Accessible Holiday - Center Parcs
Center Parcs - Woburn Forest
I’m finally getting around to sharing with you my trip to Center Parcs from May! I want to talk to you guys about the accessibility and my experience of staying there.
So in May we managed to find a last minute trip to Center Parcs which was much cheaper than normal because of the restrictions and the swimming pool being closed. The week away (Monday to Friday) was sooo welcome after what felt like forever in Lockdown 3! I’ve been to Center Parcs quite a lot purely because my family love to go there to celebrate big birthdays etc. and it’s kind of a happy place for us! I’ve been to Elveden too but as Woburn is much closer to home, it’s super convenient for us!
Center Parcs is a bit of a strange place you might think for a wheelchair user to love, as it’s very ‘outdoors-y’, it’s seen as a place that’s for doing lots of different activities, particularly physical ones that I actually wouldn't be able to do! But there’s something about it that draws me back there again and again. I go there for the nature, the quiet, the family time and to just get away from the hustle and bustle of life! Normally when the swimming pool is open, that part is accessible. I’ll definitely have to do an updated version of this with all of that information included too!
But simply, they have a changing places facility at Woburn in the pool area, which features a ceiling hoist, changing bench, shower and of course, is large enough to easily move around in. They have a shower chair on wheels type thing that you can be hoisted into/ transfer into and that then allows you to go into the pool area, including both the main pool and the lazy river via ramps.
Accommodation
We stayed in the Adapted Woodland Lodge which is the most basic of accommodation on offer. If you’re staying in an accessible lodge you can park your car out the front in a disabled space and leave it there the whole time you’re staying, which makes it much easier when unloading and loading your car and not having to worry about moving it afterwards like everybody else has to! The entrance to the lodge is via a brick pathway which is easily wide enough for a wheelchair to fit down and the doorway is flat (there is a small lip that might be more difficult for a manual wheelchair user) but all doorways within the lodge are extra wide. I find Woburn accommodation much roomier than Elveden, I think because they are newer but there is ‘so much room for activity’ (name that film 😂)
The Kitchen is well laid out; the sink has the tap closest to the front of the worktop so it’s easier to reach and on one side, the worktop is lowered with a cut out section, so a wheelchair user can easily access the work surface.
The bedroom is amazing to me as I struggle to sleep on a normal bed because of my disability, so the fact that Center Parcs provides one electric bed per adapted lodge is just ideal. I mean, I’m married so the fact there’s 2 single beds isn’t a perfect situation but we actually just end up moving around the furniture and pushing the beds together! This gives even more room for me to move around too! Also because it’s an electric bed, it means I can fit my manual hoist underneath which is always a worry whenever I stay anywhere.
As far as accessible bathrooms go, I’d say this one was pretty good! The layout worked really well for me with my hoist, there was enough room in there to manoeuvre as well as leave the hoist in there during the day without it being in the way! The shower area was fab, I could be hoisted onto the seat and it was comfortable, actually felt like it was supporting me and that I wouldn’t fall off every second! Any one else just hate most other hotel shower seats?! The only downside for me personally was the sink height, it was extremely low and in one of the photos you can see that my knees were hitting it! I’m not sure if this is because it was designed for someone in a manual wheelchair but I think they would definitely benefit having a sink that could move up and down to suit everybody.
In terms of the access everywhere else, I found it absolutely fine in my chair! It’s very flat and only ramped in certain places where necessary. The paths are wide enough and when we went for a walk around, it was all concreted roads etc. There’s quite a few restaurants to go to, which to me is much more exciting than any outdoor activity 😂 so I’d definitely say it’s worth looking into!
Obviously this isn’t an AD (but if Center Parcs wanted to work with me then HI!!) haha but I want to share more on my blog about places I visit, just to give you guys more info on accessibility!
If there’s anywhere else you’d like me to visit then please give me a shout! And let me know if you’ve ever been to, or are likely to holiday at Center Parcs?
AD PR Products featured from Joules
Southern Home Ownership’s Accessible Homes
‘The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned’ – Maya Angelou
My home is a place where I know I can access anything I need to, move as freely as I want and not worry about any barriers I might come across. So this is why I’m excited to be working with Southern Home Ownership to tell you all about their new accessible homes coming in Spring 2022.
As a disabled person, I am fully aware how difficult it can be to find somewhere to live that is suitable for your needs. When I purchased my bungalow, I had to renovate it from top to bottom to ensure that I could live there without struggle. It can be frustrating, take a huge amount of time and can be expensive.
The accessible homes by Southern Home Ownership solve many of these problems as they are already creating them to be accessible. They will be in Hackney Wick, a thriving area full of quirky cafes and coffee shops, home to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and conveniently placed for fast and easy access into Central London.
Photos shown are examples of existing Southern Home Ownership properties
Southern Home Ownership will adapt the properties to suit an individual persons needs, which is just fantastic! But as a minimum they will be built to M4(3) standards which includes;
Level access shower/wet rooms
Wider-than-standard doorways
Ramp entries and exits
Spacious lift access to upper floors
Adapted kitchens with lowered working surfaces
It may be a worry that because the properties will be accessible, it would mean that the style would be compromised and look clinical or medical. But luckily that’s not an issue because the finish of the accessible homes will be the same as in all of their other shared ownership properties, so just as stylish! They of course will have a modern finish as they’re new build properties, so may not be as characterful as older homes but this just means that they’re more easily adapted and easier to maintain. In my personal opinion, I think it’s more exciting to have a blank canvas and then you can add your own unique character into the accessible homes!
If you want to find out more about Southern Home Ownerships accessible home’s then please do not hesitate to leave a comment or click on the link below!
*This post is part of a paid AD with Southern Home Ownership
Top 20 Most Used Baby Products
Finding time to write blog posts is pretty hard when you’ve got a 3 month old that wants to be awake most of the day and entertained 100% of that time!! But I wanted to put together a list of some products that we have found useful. Of course there are other alternatives to what I’ve linked but this is just a rough idea!
I think it’s a great idea to do this now because at 3 months in, we’re definitely getting into more of a routine and understanding what does and doesn’t work for us.
It’s so easy to overbuy, when you look on social media and they’ve got something you haven’t got, then you think ‘should we have that?!’ and I’ve definitely been guilty of it, so hopefully this list is a good way to avoid it.
If you have any questions on something that I’ve mentioned then please don’t hesitate to leave it in the comment section and I’ll do my best to answer it!
Affiliate links used
Being Disabled and Pregnant
I always knew I wanted to have a baby; don’t get me wrong, I was quite happy plodding along without one but I got to a point in my life where both my husband and I felt the timing was right and we decided to start trying.
I am not going to lie, it was daunting! Being disabled obviously meant that it was going to be a completely different experience for us and we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. I had been on the mini pill since I was 18 and once I came off it, we were lucky that I fell pregnant within 8 months of trying. I will never forget the overwhelming joy I felt when we saw those 2 red lines appear, though it still took 4 more tests for me to believe it was really happening!
As anyone who thinks they are pregnant would do, I went to my doctors and he referred me to a midwife. In my first appointment, the midwife’s first words were ‘I’ve never had anyone in a wheelchair before’ and that was when it really hit home that not only were we learning as we were going along but the professionals probably would be too. Because of this my midwife wanted me to be under the additional care of a consultant.
The first consultant that I saw left us feeling completely overwhelmed after our initial meeting; bearing in mind we’d never done this before, she spoke to us like we had, bamboozling us with questions about my condition and advice on what she thought would be best for my pregnancy. We came out of the appointment more confused than when we went in! We were told that I would have to speak to my neurologist, I would have to have a general anesthetic because I couldn’t have an epidural, I’d have to see a hematologist and I’d need daily injections from 28 weeks of the pregnancy. I was also prescribed aspirin, calceos and vitamin D.
My disability became more of an issue when physical challenges presented themselves; I would always take a urine sample with me to my appointments as I wouldn’t be able to do them there and most particularly in our first 12 week scan as I was unable to transfer onto the bed. So when the sonographer could not get the baby in the right place and I wasn’t able to turn over or walk to get her in the right position, the scan had to be re-booked. This meant that I would have a double appointment and they would book a manual hoist so I could be lifted onto the bed to make the scan easier. This carried on throughout my pregnancy, a hoist would be booked for each of my scans and I would always lay on the bed.
My midwife appointments were better in the way I could stay in my wheelchair as it lays flat enough and the midwife could check the baby’s heartbeat easily.
Nothing was organised and no birth plan discussed until I got to about 24 weeks and at a growth scan, the consultant I saw who was different to normal, was very shocked that I had got this far through the pregnancy without a plan in place. He then proceeded to organise what needed to happen at this point and referred me again to another consultant who would be able to conduct my monthly growth scans and be the main point of contact through the rest of my pregnancy. She was very concerned about my health and the impact the pregnancy and birth might have on me, so arranged for all sorts of tests to be done for ours and their reassurance.
I had growth scans every month from 28 weeks onwards, two glucose intolerance tests at different points in the pregnancy (due to the baby apparently measuring big), a lung function test, an ECG Echo on my heart and appointments with both hematologists and anesthetists. Luckily, every test I had was ok and they were happy that the pregnancy could progress ‘normally’ to 38 weeks which is when my c-section would be booked for.
The next decision we had was on how I would have the c-section; I couldn’t give birth naturally because I have weak muscles and it would’ve been very difficult to push! Initially I wanted an epidural because I would be awake during the operation and would meet the baby immediately afterwards, it also meant that my husband would be with me as he wouldn’t be allowed in the operating theatre if I had a general anesthetic. But due to my condition, I had spinal surgery when I was a teenager and titanium rods in my back to straighten my spine as a result, so after a discussion with the anesthetist, he informed me that an epidural gave me a much higher risk of infection in my spine which could lead to complications in the future and because of scar tissue due to my previous operation, it may not be 100% effective and I’d end up having general anesthetic in the end anyway. Having the general anesthetic would reduce the risk of infection but did mean my lungs/heart would be under more strain.
Obviously either option wasn’t fantastic! But in the end, I decided to opt for the general anesthetic as the risk of infection with the epidural for me just wasn’t worth it and as my lungs and heart were both strong, I wasn’t too worried about the risks involved there.
As for the physical side of pregnancy, well it was definitely interesting! I was very lucky in the fact I had no sickness at all, only nausea (though for the first 3 months that was bad enough to stop me wanting to eat!) and I had minimal heartburn. But the discomfort in sitting down all day everyday with a growing baby in my belly was pretty tough. I use a ceiling hoist to transfer into bed / the toilet etc. and it became very uncomfortable, I was going to the toilet way more times than normal which was such a pain! I also had to try many different ways to get comfortable during the night, it definitely prepared me for waking for all the feeds when the baby was here as I would wake so many times! I had to use towels and pillows to help support my bump and because I can’t sleep on my side, I actually slept on my back (I know, completely frowned upon) but I sat propped up by my adjustable electric bed which my midwife said would be fine.
Throughout my pregnancy I had around 25 hospital / doctors’ appointments, this was the worst part for me as it was constant! But as I look back, they were all for good reason and to ensure that our baby was delivered as safely as possible. I ended up having Zyra Belle at 37 weeks instead of 38 which is what we had aimed for due to a drop in her growth at my last growth scan which meant they wanted to get her out, luckily at 37 weeks it’s quite safe to give birth, so I wasn’t too worried but it was a bit of a shock knowing I was going to have her sooner than planned!
I absolutely loved being pregnant, the feeling of her kicking and moving (though sometimes taking my breath away!) was incredible and something I’ll never forget.
I know there’s lots of you out there that will have more questions about this so please feel free to contact me via my instagram page linked below.