Jurassic coast

[Steve L]

After enduring a serious spinal operation and two years of recovery, we are going to give caravanning another go. But this time around the old "steveinleo" is having to look for a caravan site that has very good disabled facility's.

We would like to go to the Jurassic coast (Dorset area) as it's a place we haven't seen and as I can no longer work, we have plenty of time on our hands.

Both me and the skipper need to use a disabled loo and trying to find one that is either not used as a family room too is proving too hard to find. All too often we find that the disabled facility is shared as a family / kids changing room and very often not left clean and tidy let alone safe to use medically clean equipment in.

So far we have been able to find a Sainsbury's or Mc donalds near by as they are some of the cleanest loos and managed well, in spite of the reputation of fast food outlets. The rest leave a lot to be desired to say the least, and we have had to go to the local hospital in desperation before now, to find a loo with substantial grab handles to enable me to stand upright again..

In our caravan I have a rope ladder attached strongly to the side of the van so that I can hand haul myself out of bed and get upright, which is "fun" and quite tearful l but it does the trick.

So if anyone knows of a good 4 or 5 star site with good facility's please let me know. An alduts only site would be ok as our kids are past 25 now.

Many thanks

Steve in leo

 

[Dustydog]

http://www.binghamgrange.co.uk/facilities.htm
Welcome back Steve.
I wondered why you been so quiet.
The above site was our short list a while back but had no vacancies that suited our diary.
I assume a fully serviced pitch is desirable in view of you back issues?
Hope the back improves
.

 

[Gafferbill]

Welcome back Steve

Hope your trip out is a success and is the first of many.
Can't top Dusty's recommendation!

 

[Steve L]

Thanks for your tip Dusty.

I've fired off an email, so fingers crossed.

We did try a trip to Tywyn north wales which use to be a favourite of ours, but quickly found that we needed to go more up market as the toilet block was not supervised very well and the disabled bathroom was a "sheep for Kids" who had grass fights on mowing day. Which doesn't bode well when you need a hyper clean bathroom. Unfortunately my world as I call it is about six inches taller than the average seat and a slip or trip can put me on wheels. The wife also needs clean facility's as she has had major bowel surgery. We ended up making daily visits to the Twyn community hospital and the staff there were very helpful and understood our concerns about picking up infections etc. It's worth passing that tip on to disabled (or less able as I call myself), The local hospitals are most helpful and will help where they can.

It's been quite an eventful couple of years for us and not in a pleasant way. This year has calmed down and we can see the odd week or so between hospital appointments.

During my re-cooperation, I beavered away and have managed to get a council license to start up a sailing club in Herefordshire for both able and disabled sailing. It started with letters in the local paper and then by networking on tinternet, we have 30 + boats and around 200 people from all aspects of life in Herefordshire who want to learn to sail. I've co ordinated a steering committee of 12 people like me who want to make a difference. Its kept me sane rather than wallowing in the pain.

My next ambition is to get either the CC or the C&CC clubs interested in a 5 van site at the reserve which would open more opportunity for everyone to participate. That may be a year or two away at present but I'll keep nibbling away at the red tape.

All the best.

Steve in leo

 

[Parksy]

Hi Steve, I was only thinking about you the other day, wondering where you'd gone
I'm sorry to learn of your disability and I hope that you're getting physiotherapy to try to improve your lot.
At least you're still able to use your caravan, I'd go mad if we hadn't got ours :cheer:
We've just come back from Dorset and we stayed on a nice well run site just outside Weymouth which I can recommend.
The site is East Fleet Farm Touring Park
The loos are cleaned every day and although I didn't use it myself the disabled toilet / shower facility is accessible via a RADAR key which is available from reception for a £20 returnable deposit.
Children are welcome on the site but are definitely not allowed to hang around the toilets!
The site is adjacent to the Fleet Lagoon which is behind Chesil Beach so although you may not have a full panoramic sea view you get more than a sea squint at least
There are level hardstanding pitches or grass pitches which may be sloping, mention the fact that you are differently- abled and the site owner will probably advise you.
The site, which is Best of British, has a price discount deal, see the website for details.
There is a shop and bar / restaurant on site which are accessible for all, and although one or two families tended to be a bit noisy at times during our stay the site is very quiet after 11pm.
Weymouth offers free parking in on-street metered bays for blue badge holders which is great for beach access, the car parks charge everybody and are best avoided if possible.
There's a 24 hour Asda five minutes drive away from the site and a Tesco mini store with Esso diesel on the forecourt at £1.32 per litre so you can still get your Clubcard points if you collect them
We'll definitely be going again.

 

[Dustydog]

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=2309
Steve
The site above , wheathill or better known to us Woos is as Wheatley will also tick all your boxes.
It is not that far from your home.
Why do I mention it?
The Woosies are meeting up at the end of September. If you and your wife are interested you are very welcome to join us for a long weekend.
Rest assured we can help you set up and save your back. Actually I'm amazed you as an old lag haven't yet become a Woosie!

 

[Steve L]

Thanks Steve for your advice, I'll contact East Fleet to see what's available.

I've won the blue badge of shame as I call it, and it amazes me just how many folks abuse the system. I have only ever been checked for authenticity on the Severn Crossing toll booths. In Leominster we have shop keepers using them to park their cars outside the shop all day by just moving bays a couple of times and the traffic warden lets them do it. I've had a couple of sarky oldies remark about me using wide bays for my "posh car" but when they see me getting in or out of the car they soon see why I need my car door wide open. I'm like an old man of 90 getting in and out. Then mostly I do get others asking where I learnt to use bungee straps to hold the trolley still, and use them as load assistance to lift carrier bags into the car. But enough of that.

I'm dusting off the caravan tomorrow and doing the gas safety check and water checks before we go for our first pucker trip in two years. My son will do the brakes and tyre / bearing checks as he is more flexible than me. He's been my apprentice for the last 5 years and now can do most things I use to on the caravan and car etc.

We already have a Radar key so that helps a lot. I'm glad to see that caravan sites are adopting the key system as that does monitor those who genuinely need the facility.

We chose Dorset as it is the last piece in our south coast jigsaw of counties not visited, the timing of our trip could of been better cost wise, but I think a warm summer at a top class site might sway our decision to have another go. At least this year we seem to be having a good summer season without wellingtons for a change, the last two years have been a washout.

Glad to see fuel is relatively cheap down there too. Our car use to do a respectable 38mpg towing the van, so that'll be what I'm aiming for this time around. gone are the days of rushing, now in Herefordshire its more a game of dodge the potholes.

ATB

Steveinleo

 

[Parksy]

Let us know how you get on Steve

 

[Steve L]

Thanks guys for your support and advice.

We've managed to juggle the dates a bit and have gone for Bingham Grange from Sunday 20th to Thursday 24th, so that we can get back to attend my hospital appointment to talk to the surgeon about hip replacements which have now come to light as the pain killers have masked the arthritis progression until it was almost too late to operate on.

Alison the receptionist at Bingham Grange was very helpful and she has reserved us a flat level pitch near the facility's so that we are in easy reach. so now all we have to order is the weather

I'll let you know how we get on.

ATB Steveinleo

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Steve

Enjoy Bingham Grange.I hope you are not disappointed.
Sorry to hear about the hips.
Look on the bright side you're half way to becoming Steve Austin aka The Six Million Dollar Man!

 

[Gagakev]

Hi Steve, nice to see you back on here.
Good luck on your forthcoming adventure, take my hat of to you Sir.
Hope all goes well.

 

[PlumbersWife]

Hi Steve - I used to love reading your posts whilst you were a full timer,
Sorry to hear that you have not been so agile as you were, hope you have
a great time away - looking forward to your post again. Good luck with the hips.

 

[Steve L]

Hi Everyone.

Bingham Grange was very good, although there was no disabled access to the upstairs restaurant. The staf are very friendly and welcoming, we were chaperoned to our pitch which was close to the facilities. The pitch was level across the axle, avoiding the use of ramps and nicely privatised by hedges either side.

Bridport has 11 charity shops and kept us amused all day with lots of coffee shops to rest in. Charmouth bay is a great place to go for the beach and fossils, parking at £1 an hour was good value. Unlike Weymouth where it was double and being a Blue Badge holder, I was appalled that badge holders have to pay for all their time and every kerb was striped so that you couldn't park on the roadside close to shops.

In our neck of the woods you get 3 hours free which is plenty for a disabled person anyway, and hardly any kerbs striped.

West bay was very nice and although I lost a crutch to davey jones's locker, I had a great time fishing from the quay. The crutch got blown over the side rail by a freak wind, but a local chap on a quad bike style disability scooter gave me a "Backy" back to my car which was fun. In general the locals were a happy go lucky bunch.

I would go back again and it has given us the idea that with careful choice of site, we can still take the caravan out.

 

[Dustydog]

Glad you enjoyed the holiday Steve.
Fortunately I don't need a Blue Badge yet. But I guess it is only fair we all pay to park. At least you get a premium space.

I thought you might Indulge yourself but wide eyed and crutch less is a new one on me.LOL

I think your return to the nomadic way of life may be of interest to our Woosie King who may well invite you as a "old Lag" to our forthcoming Woos ie fest at Wheathill.

Keep travelling mate.
Keep at it

 

[Parksy]

Hi Everyone.
Bridport has 11 charity shops and kept us amused all day with lots of coffee shops to rest in. Charmouth bay is a great place to go for the beach and fossils, parking at £1 an hour was good value. Unlike Weymouth where it was double and being a Blue Badge holder, I was appalled that badge holders have to pay for all their time and every kerb was striped so that you couldn't park on the roadside close to shops.

In our neck of the woods you get 3 hours free which is plenty for a disabled person anyway, and hardly any kerbs striped.

West bay was very nice and although I lost a crutch to davey jones's locker, I had a great time fishing from the quay. The crutch got blown over the side rail by a freak wind, but a local chap on a quad bike style disability scooter gave me a "Backy" back to my car which was fun. In general the locals were a happy go lucky bunch.

I would go back again and it has given us the idea that with careful choice of site, we can still take the caravan out.

Hi Steve, I'm glad that you're enjoying being a leisure caravanner again and would return to the Jurassic coast. We went to Weymouth last month and as a disabled driver I saw the pay and display car parks.
Parking space is at a premium in many holiday towns and it's not unusual for blue badge holders on holiday to be charged for valuable parking space ( local disabled drivers often get a council permit).
I never paid a penny to park in Weymouth :cheer:
If you check the on street parking ticket pay and display machines there are notices which state that blue badge holders park free.
I was able to park along the promenade next to the beach, in side streets with pay and display machines and close to the old harbour.
Weymouth is fairly flat so getting around the shops presented no problems for me but I think that it was possible to hire wheelchairs or even small electric scooters for those with very poor mobility.
No doubt your crutch is providing a home for mussels and barnacles now, it might come in handy for the ghost of some old pirate in Davey Jones locker.
Swanage is another nice town with a lovely beach and free disabled parking along the promenade, it pays to check the small notices on the ticket machines because the only place where I remember paying was on Charmouth beach car park and that wasn't a lot.

 

[ball00]

Hi Steve I am not sure if this is going to be of help to you, I go to http://www.hru.co.uk In Brean Somerset.. 4 times a year May June, and September they do 10 night breaks for around £99-£99.99 hard standing is a little extra. I like you have had a back operation and have loads of time. I am not able to work and without these Holidays would be stuck infront of tv wilting away, You can request a pitch close to the shower block and they do their best to accommodate. Showers are clean loads of space in cubicle, with a sitting area, a toilet and a wash hand basin in them, the ladies toilet part has a bath there for their use.. Every Block also has a disabled room. I know its not that close to the Jurassic coast but thought it might help you at some point.

After enduring a serious spinal operation and two years of recovery, we are going to give caravanning another go. But this time around the old "steveinleo" is having to look for a caravan site that has very good disabled facility's.

We would like to go to the Jurassic coast (Dorset area) as it's a place we haven't seen and as I can no longer work, we have plenty of time on our hands.

Both me and the skipper need to use a disabled loo and trying to find one that is either not used as a family room too is proving too hard to find. All too often we find that the disabled facility is shared as a family / kids changing room and very often not left clean and tidy let alone safe to use medically clean equipment in.

So far we have been able to find a Sainsbury's or Mc donalds near by as they are some of the cleanest loos and managed well, in spite of the reputation of fast food outlets. The rest leave a lot to be desired to say the least, and we have had to go to the local hospital in desperation before now, to find a loo with substantial grab handles to enable me to stand upright again..

In our caravan I have a rope ladder attached strongly to the side of the van so that I can hand haul myself out of bed and get upright, which is "fun" and quite tearful l but it does the trick.

So if anyone knows of a good 4 or 5 star site with good facility's please let me know. An alduts only site would be ok as our kids are past 25 now.

Many thanks

Steve in leo

 

[ball00]

Accidental posted this