Further Information
Packing:
Don't forget to take the following:
Towels
Tea Towels
some £1 coins for the electricity meter
Getting There
If you have Sat Nav, set it to EX23 0AJ or Madeira Drive, Bude (Junction with Long Park Drive). Do not let it try taking you through 'Lower Upton' – it's far too narrow.
Assuming that you are arriving via the M5, follow the A30 to at least as far as Okehampton. There are then 3 main choices:
via Holsworthy on the A3079 then A3072 (our usual route)
Through Launceston and up the B3254 then using very minor roads
Past Launceston then A395 then A39
or see our Directions web page
When you first arrive at Tanglin
The airing cupboard is directly opposite the front door – open it and turn on the immersion heater.
Find the electricity coin meter in the kitchen cupboard. Check the remaining credit (Coins left) and follow instructions to insert coins. Don't wait for the coins to run out! Please do not use fake or damaged coins – they will jam the meter.
We will send you 1 front door key. There is a spare front door key kept in the same kitchen cupboard so that you can come back separately. Please replace it when you leave.
While you are there
If you spill anything, please wipe / mop it up promptly. The cleaners will have checked that there is at least one roll of kitchen roll in the house. They will note any damage.
Bin Day is Wednesday. Please put your rubbish bags in the wheelie bin and take it to the top of the drive late on Tuesday night.
Please return the wheelie bin to its parking space near the garage door once it is empty (so that it does not blow away)
Whilst there is kerbside recycling, it is fortnightly and on a Monday so not generally practical for visitors. There are limited recycling facilities in the beach car park and more facilities at the supermarkets and beach car parks in Bude.
Mobile Reception
None of the networks are very good for voice calls, the only way seems to be to stand at either of the front windows with the handset near the window and with your head away from the window.
Text message can be received and sent from either of the front rooms. On the mantlepiece in the living room or on top of the fridge freezer in the kitchen. The adjacent 240V socket has 2 USB charging sockets so charging on top of the fridge freezer is easy.
Calls home via the WiFi seem to be much more reliable. There are a number of apps that can be used if your handset/network/contract does not support WiFi calls such as Facetime (between apple customers) and Whatsapp between other Whatsapp users.
Most networks seem to work well at the beach!
The internet...
We have unlimited fibre broadband WiFi (over 30Mbps download and around 6Mbps upload speed)which works throughout indoors and in the garden near the bungalow.
If you are a BT home phone customer and have a smartphone we recommend that you download BTs free SmartTalk app from here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bt-smarttalk/id586965407?mt=8 This will allow you to use your smartphone as if it was your home phone via our WiFi and the internet. You will have to set it up at home before you leave. Further details from here: http://www.btplc.com/Innovation/News/BTSmartTalk.htm
Radio, Sky TV, DVD and Stereo
If you want to listen to the radio, we recommend selecting 'Aux' on the stereo turning the Sky box on (check DVD is off) and selecting 0101 for Radio 1, 0102 for Radio2, 0104 for Radio 4 etc. The TV can be turned off.
Because of the valley position Freeview reception is only marginal so we have Freesat-from-Sky. The Sky box is set to receive all the free channels available including BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, Channel 5, More 4, E4, Film Four, CBBC, cbeebies etc. (a few Freeview channels are not currently available on Freesat such as Dave, Quest etc.)
To use the Sky box using the remote: press 'TV Guide' then the Blue Button. Then use the arrow buttons (surrounding 'Select') to navigate up / down. The red and green buttons change the page. When you find what you want to watch, just press 'Select'.
When the Sky Box is switched on, it will automatically switch the TV over.
When the DVD player is turned on, it will automatically switch the TV over - And take priority over the Sky box.
Both the Sky box and DVD player are connected to the 'Aux' input of the stereo. So if you want to listen to a CD or mp3 CD, use the DVD player and switch the stereo to 'Aux'
For Catchup TV, we have a NOW TV box connected to the TV. This works from the internet and has its own remote control. To make the TV connect to it, press 'TV/AV' on the Panasonic remote and then if necessary press the green button near the middle to select 'AV2'. On the NOW TV remote, pressing the button with the picture of the house takes you to the 'Home' screen, then use the direction arrows to select BBC iplayer or 4OD etc then press 'OK' etc
Please do not disconnect any of the Scart leads at the back of the system.
Other Instructions
We hope that the other appliances in the house are easy / relatively obvious on how to use but there are copies of instruction books etc. in the blue folder on the shelf by the front door. There are a couple of exceptions:
The timer on the cooker displays 'minutes':'seconds'. So, if you want to set it for 20 minutes, press the '+' button until the display reads '20:00'. About 10 seconds after you release the button, the countdown starts.
The Hotpoint Washer-Dryer has an 'economy' function. In reality, this means a cold wash with no heat whatsoever. This is selected when the button is sticking out. So if you want to do anything more than just rinse out your swimming trunks, make sure that button is pressed in.
Anything else?
If you have any problem at all while you are there, please do not hesitate to phone us on 01608 645143. Our numbers are on a label on the phone in the house.