and local pub. Five minutes walk away is leafy Marble Hill Park, with a stately home and beautiful riverside walks. You can then take the little ferry across the Thames to explore another stately home, Ham House. Or take a walk and have a drink at the old pubs, the White Swann or the Barmey Arms. Alternatively, walk into Richmond and admire the famous views from Richmond Hill immortalised by many painters (the original home of the celebrated painter Turner is just around the corner from our house!) The are many trails for cycling, a golf course and open air swimming pool nearby.

I am a BBC journalist, my wife Anne is a lawyer, we have a seven year old daughter Francesca, a five year old son Luke. We have exchanged five times with families in Italy, Spain and France and every time both familes had a great experience. We can only exchange during school holidays.