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When we left our camping dome, we didn’t move far. My brother, Stuart, lives less than an hour away and we were going to stay with him for a long weekend. Arriving late morning, we unloaded the car, put some washing on, had lunch with him, then went out for the afternoon. The bees were buzzing at the Quince Honey Farm where we spent a very sensory few hours. We learnt about bee keeping and honey harvesting, tasted some honey and made a beeswax candle. We made time for a visit to the cafe, a wander in the gardens and Racheal had a close encounter with a stick insect! The staff were friendly and helpful, making sure Racheal got to experience everything. She was really concentrating on all the activities, and made a clear choice about her favourite honey - the local, multi-floral honey. On the Saturday, Stuart was able to join us for a day out. He packed a delicious picnic and we set off for Okehampton, on the edge of Dartmoor. Our picnic spot was in the castle. There were 3 blue badge parking spaces next to the castle, but at first glance getting into the grounds would be impossible. However, a seemingly locked gate turned out just to have an ineffective padlock and a bungee was all that was holding it closed. This gate lead to a grassy path which avoided all the steps to entrance. We had booked to visit Finch Foundry, a National Trust property nearby. It is a 19th-century water-powered forge originally used to produce agricultural and mining hand tools, now open to the public on selected dates for guided tours. Restored to working order, at least two of the three water wheels turn to power the machinery in the forge where bespoke ironwork objects are still made. Above the forge was a carpenters shop, which made shafts for the tools, and the grind stone. They also relied on the water wheel to power them. Our last activity of our full day out was a little walk on Dartmoor. Stuart knew a good place to park with an easy track for us to follow, but still with the sense of being on the moor. Lynmouth was our first port of call on Sunday, taking a scenic route along Hoarsoak Water and East Lyn River. We had hoped to stop at Watersmeet Café, but couldn’t find the road up to it. Lynmouth provided us with parking, lunch in a café looking out to sea, a walk on the quay and some nice little shops. Best of all, we were able to ride on the cliff railway up to Lynton and back. It is only wheelchair accessible from Lynmouth by travelling on the footplate outside the carriage with the driver. At Lynton there are steps to get off and up to the town, but we stayed on and descended the steep incline back to Lynmouth. We continued our drive westwards, following the coast, along some interestingly steep and narrow, twisting lanes. The views were incredible but there was rarely anywhere to stop safely. Back at Stuart’s, Racheal and Summer caught up on their scrapbook of the trip. Monday arrived! This was repair day for Racheal’s Treki after two weeks of managing with one brake. We drove to Exeter and found ‘Unique Mobility’ fairly easily. The engineer, Mike, was ready and waiting to get on with it, so after a few formalities, we left him to it and caught a bus into the city. First stop was the cathedral, where we had lunch and spent some time looking around. From there we walked down to the quay to look at the small craft shops and another café. By the time we came out, the rain which had threatened all day, started to fall. Summer and I got very wet on the way back to the bus stop, but Racheal stayed dry under her waterproof poncho. With the Treki mended, we were ready for the next leg of our trip. Tuesday morning we loaded the car, said good bye to Stuart and headed for Wales.

Hot weather, hot campers, overheated car! We moved from Cornwall to Devon on a very hot day. On the way, the car became unhappy, with a warning light on the dashboard coming on a couple of times, making it necessary to pull over for a while before continuing gingerly to our destination in Parkham, north Devon. Fortunately, it was not a long drive and we could take it slowly. The next day we took the car to a local garage where they found the coolant level was very low, though the temperature gauge had only gone up halfway, as it always does. They filled it up, and we set off to a nearby village where we had a picnic and did a bit of shopping before driving a bit further to a craft centre and café. It was an unbearably hot day, so we didn’t venture far. The next morning I checked the coolant level, to find it completely empty. This time I didn’t take any chances and rang the RAC. After two hours, I hadn’t heard anything, so I rang again to be told a mechanic would be with us around 5.30pm. This caused some consternation as we needed shopping and we were stuck in a field with no shade. Our accommodation, for this leg of the trip, was a glamping dome on a campsite just outside the village of Parkham. It was spacious, with a double bed, a single day bed, with another pull out single underneath. There was a gas hob, a large coolbox with ice packs replaced daily, a table and chairs, and a wood burner (had we needed it). We had our own, level access, shower room and composting toilet next door. The whole unit stood on a sizeable deck and had a semi-enclosed garden area with outdoor furniture and a fire pit. A little further away were washing up sinks and more showers and toilets. The owner, Dave, kindly kept Racheal’s meals in his freezer, as the dome had no electricity except some solar powered lights. We tried to keep the dome cool by closing the curtains most of the day, but it was still very hot inside. The RAC were able to arrange a taxi to take Summer to buy essentials. Eventually, the mechanic arrived and gave us the news that the car radiator was leaking, probably punctured by a stone thrown up at just the wrong angle. He was able to repair it temporarily, but it needed a new radiator. We were relieved that the repair should last for the rest of our trip, but a lot of phone calls followed. Firstly Motability needed to be informed, then there were numerous calls to the garage in Norwich, and finally to RAC again as they will arrange a wheelchair accessible hire car for the time we are without our vehicle. After a busy day of doing nothing we enjoyed an evening round the fire pit, cooking sausages and singing a campfire song or two. On our last day at the campsite the temperature dropped a little, we had a working car and it was time for a proper gap year day out again. We decided to explore Appledore, then go to Westward Ho! to see if we could get Racheal on the beach. You can’t drive past a place with an exclamation mark in its name without visiting! Appledore has narrow streets and small shops, plenty of places to find shade on another hot day. We ate our lunch at a picnic table overlooking the mouth of the river. Afterwards we moved on to Westward Ho! There was a large, expensive car park or a smaller, cheaper one. Obviously, I opted for the latter. This meant we had a long walk to the ramp over the pebbles to the beach. Racheal enjoyed the trek alongside a gravel road with a huge pebble bank one side and sheep grazing the other. When we finally reached the concrete ramp and got to the top of it, we found the sea had taken its toll on the slope down to the beach. It was badly twisted, as well as very steep, and not safe for us to use, (see header photo). We enjoyed the view for a while before returning to the car, and back to our dome to pack.

Staying in Cornwall, a visit to the Eden Project was almost inevitable. It is well set up for wheelchair accessibility, with almost the whole site having good wide paths (though some are steep in places). There is a Changing Places Toilet outside the visitor centre at the entrance. This doesn’t have a radar key lock and the day we visited the door was often left open which means those who don’t need it will use it, especially as they get to it before the main toilets. Another feature, which we were sadly unaware of until we left, is a lift from the bottom of the basin up to a bridge connecting it to the visitor centre. It’s fairly hidden and we hadn’t noticed it on the map, so we pushed Racheal up the steep incline twice to get to the changing places, during the course of the day. It was a very hot day making it particularly hard work. A new activity at the Eden Project is the giant marble run. The large wooden balls are available to hire or buy at the entrance. We got two, and set off in search of the first of many marble runs installed around the site. As well as being fun for children (and adults), it added another sensory dimension for Racheal as she could feel and hear the ‘marbles’ as they rolled over the various obstacles. We spent the morning wandering through the outdoor gardens and looking at some of the educational exhibits. I learnt that cherry tomatoes have a higher carbon footprint than standard tomatoes, though I don’t think it applies if you grow your own! Lunch was a picnic, without tomatoes, in a shady nook. The biomes are obviously the main attraction at Eden. We spent a couple of hours finding lots of things for Racheal to feel and smell as we walked through the recreation of Mediterranean and Rain Forest climates. Water falls and the heat add to the sensory experience too. One of the few places which was not fully accessible was the tree canopy walk in the rainforest biome. The rope bridge was just a little too narrow and there were steps on part of the route, but we were able to get to the canopy, the mist jets and the wobbly bridge. Ice cream, to cool down, was called for after our expedition to the rain forest. Then we took a different route back to the visitor centre, learning about farming and agriculture along the way, and discovering some more marble runs. The Eden Project was a full day out, and there is still plenty more to explore.

Arriving back on the mainland from the Scilly Isles we spent the night at the Premier Inn in Hayle, just because it was convenient as a pit stop. The following day we set off to Falmouth to collect Racheal’s medicines from my brother’s colleague, who had stored them while we were on Scilly. From there we went into Falmouth to the National Maritime Museum. There was an exhibition on surfing, which was interesting as surfing is part of the itinerary for this trip, while we are in Wales. We couldn’t visit all the museum because both lifts were out of order, but there was plenty we could do and it filled the time we had available. More frustrating was the fact that the town’s Changing Places toilet had been double locked so we couldn’t use it. From Falmouth we took the A39 and A30 to Bodmin for our next base. Not on the coast, but ideally located to explore from. This time we were staying in a modern, ground floor flat called ‘The Bethany’, on the edge of town. We had booked tickets for an evening show at the Minack Theatre, an outdoor theatre on the cliffs west of Penzance. To get there, we decided to spend a day meandering along the north coast starting in Perranporth where we had a picnic overlooking the beach after exploring the village. Continuing along the coast, we drove through St Agnes, Portreath and other small villages, eventually stopping again in St Ives. One of Racheal’s favourite things of this trip has been ‘driving with the windows open’ and this was a good day for it! St Ives is a lovely town, but challenged us with it’s steep hills and tiny shops. Despite that, we had fun exploring until it was time to move on. When the time came to return to the car, I thought had found a less steep route back to the car park. We set off along the seafront and down a narrow lane, only to discover that the car park, although next to us, was also 20ft above us! The only way up was a flight of steps. After some deliberation, Summer set off back to the seafront with Racheal while I climbed the steps and drove around the one way system to meet them with the car. Reunited, we drove to the Minack Theatre, pausing at a supermarket to pick up nice things for our second picnic of the day. We were shown to the accessible seating area which was quite a long way from the stage, but we had a good view. It’s such a stunning location, you can’t help but be awestruck wherever you sit, especially on a lovely, sunny evening. By this time Racheal had had her tea, so Summer and I settled down to have our picnic before the show began. Called ‘Shantify’, there was a very loose plot , into which the group wove a number of popular songs which they had arranged in the style of sea shanties. As the evening progressed, the wind became quite cold and we were glad of the blankets we carry in the car. Our return drive to Bodmin should have only taken about an hour, but a major road was closed for overnight works so it was quite late when we got back to the flat. A day at Tintagel concluded our Cornish coat exploration. Another challenge for the Treki, which is still waiting to be repaired. We followed an uneven track down to the ticket booth, from the village. Then, after showing Racheal’s membership card and access card, we continued on a level path to the bridge across to the island and castle ruins. Most of the site is inaccessible due to the rugged landscape, but there were some artifacts for Racheal to feel and the crashing sea to listen to. It was a pleasant place for our picnic lunch and to sit for a while. The trek back to the village almost defeated us, because it was so steep, but a couple of kind men offered to help. We attached straps to the front of Racheal’s chair which they pulled, while Summer pushed. I couldn’t keep up and came along, panting, a few minutes later. The village provided further interest to keep us occupied for the rest of the day. A friendly café provided welcome refreshment after the climb from the castle, and Racheal thoroughly enjoyed her own personal little bowl of clotted cream! Browsing the small shops passed an hour or so, and to finish we visited the old post office, now owned by the National Trust. Here we tried our hand at rag rug making and found herbs and flowers to smell in the garden.

From our Bodmin flat, we had days out to various local attractions. Bodmin Jail was a fascinating, immersive insight into life in the notorious prison. We heard the stories of some of the inmates, ‘attended’ court hearings, and saw the spot where many were executed. We also negotiated a wheelchair access ramp which was more like a slalom! ‘The story of Emily’ is a new attraction in St Ive, near Liskeard (not to be confused with St Ives on the coast!). Emily Hobson was the daughter of the rector and consequently grew up in the rectory. In her adult life, she travelled to South Africa, during the Boer War, and fought the cause of the people living in squalid conditions in concentration camps, having had their homes burnt to the ground by British soldiers. The rectory has been painstakingly restored to how it would have been when Emily was a child. I would have been so impressed, but the owners refuse access to wheelchair users on the grounds that something might get damaged, despite the ground floor being level and spacious, and the doors wide enough for a manual wheelchair. Fortunately, this kind of discrimination is much less common in the UK nowadays. An email will be winging its way to the company to point out their responsibility to provide reasonable adjustment for people with disabilities. Access in the rest of the grounds, the café and the museum was fine. We had a tasty lunch from the South African menu in the café, while Racheal had fun trying on the rector’s hat (header photo). The museum was a very interactive space telling the life of Emily and the history of the Boer War. Apart from the house, it was a great day out with plenty for all of us to learn and experience. Finally, on the day we left Bodmin, we stopped at Lanhydrock House on a scorching hot day. In the care of the National Trust, the stately home is set in rolling parkland. The car park is some way from the entrance, but there was a convenient café where we got sustenance, ready for the walk. Arriving at the house, we first explored the fascinating kitchens. Next we intended to look around the gardens, but it was too hot and there was little shade. Instead we went into the main house with the help of a volunteer who showed us through various back corridors to avoid steps. A welcome shuttle bus, with ramp access, avoided the walk back to the car which would have been uphill. Before leaving the area, we moved the car to a shady, wooded spot, near the edge of the estate, where we could enjoy our picnic.

The morning we left Penzance, we had to be up early. The Youth Hostel was only 10 minutes drive from the quay, but we had to be there by 7am. I had loaded as much as possible into the car the night before after we had carefully packed the things we needed to take and everything else that would be left behind in the car. We drove the short distance and I dropped Summer and Racheal off with our luggage before driving to the parking area back near the hostel. A minibus picked up the car drivers to return us to the quay. Meanwhile, Racheal was having a picnic breakfast. We had kept our packing to the minimum, being very careful not to go over the 20kg per piece weight limit and then it wasn’t weighed! We did have Racheal’s smaller chair as a free extra because her Treki wouldn’t fit in the cottage we were renting. There are three ways to get to Scilly - plane, helicopter or the ferry- Scillonian III. Neither of the options to travel by air are accessible, which left us with the boat. Apparently it can be a choppy ride, but we were fortunate to have calm seas. Once on board, a lift took us down to the upper, covered deck where we found comfortable seating in the cafe area. It was fun to watch the crane load the cargo which included a number of large crates containing passengers’ luggage and supplies for the islands, and a small car which was stowed in the hold. The journey was nearly 3 hours with good views of Cornwall for the first hour. After that we looked out for whales and dolphins, but didn’t see any. The cafe provided something to pass the time, both enjoying a second breakfast and people watching. We were also quite excited to find an accessibility feature that we had not encountered before - an audio description in the disabled toilet! This is just a snippet. As we approached the islands we could see the Eastern Isles and coast of St Mary’s before rounding Peninnis Head. Then we passed between St Agnes and The Garrison to get to the quay in Hughtown, excited for the next part of our gap year adventures. Our accommodation was only a short walk so we set off to find it, leaving some of our luggage to be delivered later by Island Carriers. Despite having been told by the letting agent that it would be ready when we arrived the cleaners were still busy, so once we had attended to Racheal’s personal care we went to eat our picnic in a small park nearby. When we returned to the cottage an hour or so later, we were able get settled in. Part of this process always involves putting up Racheal’s fairy lights! A wander in the small town, including a visit to the Co-op to get food for tea, completed our arrival day. Our accommodation was the ground floor of three fishermen’s cottages which had been converted to two flats. They would have been one-up-one-down, so our tiny place consisted of three rooms. A bedroom, kitchen and sitting room. The shower room took some of the bedroom space. Racheal and I shared the sofa bed and Summer moved into the small bedroom. We couldn’t get Racheal’s Treki through the gate into the yard without taking the wheels off, let alone indoors! While we were exploring the shops in Hughtown, we got chatting to a lady who lived round the corner from where we were staying. She kindly lent us a patio table cover so we could keep the Treki outside without it getting wet.

The second half of our stay on St Mary’s, we didn’t go far from Hughtown. We spent a showery day wandering around its small streets, starting off at the quay and zigzagging our way backwards and forwards as we made random decisions about where to go. We visited the charity shop in the church hall next to our ground floor flat, then went to a cafe for waffles with bacon and maple syrup - memories of Canada! The Thoroughfare, which we hadn’t found before, rewarded us with the Canvas Shop, where Racheal chose the colours to have a bag made for her birthday present. After visiting quite a few more shops in the town, we strolled by Porthcressa beach and a little way along a footpath which soon became inaccessible. We returned to cook a meal via the Co-op in town for provisions. Sunday we had better weather, so we decided to walk round Garrison. This is a, once fortified, promontory overlooking the town. Garrison Lane rises steeply to its gate, but not as steep an incline as Garrison Hill. We opted for the first route. Inside the gate we found the old armoury, which Summer and I took turns to look round as it wasn’t wheelchair accessible. The path followed the inside of the garrison wall with regular view points from the batteries and lookouts. It started as a tarmac road, became an unmade track and then a footpath which varied from easy to difficult, but manageable with Racheal’s all terrain chair. Eventually we thought we would have to turn back as the path became very rocky and steep. Scouting ahead, we discovered it was a very short section, with a seat at the top for our picnic, and then rejoined a level track. The north section of the walls was never finished as the government, in the 1750’s, decided the money was needed to protect mainland Britain. Our route took us to the Star Castle Hotel. We had hoped to get a drink here but couldn’t find an accessible way in or any staff to ask, so we continued down the hill to the town. After a welcome cup of tea in one of the cafés, we went to the far end of Porthcressa beach where a ramp provided access to the sand and a little shell hunting. Our final day on the island came too quickly. We were due to sail back to Penzance at 4.30pm, so we still had a few hours to do things. The accommodation was booked for an extra night so we didn’t have to be out by 10am. This gave us a base for the day and somewhere to attend to Racheal’s care. The boats to the other islands, and to see wildlife, were not accessible. The boatmen said they would lift Racheal on, but I felt it was too risky. Instead, Racheal and I had another wander around the town and did the packing after waving Summer off to go and see puffins. There was a downpour while she was gone. Racheal and I were safely inside, but poor Summer got drenched. She saw puffins and razorbills though, which made up for the soaking. When Summer got back, we treated ourselves to lunch in the Bishop and Wolf, a pub named after two local lighthouses. It took two trips, between our cottage and the quay, to take all our luggage. (We had opted not to have it collected as it would have to have been ready by 9am, which defeated the object of having the cottage for the day.) We also returned the cover we had borrowed from Sue, and said our farewells. Th Scillonian III, had already started boarding when we returned with our second load of luggage, though it still had over an hour before sailing. We were ushered to the front of the queue for priority boarding. Summer waited in the queue for the lift, while I went to find suitable seats. Once again a car was being loaded into the hold, along with containers of luggage. The journey back was considerably rougher than our outbound trip, but we were all ok. We had remembered to take some things to do this time, so the crossing passed more quickly. When we arrived back in Penzance a minibus was waiting to take drivers back to the car park to collect vehicles. Summer and Racheal collected our luggage with the help of a couple of the crew. We all arrived at the end of the quay at the same time and loaded the car as quickly as possible to get out of the lashing rain. Farewell Scilly Isles, we will return someday.

The first three days of our stay on St Mary’s were spent exploring as much of the island as possible. Day one got off to a bit of a false start. We were on our way to the lifeboat station when we got caught in a hailstorm. We managed to keep Racheal dry and cover her with her waterproof poncho, but by the time we had got her sorted, Summer and I were both soaked. We kept going and sheltered in the RNLI shop until the heavy rain passed over. The volunteer on duty was Sue, the kind lady who had lent us the cover for Racheal’s chair. The Treki had been getting increasingly difficult to push. One of the brakes felt like it was partly engaged all the time and, on our way back to the cottage to dry off, it locked completely. Sue had recommended the bike hire/repair man, Chris. With Racheal transferred into her other chair and safely in the warm with Summer, I popped round the corner to see if he could help. A disc behind the brake disc had broken, so he could only disconnect the brake to make the wheel run freely. Easier to push, but not so easy to control on some of the downhill sections of our walks. With dry clothes on, the sun now firmly in the sky and a freewheeling Treki, we set off again. We walked north, following the west coast of the island on the coast path. It had a few challenging spots either steep, rough or both. The wind was a factor when finding somewhere to picnic, but we came to the perfect spot just as we wanted to stop for lunch. A thick hedge had a shelter cut into it complete with a bench and space for Racheal’s chair, and with gorgeous views of the harbour. Continuing along the path we came to a road leading to ‘Juliet’s Tea Garden’. It had been recommended to us, but the four large steps made it inaccessible. We continued a little higher, to the golf club, where we enjoyed a coffee and stunning views of the sea. Refreshed, we set off again, heading northwards. Beyond Telegraph tower, we turned onto an unmade road which eventually became a grassy path leading to the Ancient Village. It was a peaceful place to sit for a while and imagine early life on the islands, living in basic round houses, farming the land and fishing the sea. We took a more direct route back to the cottage, pausing now and then on well placed seats. We had walked about 5 miles and been out almost all day so we were hungry. The Thai takeaway provided a good meal and we slept well that night The next day we decided not to venture so far, partly because rain was forecast though it only fell in occasional short showers. So, dropping washing off at the laundrette on the way, we followed the road to Old Town. There we walked to Tolman Point and stopped in a café for lunch. We thought about following the coast path to Peninnis Lighthouse, but only got as far as the tiny church, just around the bay, before realising it was a bit too ambitious even for us! Instead we took the church drive back to the road, retracing our route towards Hughtown until we reached the hospital, and followed an easy track to the end of Peninnis Peninsula. As there was still plenty of the afternoon left, we made a detour to the Phoenix Craft Centre where a number of craftspeople have workshops and galleries. Beautiful things to look at, but mostly too expensive for gap year souvenirs. The rain started again as we left, so we dashed into a convenient café, The Gig, across the road and almost on the beach. It was a fairly short walk back to our ground floor flat when the rain stopped. Our third consecutive day of Scilly rambles, which at times felt like all out hikes, took us to the east of St Mary’s island. We followed the road until we came to a track which took us to Carreg Dhu Gardens. A beautiful, peaceful, cottage garden with lots of paths and different areas to explore. From there the track took us to Longstone café for morning coffee in the sunshine. Here we also found a fully accessible youth hostel, which might have been a good option for us to stay, had we known about it. The track took us a little further before we turned onto a path through a wood, alongside a small stream, and out onto a road once more. Soldiering up a hill, we found Mike in his wood workshop. (We later discovered he was the husband of our new friend, Sue.) We chatted awhile, then continued up the hill. To reach our goal of Pelistry beach, overlooking Toll’s Island, we had a bumpy, steep, downhill track to negotiate. By the time we got there, we were ready for our picnic and a well earned rest. A sand bar connects the island to St Mary’s at low tide. We watched it disappear below the waves as we ate. What goes down must come up! Getting Racheal back up from the beach was quite a workout for Summer who does the lion’s share when the going is tough. Thankfully there was another café at Carn Vean, a short walk along a level path, once we got to the top. Sitting in the garden with a cuppa and a cake, we were entertained by some very tame garden birds. Recovered, we continued our circular walk, all on roads, via the ‘Higher Moors’ and Old Town back to our temporary abode. That evening we were treated to a beautiful sunset, which we popped out to watch and photograph. Map with our routes marked.

We had booked Penzance Youth Hostel as our base to explore the tip of Cornwall before travelling on to the Scilly Isles. It was a friendly place with a large accessible bedroom and shower room. The only downside was that the self catering kitchen was downstairs in the basement which Racheal couldn’t get to. Penzance itself we didn’t find very easy to navigate with Racheal’s wheelchair. The road was closed along the seafront, even to pedestrians, and the lifts up to the town were out of order. We gave up and moved on to Mousehole which, although a lot smaller, we found easier to walk round. While we were having our picnic overlooking the tiny harbour, we witnessed one seagull snatch a sandwich from a child’s hand and another swoop down to steal pizza from a family’s picnic table! Fortunately we didn’t lose any of ours. From Mousehole we meandered our way round to Lands End, for a very brief stop and obligatory photo, before heading back to the youth hostel. On our second day we visited Geevor Tin Mine museum and spent much longer there than we expected. It was one of the many mines which closed in the 1990’s, but was fortunately saved almost intact to open as a museum. Although the trip down the mine wasn’t accessible, there was plenty to see, and lots of sensory experiences for Racheal, on the surface, including one of the guides playing his accordion! On the way back to Penzance we found a small craft shop and tea room for a little light refreshment. The final day in the area, we took a scenic route down to Lizard Point. Our first stop was at Porthleven to admire the view while drinking the hot drinks we had made in our travel mugs. From there we made our way to Mullion for lunch at the chocolate factory and craft units. Perhaps a little purchase of chocolate also occurred! We had a beautiful afternoon to walk along the coast path to the lighthouse at Lizard, and to see the most southerly point of Great Britain. Lizard Point is much less commercialised than Lands End and we would happily have stayed longer, but we had to get to Falmouth by 4pm. The next stage on this trip is the Scilly Isles, which means leaving the car in secure parking in Penzance for a week. A colleague of my brother had agreed to look after the three weeks of Racheal’s medicines we wanted to leave behind, so they didn’t get too hot in the car. We had arranged to meet him at the university campus. Despite our best efforts to get there on time, we were delayed by a road closed by a bad accident and then the slow diversion down small lanes. We returned to Penzance by another route!

Our accommodation in Plymouth was a fort! This was the fourth and final Landmark Trust property of the gap year. Crownhill Fort was built in 1860 as part of the land defences of Plymouth’s naval base, and used by the military until the 1980s. Now it is owned by the Landmark Trust and part of the officers’ accommodation is a holiday let, while other buildings are occupied by various businesses. We had fun exploring outside on our first evening, and were treated to watching an old field gun being fired as a group of army cadets were having a guided tour. In our quarters , the officers would each have had one of the large rooms off the long corridor either side of the ‘mess’ which overlooked the tunnel leading into the fort. This is now, appropriately, the kitchen and dining room. The officers’ rooms provide a sitting room and three bedrooms sleeping eight in total. Although there is no accessible bathroom, it was perfectly adequate for us as we carry our own hoist and changing table along with all the other paraphernalia which accompanies Racheal when we travel. We made the most of the nice weather on our first day to visit Plymouth Hoe, look at Seaton’s Tower (an old lighthouse) and go to the Mayflower museum. The Hoe boasts a good sized free car park for Blue Badge holders which we were pleased to make use of. After a pleasant walk, listening to the sea and admiring the view, we briefly went into the city centre. We didn’t find it very inspiring, apart from some fountains in a small park, so returned to sit on a bench overlooking the sea for our picnic. The Mayflower Museum was on the quay in the old town and that is where we spent the afternoon. A full sized replica of a similar ship was moored in the harbour, but unfortunately we couldn’t go aboard. On our second Plymouth day, we explored the old town a bit more visiting small shops and meeting some very friendly volunteers in the RNLI shop. Then we went to the other end of the city to look at Royal William Yard. This is an old Royal Navy victualling yard which has been given a new lease of life with shops, restaurants and housing occupying the listed buildings. There wasn’t much open, but it was fun to imagine the old ships stopping here to stock up on supplies like salted beef, ale and ships biscuits, all of which were made on site, before setting off for battle. On Friday morning we loaded the car to move on to Penzance, stopping at Cotehele on the way. This lovely house, garden and estate are cared for by the National Trust. There’s also a quay on the river and a watermill, but we spent too long exploring the house and gardens to visit the other areas. Inside the house we found the hall, kitchen and small dining room were accessible, but Summer and I had to take it in turns to explore the rest of the house including the chapel, inside toilet and a peep hole from the master bedroom to the hall below. A medieval prosthetic arm was a particularly interesting exhibit, this one a replica of the original which apparently has gone rusty!

Our five week trip to SW England and S Wales began with a long drive down to Salisbury. Despite a slow start due to lots of road works and volume of traffic, we made reasonable time overall. Once we had checked into the Premier Inn for our overnight stay, we set off to explore the city and find somewhere for a meal. Salisbury gets a big appreciation vote from us for having a dedicated blue badge car park in the centre, each space having its own ramp up to a wide pavement. After a Thai meal we wandered through the streets, viewing the cathedral from the outside, to a quirky bar next to the old mill race. Racheal enjoyed the sound of the water while Summer and I enjoyed our drinks. The main reason for choosing Salisbury to break our journey to Plymouth, was to visit Stonehenge. It did not disappoint. The fully accessible Visitor Centre had plenty of things for Racheal to touch, even the models were at wheelchair height. The volunteers were very helpful, finding things to help her have the best experience. The replica roundhouses were all easily accessible, except one which had a small threshold, but we managed to get inside and again found lots of things for Racheal to feel. I’m sure, if we hadn’t needed one of us to take photographs, all three of us could have moved that stone! A bus took us to Stonehenge , a five minute ride away, where we were able to walk right round on a good path. The beautiful weather made the day even better, and we were able to sit and admire them for a while. Back at the visitor centre we enjoyed lunch in the cafe before making use of the Changing Places Toilet and continuing our journey.

We had booked to go to Keukenof on the last day of our Netherlands trip and it was amazing! We had the best weather of our week away, the tulips were stunning, everywhere (just about) was accessible, and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. The photos speak for themselves. We had arrived at 11am, stayed until 4.30pm and didn’t see everything. A lot of the tulip fields around Keukenof had already been harvested, but one remained in all its glory. As well as the incredible gardens, there were some pavilions with displays of various plants including orchids, alstroemerias and large flower arrangements. The clog shop displayed its wares hanging from the ceiling, and a barrel organ entertained those sitting around the dandelion clock fountain. We finished off our day with a walk and a meal by the sea at Zandvoort, before driving back to the hostel to pack ready for our return journey. As we had to block the road to load the Great Big Gap Year Wagon (Summer’s name for our car), I put some of the bigger equipment in before going to bed when there were less people about. I was able to park on a nearby street overnight and when we finished loading the car in the morning someone else had conveniently blocked the road, so I didn’t need to have worried! Our final morning in Alkmaar I have already described in another blog ‘Say Cheese’. After a picnic by the canal, we set off taking a route back to Dunkirk which involved driving over the dams between the islands south of Rotterdam. Racheal found this great fun, we could only imagine it was the sound the tyres made on the different road surface. Stopping off briefly for refreshments on the last island, we arrived at our budget hotel at nearly 6pm. The rooms were basic, but manageable for one night, and a buffet style continental breakfast sustained us through the tunnel and on towards home.