While I have been working on this edition of the newsletter, it has been fun reminiscing about our family holidays and thinking, “how did we do that?!”
When I was 3 we travelled with one of my cousins from our home in Berlin by car train to Austria. We spent lots of time in the mountains and I had to sit very still on my cousin’s lap as we went up in a chair lift one day. We rode around Saltzburg in a horse and carriage and sang Do-Re-Me a bit too loudly for the driver’s liking!
Two years later, we had a Haven caravan holiday in the south of France where I really enjoyed the Tiger Club on the site and mixing with other children.
We had three holidays in Cyprus, staying at the same apartment complex. I loved being able to walk in the pool and the sea was warm. I made everyone laugh because I enjoyed doing my maths workbooks, even at the beach!
A few years later we went to Guernsey. The flights were more uncomfortable this time for my sister and me, as we had both started wearing body braces since our last trip to Cyprus and sitting out of our wheelchairs was very unusual. As we couldn’t take our Permobil wheelchairs on the plane, we took power packs that mounted onto our manual wheelchairs instead of the big wheels. This enabled us to be independent, but not as fast as we liked, so we still had to be pushed on most of the outings.
Our best adventure was in 2001 - a Transatlantic voyage on the QE2 and then on to Cleveland, Ohio, to visit friends. We sailed into New York and it was incredible seeing the Statue of Liberty for real! A minibus taxi took us to our hotel, but the driver stopped at the wrong entrance - we had to come out on the lift, rather terrifyingly, into the traffic on 7th Avenue! We had a trip up the Empire State Building and got on a public bus with no issues about access. An overnight Amtrak train took us Cleveland - we had two adapted disabled compartments in different carriages. When we arrived in the early morning, the platform was a long way below the door but before we had time to worry, a portable electric lift had arrived! Getting about was so easy and we loved getting lost on purpose in the shopping mall! We sailed back home past the Twin Towers exactly a month before 9/11. As we left the skyscrapers behind us, Alexandra’s ventilator stopped working but amazingly an engineer on the crew was able to fix it with a safety pin – PHEW!
In 2005 we were lent a chalet in the French Alps. We set off in our van on a 4-day road trip, stopping after three
hours each day, staying in motels. We had to unload all our luggage, including oxygen cylinders and manual wheelchairs, before we could come down the ramp, then do it all in reverse for the next leg of the journey. The final part of the drive was up a very windy mountain road, which was very exciting. Our friends from Sidlesham arrived with the ramp they had custom-built to fit the step into the main room – two bedrooms were on the ground floor too. The views were spectacular, and the temperature went up as the week went on. Daddy and I had a cable car ride up a mountain, into the clouds!
We have also stayed in lots of self-catering cottages and houses around England and Wales, as well as Travelodges and hotels. We rented a caravan in the middle of a field of sheep where the loo was in a shed in the farmyard. This was a huge thrill in the dark at bedtime!
My parents always wanted to give Alexandra and me “normal” experiences and once pulled us backwards up a very bumpy field so we could see the view from the top. Alexandra wasn’t very amused on the way up but we were happy we achieved it! Swimming was such an important part of our physio routine so we looked for places with indoor heated pools. One October in Wales, it was in a barn and the water was slightly green and chilly so Daddy carried me wrapped in a towel across the yard and back into a hot bath!
In 2019 we had several weekend trips, and two holidays with Limitless Travel; the first to Amsterdam (by coach and ferry) and the second to Llandudno. The team with us were so helpful and made all the outings fun. In Holland we spent a wonderful day at the Keukenhof tulip park and in North Wales the highlight was a steam railway ride.
We haven’t been away since then; now that I use a hoist for lifting and a profiling bed, it takes a lot more preparation and planning even going out for the day. I love looking at accessible accommodation online and thinking where a dream holiday would be. We are very lucky to have so many good places to visit locally, and one of my best trips this summer was to Littlehampton where I rented an accessible beach hut and my friend Sarah and I enjoyed the promenade and chips. A new Changing Places has opened on the seafront, but you have to apply to Arun District Council for a keyfob so I will do this before my next trip!
Lizzie Baily MBE 2025
When I was 3 we travelled with one of my cousins from our home in Berlin by car train to Austria. We spent lots of time in the mountains and I had to sit very still on my cousin’s lap as we went up in a chair lift one day. We rode around Saltzburg in a horse and carriage and sang Do-Re-Me a bit too loudly for the driver’s liking!
Two years later, we had a Haven caravan holiday in the south of France where I really enjoyed the Tiger Club on the site and mixing with other children.
We had three holidays in Cyprus, staying at the same apartment complex. I loved being able to walk in the pool and the sea was warm. I made everyone laugh because I enjoyed doing my maths workbooks, even at the beach!
A few years later we went to Guernsey. The flights were more uncomfortable this time for my sister and me, as we had both started wearing body braces since our last trip to Cyprus and sitting out of our wheelchairs was very unusual. As we couldn’t take our Permobil wheelchairs on the plane, we took power packs that mounted onto our manual wheelchairs instead of the big wheels. This enabled us to be independent, but not as fast as we liked, so we still had to be pushed on most of the outings.
Our best adventure was in 2001 - a Transatlantic voyage on the QE2 and then on to Cleveland, Ohio, to visit friends. We sailed into New York and it was incredible seeing the Statue of Liberty for real! A minibus taxi took us to our hotel, but the driver stopped at the wrong entrance - we had to come out on the lift, rather terrifyingly, into the traffic on 7th Avenue! We had a trip up the Empire State Building and got on a public bus with no issues about access. An overnight Amtrak train took us Cleveland - we had two adapted disabled compartments in different carriages. When we arrived in the early morning, the platform was a long way below the door but before we had time to worry, a portable electric lift had arrived! Getting about was so easy and we loved getting lost on purpose in the shopping mall! We sailed back home past the Twin Towers exactly a month before 9/11. As we left the skyscrapers behind us, Alexandra’s ventilator stopped working but amazingly an engineer on the crew was able to fix it with a safety pin – PHEW!
In 2005 we were lent a chalet in the French Alps. We set off in our van on a 4-day road trip, stopping after three
hours each day, staying in motels. We had to unload all our luggage, including oxygen cylinders and manual wheelchairs, before we could come down the ramp, then do it all in reverse for the next leg of the journey. The final part of the drive was up a very windy mountain road, which was very exciting. Our friends from Sidlesham arrived with the ramp they had custom-built to fit the step into the main room – two bedrooms were on the ground floor too. The views were spectacular, and the temperature went up as the week went on. Daddy and I had a cable car ride up a mountain, into the clouds!
We have also stayed in lots of self-catering cottages and houses around England and Wales, as well as Travelodges and hotels. We rented a caravan in the middle of a field of sheep where the loo was in a shed in the farmyard. This was a huge thrill in the dark at bedtime!
My parents always wanted to give Alexandra and me “normal” experiences and once pulled us backwards up a very bumpy field so we could see the view from the top. Alexandra wasn’t very amused on the way up but we were happy we achieved it! Swimming was such an important part of our physio routine so we looked for places with indoor heated pools. One October in Wales, it was in a barn and the water was slightly green and chilly so Daddy carried me wrapped in a towel across the yard and back into a hot bath!
In 2019 we had several weekend trips, and two holidays with Limitless Travel; the first to Amsterdam (by coach and ferry) and the second to Llandudno. The team with us were so helpful and made all the outings fun. In Holland we spent a wonderful day at the Keukenhof tulip park and in North Wales the highlight was a steam railway ride.
We haven’t been away since then; now that I use a hoist for lifting and a profiling bed, it takes a lot more preparation and planning even going out for the day. I love looking at accessible accommodation online and thinking where a dream holiday would be. We are very lucky to have so many good places to visit locally, and one of my best trips this summer was to Littlehampton where I rented an accessible beach hut and my friend Sarah and I enjoyed the promenade and chips. A new Changing Places has opened on the seafront, but you have to apply to Arun District Council for a keyfob so I will do this before my next trip!
Lizzie Baily MBE 2025
