As I attempt to settle down at the kitchen table for a morning’s work, the inquisitive snout of a white fox terrier vies for my attention. We head outside and I throw his ball across the garden. While I’m up I may as well check on the chickens. “Morning girls!” I shout. They cluck and run toward me as I investigate the coop for eggs. Only one today but their owners will be pleased.
“They’ve not been the best investment so far,” they told me over dinner last night. Today I waved the owners off as they left the Cotswolds for a two-week gallivant around France. While they’re away, my partner and I will take care of the property and its inhabitants: Mr Bingley the dog, three goldfish and three bantam chickens.
Eight months ago, I announced to my family that I was abandoning a well-paid job as a Mayfair-based marketing manager, flogging £175 bottles of wine to the London elite, to become, essentially, a live-in pet nanny. After a long silence on the other end of the phone, my Mum said, “People trust you to have full run of their houses?”
Fifteen five-star reviews later, and since showing them all of the places we’ve travelled to and the beautiful homes we’ve stayed in, they’re converts. Some of my friends have now joined the same house-sitting service as me too, not as a full-time lifestyle, but as a cheaper means of going on holiday and exploring new places. And why not, when you could look after cats in Bordeaux or horses in Valencia, without paying for accommodation?
In 2023, Trusted Housesitters saw a year-on-year increase of 100,000 new sign-ups, and there’s no sign of things slowing down. Since becoming full-time housesitters, this new lease of life has allowed us to break away from decades bound to rising city rents and corporate ladder scaling to pursue our dream creative projects: my partner, a musician, is writing a new album and I’m writing my debut novel. If only I’d known about this in my 20s.
Housesitting is a value exchange of accommodation in reward for the caretaking services of a property and/or animals. Many websites (Trusted Housesitters, Rover and House Sitters UK to name a few) allow you to set up profiles, search and apply for sits all over the world. We don’t make money from it (although you can). For us, accommodation has been enough – especially when we’ve moonlighted as millionaires in mansions with pools. That’s not to say there haven’t been occasions where we’ve thought, we really should be getting paid for this.
Some sits are a walk in the park, others are more challenging. One dog had become fully blind before we arrived and was on a new medication for her epilepsy that made her ravenously hungry. I felt like a new mother thrown into the baptism of fire: awake all hours with her incessant howling to be fed, unable to take my eyes off her for a second – even to wash my hair. My partner arrived home and found me crying over a pan of chilli con carne, the dog barking at my feet, me at my wit’s end.
Some stays have been challenging in other ways. One housesit made a peculiar decor choice for their bedroom, by painting it in its entirety (walls and ceiling) in blood red. To make matters even more uncomfortable, atop the bedside tables sat salt lamps, creating the effect of being in a Stephen King fever dream.
The lows, however, have been rare. One of the most rewarding parts of housesitting has been the community we’ve found on the road. During a stay in Pembrokeshire, my partner became a key fixture of the open mic nights at the local pub, we got invited to barbecues with the locals and watched the Northern Lights arm in arm with the entire village. Travelling full-time can feel lonely – but being welcomed in with open arms by so many new communities has given us a restored faith in humanity.
For the owners, it’s a win-win situation. One homeowner whose dog was too unwell for kennels said us staying “made going away possible”. And it’s not always pets that need looking after; we’ve cared for prized vegetable patches and a five-year-old sourdough starter. Which, after a very thorough briefing on how to keep it alive, was supervised with more due diligence than the cat.
For many, it’s complete peace of mind: knowing that your home is not left vacant, animals are happy in their usual environment and plants are getting watered is priceless. With the cost of kennels averaging £15-20 per dog per night in the UK – according to dog-care service Barking Mad – housesitting is a good economic trade-off.
There’s no end to where this lifestyle could take us. We’ve discussed Canada, South-East Asia and even ticking off Route 66 travelling this way. Next on the itinerary is a month in County Cork, Ireland. We’re buying flip phones and going off-grid(ish) to soak up the most of the experience.
Because it’s not a forever thing. As we near one year as house-sitters, we’re beginning to crave routine and a nest of our own. But rent or a mortgage would put a stop to the freedom of pursuing our dreams and the serendipitous encounters we so cherish right now.
Having made new friends all over the country and, in the process, overcoming a decade of career burnout in London, my house-sitting travels have breathed new life into my future. They’ve reminded me that it’s fun to be a tourist in my own country and, most importantly, have allowed me to fall in love with the UK all over again.
House-sitting highlights
After a year of travelling around the UK, here are three destinations Hannah would visit again.
Dale, Pembrokeshire
Our first visit to Pembrokeshire will stay with us forever. Snorkel at St Brides Haven, trek circular coastal paths and revel in the glory of vibrant wildlife.
Grove of Narberth (01834 860915) has double rooms from £256, including breakfast.
Ilkley, Yorkshire Dales
Explore a living embodiment of Yorkshire Tea packaging. Few places offer unspoilt moorland and beautiful high streets in equal measure.
The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa (01756 718100) has double rooms from £170.
Southrop, Gloucestershire
Offering respite from the hordes of tourists that flock to the county. A trip to Kelmscott Manor (the former home of the textile designer William Morris) will leave you utterly inspired.
Thyme (01367 850174) has double rooms from £360, including breakfast.
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