Our home grown holiday in 2009 found us abandoning our soggy campsite and heading for a hotel, bed and breakfast or anywhere that provided shelter, hot water and warm food. Yes it was the year of holidays at home with more brits than ever opting for a UK holiday due to the recession. Our experience of a UK holiday was to say the least a little disappointing. The south west of England is undoubtedly beautiful, however we seemed to travel mile upon mile without as much of a glimpse at the views. The Devon banks that border the roads and lanes leave only the odd fleeting glimpse of the countryside through farm gates which was frustrating for us and our increasingly restless children. The driving rain that forced us and many others from the campsite, also ensured our confinement at our bed and breakfast accommodation. Our next holiday will most definitely be abroad, away from the UK s jammed roads, packed resorts and miserable weather.

In order to alleviate some of the negatives from our UK holiday, I set about booking our break for 2010. After a brief family consultation, I sat down in front of the PC and browsed the search results for a mountain holiday. I was instantly impressed by a particular web site, with further investigation into the facilities and easy going approach at this exclusive mountain retreat in Bulgaria firmly clinching the deal. Sadly, the mountain retreat was booked sometime ahead with no vacancies at all during 2010. After becoming so excited by what we had seen on the web site, the children finally convinced me to make a quick call to the owners, which turned out to be a good decision. I was informed by a well spoken gentleman that our interest would be noted if any vacancies appeared during 2010 and that they had just received a cancellation notice for a two week period during September 2009. Brilliant, the whole family nodded in agreement, we were heading out to the mountains for our second holiday of the year. The booking procedure was very simple and the next day I received our booking confirmation and balance of payment invoice. Also attached to the welcome email was a thoughtful booking form, which asked a few simple questions about our personal requirements during our mountain holiday.

Despite our flight being delayed, we were met at Sofia airport by a friendly Bulgarian gentleman who made up for his lack of English with a warm smile and genuine mannerisms. Our driver loaded our luggage into a spacious, executive car and we set off for Kardzhali. The journey was broken up with a brief stop for refreshments and before long we were rolling into Kardzhali town for our rendezvous with the owners. We were met by one of our hosts, who offered us additional refreshments while our luggage was transferred into a land rover for the final ascent . There was no doubt in our minds that the Rhodope Mountains are indeed a special place. Upon arriving at our mountain retreat, our decision to try a mountain holiday in Bulgaria was already beginning to surpass our expectations, the location of the house and the views are absolutely stunning.

The self-contained accommodation is of an excellent standard. The apartment delivers the perfect mix of rustic charm with warm wooden floors and furniture coupled with exceptional cleanliness and a wonderfully spacious shower room. Everything was very well presented and the kitchen was fully stocked with seemingly everything we could possibly need for our stay and lots more to boot. My husband and I settled in to the large double bedroom while the kids set up camp in the equally spacious twin bedroom.

During our mountain holiday in Bulgaria we wanted to try a little of everything. The beautiful forest walks, the mountain hiking, the kayaking, the mountain biking and even the fishing had been discussed by the boys when we crossed the river earlier that day. However, it was the life and soul of the village that offered the real fascination for the children. The whole experience of life in the mountains had struck a chord with the kids who were fixated with the animals, wildlife and the way of life to such a degree that my daughter would run outside to join the locals at milking time every day. Our mountain holiday in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria was truly an experience that we will cherish for years to come.

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