Lizzie's Summer Holidays

Whilst on holiday in Devon this August, I started making a list with my family of all the places we had stayed over the years. There were so many we decided we would have to make an album with a photo from each holiday!

I thought I would write about the most recent holidays I have been on over the summer as well as a day trip to London , as there were points to comment on.

In the middle of July, we went to my cousin's wedding in Oxford . In order to fully participate in the build up to the big day and enjoy family time afterwards, we rented a log cabin nearby. Luckily, my cousin had been to check out the site before we set off so we had seen photos of where we were spending the next few days. The curb on to the path to the cabin was quite large but the owner had provided a ramp to overcome this hurdle. The cabin itself was raised with a decking surround and four large steps up to the front door! We took our extendable metal ramps and placed them against the steps to give an almost 45 degree slope! My sister and I then had to drive our chairs up the slope which was quite scary! Once we were on the decking there was level access into the main room of the cabin which was really lovely with a modern kitchen and dining area as well as huge leather sofas and a widescreen TV on the wall. The door to the bathroom and bedrooms was too narrow for our wheelchairs, but my sister and I can be carried short distances so this didn't bother us. Every time we left the cabin over the wedding weekend we had to go down the ramps which felt even steeper going downhill; it was like a rollercoaster experience! It became a smaller challenge each time we faced it and we had such a wonderful time overall that it was well worth a bit of an adrenaline rush!

In early August I went to London with my father and a couple of friends. We took the train from Havant to Waterloo which was very easy, especially as we had booked in advance; I found the station staff extremely helpful and they were ready with the ramps at both ends. From Waterloo station, we walked to County Hall and collected our pre-booked tickets for the River Cruise and London Eye. We didn't have very long after waiting for the tickets (pre-booking did not make this any quicker), so we headed for the Millennium Pier just below the Eye. We were ushered past the queuing crowds and were welcomed aboard and shown straight to the on board lift which took me to the upper deck. There was plenty of space at the back of the fixed seating and I was able to turn and see all the attractions being commented on during the 45 minute round trip. Next we had to start queuing for the ‘flight'. I was really glad we had our tickets for this as there were people waiting the whole length of the County Hall building; we went to the front of the queue at the bottom of Eye! Again the staff were really helpful and told us to move the barrier anywhere we saw a space so soon we were climbing into our pod which had been stopped for the wheelchair to drive on. We had a wonderful clear view across the city and it was funny seeing tiny people in the boats below! After we came back to earth we walked along the South Bank to the Festival Hall where we found there was a lift which took us back to pavement level a bit nearer to Waterloo . After a pit stop at the station we got back on the train and headed home feeling quite exhilarated. It was bizarre to be back in the countryside after being with huge crowds of tourists!

After a busy few weeks at home, we took two weeks in Devon at the end of August. This was just the most perfect rest for our family! We had two single storey converted pig sheds with decking that overlooked a beautiful valley of farmland. The main sitting rooms were spacious and there was a good sized wet room in both cottages. The best thing was the decking though; we lived outside most of the days, reading, talking and getting better at Sudoku! There was a tarmac footpath walk round the farm circuit so I was able to venture out and explore too. We came home refreshed and ready to face the new challenges of September!

If you would like any more details of where we stayed, don't hesitate to drop me a line!

Lizzie Baily lizzie@wellspringwestsussex.org.uk