Finding the perfect holiday home for your trip can be tricky. Hours of research, you look at reviews and maps and Google Street View, available dates and price. Imagine adding in accessibility requirements and the number of properties reduces to only a handful.
Of course there are various levels of accessibility requirements and some homes may be more suitable than others for you, only you know the specifics of your own situation so you may have fewer or greater number of properties at your disposal.
For Mr Wheel Chic Home and I, we have a requirement for easy access, space for a wheelchair and easy bathing options. We can take a place with a bath as we can take a bath board with us for him to sit on, or if there’s a shower or wetroom, we can take a shower seat with us. Luckily for us, when planning a trip to the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland I came across a bungalow that met most of our criteria.
In a remote area of Skye called Glendale we found a lovely bungalow called The Byre, built in 2018 with beautiful views across the glen and out to the loch.
As the bungalow was built recently it conforms to UK Building regulations, which mean that the property must have low level wheelchair thresholds, and wide doors, and wheelchair access. This of course is perfect for us.
Skye has always been on our bucket list of places to visit, I can highly recommend it. I’ll put together a wheelchair accessible guide for the Island itself, but let me tell you more about the property.
The entryway has a ramp up from the (unfortunately gravel) driveway. The trick seemed to be to get the car door as close to the ramp as possible, then the ramp is easy going to get into the door.
The main selling feature for the property are the picture perfect windows that show views that go for miles (when the weather is good, remember we are in Northern Scotland and anything can happen!) so the bungalow is decorated in simple, neutral tones that don’t detract from the view.
The main living area is spacious with wooden flooring, perfect for a wheelchair and a fabulous vaulted ceiling with a feature wood-burning stove, complete with a basket of firelighters and logs in case it got chilly.
The kitchen is open plan to the living room and has a dishwasher, fridge and is fully stocked with all the equipment you’d need for a week away. The dining table is accessible and simple in design but everything works together, its simplicity inside just helps you to relax and sit and look at the view.
The bedroom is large enough for the wheelchair again, with the hanging rail in the fitted wardrobe (with sliding doors, perfect for a wheelchair user!) is at a good height for wheelchair users.
In any type of holiday accommodation, be it a holiday let or a hotel, the most tricky space is the bathroom. In The Byre, the bathroom is a large size, with ample space for a chair to move around. The double size shower cubicle is a great size, but is not a wetroom, so you’ll need a little mobility to get into and out of the shower.
The bathroom has the best view I’ve ever seen and is really well decorated and appointed with marble effect backsplash in the shower, lovely and neutral but it’s all about the view when you’re brushing your teeth anyway!
We managed using a travel shower chair, folding toilet frame and some vacuum suction grab rails. These things are essential for Mr WCH to be safe in the bathroom. I’ll be putting together a blog post soon on how to travel with essential disability aids, but for now take a look at how we set the bathroom up:
We added a folding toilet frame, easy for travel in the car and actually it’s pretty decent in terms of design and folds down easily.
We also added a shower chair (I accept it’s not the prettiest but it was £5 on a secondhand site and good for use on holiday) .
We also brought with us some vacuum suction grab handles that are great for travel or visiting relatives.
If you’re after a quiet, remote location with chic styling and a perfect view with only sheep and rabbits for company you can’t go wrong with The Byre.
Have you been to Skye? I’d love to hear your great finds!
(This Post is NOT an advert or collaboration, this holiday was researched and paid for by us – I wanted to share our great find with you!)
Looks perfect!
Thank you, it was a lovely time