The holiday house-swap: What's it really like to share homes for summer?

A holiday home swap was not something Pamela Mahon thought her family would consider, but with soaring accommodation prices, it made sense

Pamela's family on their house swap holiday in the Netherlands

I remember watching the movie The Holiday back in the day and 1. dreaming about owning a cottage as charming as Iris’s and 2. like many, being introduced to the idea of a house swap. 

It saw Iris (Kate Winslet) switch her cosy cottage in Surrey for Amanda’s (Cameron Diaz) swish mansion in LA. But did I ever dream I’d be swapping my own home in Drumcondra 17 years later? Never in a million years.