From Peebles to Inverness (Peebles, Great Tapestry and Highland Games)

This is our quirky cottage in Peebles.

It’s important to point out that the majority of the accommodation we are using is not advertised as accessible. We have found that on the whole, fully accessible accommodation is way out of our price range and often not in the paces we want to go. We carry our own equipment to improve accessibility and make places work the best we can, checking with property owners about door widths, turning circles and steps before booking. We have the advantage of being able to manage without an accessible bathroom, as Racheal does not use the toilet and I’m happy for her to have a good bed bath if there is not a wet room.

Our cottage in Peebles was tiny and had a step up to the door. We used our portable ramp and a smaller ‘indoor’ wheelchair chair, leaving the Treki in the car to save space. It was ideally located, close to the town centre and a supermarket. The only rectangular room was the sitting room. Racheal had a tiny triangular bedroom off the sitting room and Summer had a larger quirky shaped room. Ann and I slept in the sitting room. It was very cosy, but we weren’t there much as we used it as a base to explore Edinburgh, and to visit the Scottish Tapestry.

Peebles itself is a small town with a busy high street, rambling side streets and an interesting ramp up to the church for wheelchair access. Having negotiated this, we sadly found that the wheelchair accessible door into the church was locked- a bit disappointing. The chocolate shop had been recommended and did not disappoint! A must on the day Summer got her A level results.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland was only half an hour’s drive away. An accessible building with welcoming, helpful staff and only 5 minutes walk from the bus station where there was a changing places toilet. It’s one of those places you could visit again and again and still find more things to discover. Not only were the stitching and designs beautiful to look at, it also told the history of Scotland in easy to digest, bite sized chunks. We made some suggestions on how to make it more inclusive for people with visual impairments, as Racheal is blind, and the staff seemed genuinely interested. All in all, a relaxing day out when combined with a picnic on the way and a piece of cake in the café afterwards.

When we left Peebles, after a 4 night stay, we dropped Ann off at the railway station and headed for Stirling Highland Games. There we spent a couple of hours watching the events, wandering around local craft stalls and eating our picnic. The sports centre next door had a changing places we could use before getting back on the road to head for the youth hostel at Inverness.