Our home is in the centre of the lovely seaside town of Comox on gorgeous Vancouver Island.

We have enjoyed nine successful home exchanges in England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain and Denmark over the last five years. We are open to simultaneous exchange proposals for 2007 onwards, anywhere, including our previous exchange countries and North America.

Our two-bedroom, two-bathroom house is located between three parks and yet just a seven-minute walk to the town centre. It's a very quiet area of manicured lawns and lovingly tended home gardens. The fenced back yard is a tranquil setting for an al fresco dinner after a busy day of touring and the outdoor furniture includes comfy lawn chairs, hammock and garden swing for two. A large covered breezeway between the house and garage offers space for barbecuing and sitting out in the event of rain. There's a golf course a five-minute walk away and several others nearby. Public tennis courts are also handy. Popular Mount Washington Ski Hill is a half-hour drive.

Both bedrooms, one ensuite with a queen bed and the other with a king bed and next door to the main bathroom, overlook the leafy back yard. The fully equipped kitchen, including dishwasher and microwave, enjoys a view to the street and the attractive homes opposite. The laundry room with stacked washer-dryer is adjacent. The livingroom also looks to the street and features a natural gas fireplace and the computer/TV hidden in a cabinet. Each room has baseboard electric heaters with individual temperature control. Overall, it is decorated with an arts & crafts flair and is admirably suited for up to four adults.

The front and back gardens have been planned for easy maintenance, including an underground automatic sprinkler system. We will arrange for the grass to be cut while our exchangers are here if it's during the growing season. Our home, as well as being handy to shopping, dining and pubbing, is a 10-minute stroll to the colourful marina that accommodates commercial fishing boats as well as private yachts and smaller pleasure craft. Within short walks are lovely parks in which deer abound. On a typical morning walk you will observe deer, pheasants, harbour seals, bald eagles, Canada geese and shorebirds as well as many friendly human faces. The charming Filberg Heritage Lodge & Park (check the website) is a half-block from our house. The local public airport, a 10-minute drive, provides quick access to Vancouver International Airport, a half-hour flight from Comox, for easy connections to anywhere in North America or across the seas. Direct flights to Mexico have recently been introduced and direct flights to the U.K. are in the planning stage. Local public buses provide good service to the adjacent towns of Courtenay and Cumberland. A regular bus service from the nearby Comox Mall takes you to downtown Vancouver or the Vancouver International Airport via the Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay car ferry. If you're not familiar with this part of Canada--among the most beautiful areas in the country and certainly its most temperate with a climate virtually identical to that of Southern England--check out some of the websites including Town of Comox, Beautiful British Columbia, City of Vancouver (site of the 2010 Olympic winter games}, City of Victoria (home of world famed Butchart's Gardens and the exciting British Columbia Museum).

Conde Nast Traveler magazine readers have ranked Vancouver Island as Top North American island, ahead of Nantucket and Prince Edward Island, for the fifth consecutive year. Victoria was ranked Number Two Top City in the Americas in the prestigious awards for 2004.

Vancouver Island is a one-hour, 40-minute car ferry trip from Vancouver to Nanaimo. From Nanaimo, it's a 70-minute drive north to Comox. The island is world renowned for its exciting whale watching opportunities and spectacular Long Beach on the open Pacific Ocean, near the fishing villages of Tofino and Ucluelet with their artists' enclaves. They are about a four-hour drive from Comox. Robson Bight, where the delightful killer whales (Orcas) cavort, is an hour's drive.