We’d been saying it for years. “Let’s all go away.” “Yeah, we should.” “Definitely this year.” And then… nothing.

Until Emma booked it.

“I’ve sorted a big house in the Wye Valley with Big House Holiday Lets. You’re all coming.”

And somehow… we did.

There were about 14 of us.

Mixed group. Couples, kids, Dave (who stayed longer than planned).

Emma said booking it was the easiest part — she rang Big House Holiday Lets, told them what we needed, and they came back with a few options that actually made sense. They are specialists in large self catering group stays so it made sense. We needed somehwere that was easy for us all to reach so opted for large houses Herefordshire.

We ended up at Brookside — and honestly, it was spot on - even a heated pool!

The first half hour was the usual chaos.

Bags, room picking, kettle questions.

Then drinks came out.

And that was it.

The house did all the work.

Big kitchen, loads of space, enough room for everyone to do their own thing without feeling separate.

People drifted in and out, some outside, some in the kitchen, someone always near food.

It just worked.

The best bits weren’t planned.

They were:

• Coffee chats in the morning

• Long walks that turned into longer ones (we lost Mike for a while when he got distracted by a couple of local dogs, pugs I think)

• 

• Everyone slowly gathering for food

• Evenings that stretched without anyone noticing

Food wasn’t stressful.

It became part of the weekend.

Cooking, chatting, sharing — no rush, no pressure.

Saturday summed it up.

Some went out to Symonds Yat, others stayed in.

No one felt like they were missing out.

At one point, someone said:

“This is what we always meant, isn’t it?”

And they were right.

Sunday was slow. Comfortable.

And when someone said, “We should do this again,” it actually felt real.

Now we’re already talking about the next one.

Maybe Holly Tree House. Maybe Wye Rapids House.

Emma’s on it, obviously.

If you’ve been talking about getting everyone together…

Just do it.

Having Big House Holiday Lets help organise it makes it ridiculously easy and for group accommodation Wye Valley you can't get better.

And once you’ve done it once…

You won’t go back to “we should” again.