Author: qtandcp

Accessible Family Adventure in the Lake District

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During the school summer holidays we had the most amazing week in the Lake District with the Bendrigg Trust. Quinns has always been a thrill seeker but it’s extremely difficult finding activities he can do that give him an adrenaline rush. Plus it’s always challenging to find things we can all do together so when I saw the opportunity for an accessible activity holiday I signed the four of us up immediately.

Quinns smiles in his wheelchair which is strapped into the Bendrigg bus on the way to caving. Yellow ropes can be seen attached to the side of his chair.

The schedule for the week was so jam packed we barely had time to unpack when we arrived but thankfully the first activity was lunch. The holiday was fully catered including any special diets so Quinns enjoyed the same meals as we did only blended for his button. It took the pressure off me to cook and allowed me to take part in all the activities.

Our rooms, two adjoining, were in Acorn Lodge which is the smaller of the two buildings set in large grounds. Both Quinns and Big Sister had profiling beds in their room much to her excitement. They also had a massive wet room (bigger than Big Sister’s bedroom at home apparently) with an adjustable height bench for showering. The Trust were able to provide a range of equipment so we requested the exact same shower chair Quinns has at home – one less thing to pack in the car! With suitable accommodation and food sorted we were able to focus on all the activities.

After lunch we explored the extensive grounds before our first activity in the specially constructed indoor cave. We were grouped with another lovely family for the whole week. Quinns wouldn’t wear a helmet but delighted in wearing the light so he could see his new friend when he popped out of one of the tighter spaces in the cave. We later teamed up for an evening of orienteering which may have got a wee bit competitive!

Day two was very wet but that didn’t stop us on the zip slide. The activity leaders got Quinns all sorted with an appropriate harness and hoisted him up ready. After taking him half way to check he was happy they sussed that actually he had a need for speed so off to the top he went! He is certainly braver than me who nearly chickened out at the last minute!

After a spot of archery, with some special equipment to allow Quinns to push a button to release the arrow, it was time to climb. Quinns was fitted with the same harness for climbing as he was for the zip wire. Either Big Sister or I climbed beside him to guide him up and encourage him to reach out for the wall or kick it. At the top we went over while he got to abseil all the way back down.

Big Sister guides Quinns up a climbing wall. They are both wearing harnesses.
Quinns smiles widely as he abseils down from a climbing wall. There is a small orange dot of someone's helmet at the bottom of the photo showing how high up Quinns is.

Although we had been really looking forward to it, my expectation had been that Quinns might manage a bit of the wall and that would have been the end of it. However he loved it so much he did nearly three climbs plus abseils and also two further abseils at a separate abseil bit. I managed two climbs and one abseil while Big Sister climbed almost every part of the wall including the really difficult end! It was lovely being able to do it all together.

Heavy rain gave us the excuse for a well earned evening with no activities so we were ready for the next day’s caving adventure. Bendrigg have a number of vehicles to transport people so we all loaded into a minibus which drove us straight to the entrance of Ingleborough Cave. The activity leaders attached ropes to Quinns’ wheelchair as an additional safety measure to guide him through any steep slopes inside the cave and we were all issued with hard hats. Quinns chose to just wear his torch again. The roof of the cave wasn’t so low that he was at risk of bumping his head at any time. Dad on the other hand had some difficulties!

Quinns wears a torch on his head to see around the indoor cave at Bendrigg.
Dad is missing his head in Ingleborough Cave because the roof is so low in some points he has to crouch but at this point he can stand up.

After a slight change of plan due to lack of Changing Places toilet we headed back to Acorn House and some afternoon activities in the games hall and sensory room. By this point Quinns was starting to flag from all the stimulation but managed to giggle through the Angry Birds film with his new friend during movie night.

The sun shone for our final day, canoeing on Lake Windermere. A portable gantry hoist and a clever doubling up of the canoes meant it was possible for us all to go out together. Quinns sat like a king in the middle of one canoe between me and dad. He did try rowing with a special paddle for a moment or two but preferred the luxury of us doing all the hard work. A highlight from the morning was being at the exact right spot on the river to see the steam train go past. We lunched in the canoe with some new found duck friends before going out again for a quick trip across Windermere itself.

The site we set off from at Fell Foot Park in Newby Bridge is well provisioned with a number of changing facilities including an accessible changing room as well as a full Changing Place toilet. After canoeing and a change into dry clothes we were able to enjoy an ice cream at the café before heading back to Bendrigg.

Quinns is using a special orange paddle in the canoe on Lake Windermere.
Quinns and Big Sister pose outside the door of the Changing Place Toilet at Fell Foot in Newby Bridge.

We managed a visit to the gift shop and a bit of a disco in the sensory room that evening before heading back to our room to pack for going home the next day. It’s safe to say we were all exhausted after the busiest of weeks but we were also buzzing from having had quality family time, making new friends and us all trying out new activities. Enjoy this short video of the highlights of our trip!

Communication Matters

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Big Sister and I had the privilege of spending two days at the Communication Matters Conference earlier this week. Leeds University hosted nearly 500 delegates including 39 AAC (Alternative and Augmentative Communication) users. It was incredible to meet up with friends, people we know working in the field and to meet new people and make new friends.

A bright yellow cloth bag with CM25 in giant letters lies on a wooden table behind the CM2025 Conference Guide and the AAC Awards 2025 guide.

There were so many talks across the two days that it was impossible to see them all. I feel like we only scratched the surface but we would have needed an entire week or possibly more to cover it all. AI was a big theme. Both the possibilities and the pitfalls for AAC were discussed. The talks that left the biggest impression were the ones where AAC users themselves spoke.

I really wish Quinns could have been there to see the other AAC users in action both speaking and generally being around. He is still a bit too young for such a Conference so it will be a few years before we can bring him along and introduce him to this community.

One of the talks at the Conference was from Smartbox about ElevenLabs voice integration. You may have seen the story on the BBC recently about the woman they created a voice for using 8 seconds of scratchy voice recording from a VHS video. Although Quinns isn’t eligible for a voice at the moment we got to talking about it.

He’s come a long way since he changed his voice to the Queen when he first got the device. This was one decision we reversed as he was only three! In the summer we deepened his computer voice slightly in line with his age and will deepen it further as he heads into his teenage years. He has only ever had a computer voice so it’s difficult to imagine what his accent would be but how amazing would it be for him to have his own unique voice.

It’s been a while since I shared any of Quinns’ AAC journey. In the past year he has got a new eye gaze device which is slightly bigger and has improvements such as a partner screen on the back so that communication partners can work opposite him rather than crowd in beside him.

The new device includes TV controls allowing him to scroll through YouTube or put on a film on our main home tv or maybe I should say Quinns’ tv as he’s the one who watches it the most. When we tried to watch a programme while he was playing games on the eye gaze I couldn’t understand why it had stopped until I remembered Quinns now has control! He clearly did not want to watch what we were watching.

He also now has a mount for his wheelchair so he can use the device when he is out and about. He loves being able to show it off to the librarians in our local library! We are still coming to terms with making sure we have all the bits necessary when we leave the house.

Quinns smiles sitting in his wheelchair with his eye gaze device mounted in front of him. There is a Smartbox CM 2025 Conference sticker in one corner and AAC in graffiti letters sticker on the other corner of his device.
Quinns sitting in his wheelchair with his eye gaze device mounted in front of him. He is focusing on the eye gaze. There is a Smartbox CM 2025 Conference sticker in one corner and AAC in graffiti letters sticker on the other corner of his device.

Following input from CALL Scotland last year he is now much more able to use it for his school work including filling out maths sheets. Apparently he really enjoys learning his times tables! At home he is obsessed with art. Despite our attempts to have him on a communication grid to talk to us he prefers to navigate to his school board, say ‘Au revoir’ and escape to the grid where he can open his art programme. It’s all communication, right?

The photo is taken over Quinns shoulder. He is sitting in his wheelchair looking at the screen of his eye gaze which shows a bright yellow and blue artwork.

We have returned from the conference with lots to reflect on as well as ideas to help integrate Quinns’ eye gaze device into our lives more and give him more opportunities to use it and communicate beyond our family. Although it may be a while before we can take him to the conference maybe there will be a meet up of young AAC users in Scotland soon!

Beach wheelchairs

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When holidaying on the East Coast of Scotland it is essential to have a beach day for swimming, kite flying or building sandcastles. Having had a great day on the sand in the North of England a couple of years ago thanks to a beach wheelchair we were delighted to see that St Andrews now have them for hire so that we could easily get Quinns onto the sand. The wheelchairs and the newly installed Changing Place toilet adjacent to the beach convinced us that St Andrews was the place for our beach day.

Although we arrived quite late in the day St Andrews Beach wheelchairs were able to provide us with a hippocampe wheelchair for Quinns and off we went onto the sand. Unfortunately, the smallest wheelchair was already being used so the one provided was slightly too big for him.

Quinns trying to smile but looking quite uncomfortable in a hippocampe beach wheelchair.

Despite our ace team working on making him comfortable in the one we had he just wasn’t feeling it. Whether it was size of the chair, the rush to get in or simply that it wasn’t his own custom wheelchair we’ll never know. After a while we decided to abandon the hippocampe and get him out to sit on the sand where he was happy in my arms for the next couple of hours.

Eventually we had to return the hippocampe and get Quinns’ own wheelchair back. Having to use Quinns’ non-beach chair to get him off the beach again made us really appreciate the ease of inclusion the beach wheelchairs provide.

Although it wasn’t Quinns’ day it was amazing to have had the opportunity thanks to St Andrews Beach Wheelchairs. If he had been in a better mood, we would almost certainly have got him down to the sea where his Big Sister spent her entire time swimming.

We will definitely return to St Andrews to try again and also can’t wait to try out the brand new wheelchairs at Nairn beach next summer!

Lochore Meadows Country Park

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I have been keen to visit the play park at Lochore Meadows Country park since it opened in March this year and it did not disappoint! It had so much more than the usual basket swing and accessible roundabout. There was something for Quinns to explore in all parts of the park which meant he was able to keep up with his friends and play both with and alongside them.

Anita and Quinns smile from on top of a piece of play equipment with sunshade above them.

After exploring the fully enclosed park which included going up and down the ramps of the two main pieces of climbing equipment he then went across the suspension bridge multiple times as his friends bounced along with him.

Rather than go for his usual high-backed swing (we weren’t sure the style of swing would work for him) we instead waited for our moment and took over the piece of equipment all the kids wanted to go on, the one with the biggest thrill. I’m not sure of the name of it, but it could be a flying chair swing or a carousel sky swing!

Quinns smiles strapped into his Go-To seat in a high backed swing seat which is spinning around with all his friends.

Five of them could sit on the individual seats and it spun them around and outwards. It’s the first time I’ve seen one with a high back seat. So with the help of the trusty Go-To seat Quinns got to experience a new sensation and be as adventurous as everyone else.

Of course, he tried out the wheelchair swing and the accessible roundabout. Apart from all that there was also at least one accessible trampoline, a rainbow tunnel, a double slide and multiple sensory boards plus things I may not have spotted in the busy-ness of the park.

Quinns throws his head back in excitement as Anita holds on tight while the two of them spin on a wheelchair accessible roundabout.
Quinns grins a broad grin as his friend pushes him on the wheelchair accessible swing.

It is the first time I’ve felt disappointed to leave a park with Quinns as I didn’t feel like we had explored everything it had to offer. With a café right next to the play park and a Changing Places toilet in the nearby education centre though I have no doubt we’ll be back at some point to play some more!

A week exploring Changing Place Toilets

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The first stage of planning adventures from our base at The Rings in Fife was working out the location of the facilities for days out. Each new day and every adventure during our week long holiday meant an opportunity to try out a different Changing Place toilet.

Quinns facing away from the camera with a view out to sea with the St Andrews Changing Places toilet to his right.
Anita and Quinns smile into a mirror in the Changing Places toilet in St Andrews.

In St Andrews the new Changing Place toilet is right next to the beach and not far from the town centre so it was ideal for a spot of lunch followed by an afternoon on the sand with the help of a beach wheelchair.

Quinns and Anita smile for the camera in the Changing Places toilet at The Helix. There is a photograph of the Kelpies on the wall behind them.

It was great to have an opportunity to check out the new Changing Place at The Helix: Home of the Kelpies as it’s so close to home and I know there’s been a big campaign to get it there!

Quinns smiles in the Changing Place toilet in the education centre in Lochore Meadows Country Park.

Lochore Meadows Country park is the accessible park of dreams with so much for Quinns to do we didn’t get it all done! The café next to the park and the Changing Place toilet in the nearby outdoor education centre makes it possible to stay all day.

Dark blue toilet door with the words Changing Places toilet in bold yellow writing in the centre.
Quinns smiles inside the Changing Places toilet in the Dundee Science Centre.

We had a choice of two Changing Places in Dundee City Centre, at the Dundee Science Centre or at the V&A. Since we tried out the one in the V&A a couple of years back we decided to give the one in the Science Centre a go this time.

It’s disappointing that neither the Scottish Deer Centre nor the Falkirk Wheel had Changing Place toilet facilities when both attractions have ample space for them. Luckily the Deer Centre was just a short distance from our holiday accommodation, and we combined our Falkirk Wheel visit with a trip to the Kelpies so it all worked out for us but it could have been a very different story.

The Rings holiday cottage in Fife

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Our holiday to The Rings accessible holiday cottage in Fife this summer was everything we hoped it would be!

Quinns and Anita standing beside The Rings holiday cottage with a view over Scottish farming countryside on a sunny but cloudy day.

It’s never easy finding holiday accommodation for a large group – there were 14 of us in total (8 adults and 6 children). It’s even harder when one member of the group is disabled and has a lot of requirements but this cottage managed to tick all the boxes.

The Rings is a specially designed single level property which is completely adaptable depending on how many people will be staying there. We used most of the space available including two kitchen/living spaces which became one when the folding wall was drawn back. There was just one unit blocked off for other people to use independently from our group.

A view of The Rings holiday cottage from the road with it's living roof shining in the sun.
The Rings holiday cottage from the garden space in front of it. The living/kitchen spaces all had large windows overlooking the beautiful view.

Our family of four had two adjoining bedrooms which meant Quinns could share with his Big Sister, but I was right next door if he needed me. We had our own small kitchen consisting of a sink, hob and fridge so I could prepare Quinns’ feeds and medications without interfering with the main kitchen shenanigans.

Quinns had a profiling (hospital) bed with ceiling track hoists in both his bedroom and his wet room (they also provided a shower chair). Every room had its own wet room and at least another two rooms had ceiling track hoists. There was also a separate unit with washing machine and dryer which I had to use more than once during our stay.

Quinns watching TV in his profiling bed while holding onto the ceiling track hoist.
A small studio kitchen covered in Quinns' feeding pumps, syringes and empty feed bottles.
Wet room with separate bath and shower with a shower chair just in view.

The rural location was idyllic, the owners were incredibly helpful and the entire set up meant I was able to comfortably care for Quinns all week long so we could enjoy many adventures with our friends.

Changing Places Awareness Day 2024

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Today is Changing Places Awareness day. Another opportunity to speak about the Changing Places toilets that make our life with Quinns easier. They allow us to get out and about with him and make his life as exciting as possible.

This week I’ve been sharing posts from Changing Places UK about the numbers of Changing Place toilets across the UK. The numbers are shockingly low. There are only 17 in airports, 199 in parks and open spaces and museums, galleries and art centres have 99. Only 123 hospital and medical centres have one out of a total of 1148 and out of the thousands of pubs and restaurants there are 16!

We started raising awareness for these facilities in 2018. For the last 6 years I’ve taken a photo of Quinns and his Big Sister in every one of the facilities we’ve visited. They know the drill!

Quinns (3) and his big sister (7) posing in a Changing Places toilet in 2018. You can see the adjustable height bench, hoist and screen in the background.
2018
Quinns (8) and his Big Sister (13) posing in a Changing Places toilet in 2024. Quinns is in his sling on the hoist with the adjustable height changing bench behind him.
2024

It is usually with great excitement we try out a new one because each time we know that the world has opened another little bit for Quinns. Our recent visits have included Waverly Station in Edinburgh, Silverburn Shopping Centre in Glasgow and Tebay Services Northbound.

Quinns posing in the Edinburgh Waverley Train Station Changing Place toilet.
Waverley Station
Quinns and his Big Sister posing in front of a mirror in the Changing Place toilet in Glasgow's Silverburn Shopping Centre.
Silverburn Shopping Centre
Quinns and his Big Sister posing in the Changing Places toilet in Tebay Services Northbound.
Tebay Services Northbound

Only four out of the five hospitals across the UK where Quinns has appointments have one. Luckily, it’s one closer to home that doesn’t but luck shouldn’t really come into it when it comes to toilet facilities.

The journey to and from London for hospital appointments is now easier due to the recent investment in Changing Places in service stations. We have a choice of where to stop along the route.

When we’re not travelling, we have our favourite places to go simply because of the toilet. Quinns loves the cinema and swimming so Macrobert Arts Centre and The Peak are our go to local days out. Quinns was delighted to have his drama group’s short film premiere hosted at the Macrobert Arts Centre where his friends were able to be happy and comfortable.

Someone asked me recently whether there were any new Changing Places facilities in our local area. I was sad to say there have been no new ones since our campaigning began. In our entire local authority area, there are only 3 registered and open to the public (Macrobert Arts Centre, The Peak and Blair Drummond Safari Park). There are also ones in the Community hospital, local College and a resource centre bringing the total to 6.

This Changing Places Awareness Day my Wishlist for potential Changing Places facilities includes the Thistles Centre in Stirling, Stirling Castle, Stirling Train Station, the Wallace Monument and Bridge of Allan (which I’m hopeful is happening albeit very slowly). 

What’s on your Changing Places wishlist? If you want to find out more about the campaign or find out what you can do to help you’ll find lots more information on the Changing Places UK website

Hoists in hotels

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It is difficult for us to go away from home for any length of time. We have everything we need here, it’s fully accessible and set up exactly how we need it with a specialist profiling ‘hospital’ bed, ceiling track hoist and wet room. We also have a team of wonderful carers who come in and help us provide care for Quinns.

When we went to London for a hospital appointment last month, we had to leave all the home comforts and team behind for nearly a week. After our public transport experiences last time we decided to drive all the way. Huge thanks to Dad for his bravery at driving across Central London!

Quinns smiling in front of four made up beds in the Ronald McDonald House Evelina
Quinns and his Big Sister smile in the kitchen of the Ronald McDonald House Evelina
Quinns and his Big Sister smile with Westminster in the background across the river from Guys and St Thomas' hospital

Thankfully we were given a room in the Ronald McDonald Evelina House the nights before and after our appointment. Arriving to find a parking space in front of the house was a great relief after being on the road for nearly 12 hours. The DBS appointment went well but took the best part of the day, so it was so helpful to have a space to rest before we hit the road again the following day.

Dad managed to arrange a work gig for the Friday so on Thursday we transferred to the Premier Inn hotel at London Archway for the next two nights. I had heard it was the most accessible hotel in London boasting a total of 9 accessible rooms with ceiling track hoists!

We had two rooms booked: one standard and one accessible with a ceiling track hoist. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we ended up with two accessible rooms, both with hoists. One had a wet room with a shower, the other had a bathroom. (It was brilliant to have both so there was a choice of whether to shower or bath Quinns but a bit of me did feel guilty about having two accessible rooms in case someone else needed one.)

Part of the struggle with being away isn’t just the lack of hoisting but a combination of no hoist, low bed, and no additional helpers. So having one of those issues solved gave my back a bit of a rest at least.

Quinns smiles in his gravity chair in front of Anita who is sitting on a double bed. There is a ceiling track hoist in the top left of the picture.

Quinns, Big Sister and I had the Friday free to explore the city while Dad worked. Although the hotel is the most accessible in London the closest tube stations are not. We would have had a 25-minute walk to the nearest step free station, and we weren’t feeling well disposed to taking the bus after last time especially with a team member missing.

Instead, we made the most of our hotel room. With only an accessible shower room at home it was a bonus to be able to get Quinns in the bath. We used the hoist with his shower sling to gently lower him into the water where he relaxed for a good 30-40 minutes. It saved me from building the painstakingly packaged up shower chair that we had brought with us in the WAV.

Accessible bathroom with ceiling track hoist over bath and toilet in the Premier Inn Archway London
Connector for ceiling track hoist from hotel bedroom to bathroom

After our visit I contacted Premier Inn to thank them for having so many rooms with hoists available. I found out that bed raisers would have been available if I’d asked for them and the style of bed they are using is suitable for use with a mobile hoist which is good to know for future.

I also asked them why this one hotel had so many accessible rooms with hoists especially since the nearest tube station wasn’t accessible. Apparently, it was a planning condition from the Council when the hotel was built. So, this hotel has nine and their London Stratford hotel has one. Sadly though Premier Inn has no plans to roll out hoists in any other hotels in their chain.

Before this trip to London, I had never really thought about hoists in hotel rooms but they made a really big difference to our experience. There would be real potential if Premier Inn and other hotel chains were to take this on. Since being on this trip, I have also discovered there are no hoists in hotels in the whole of Scotland!

I would love to know about other people’s experiences of hoists in hotels.

The art of travel

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Quinns has absolutely loved taking part in Your Art World, an art project, at the National Gallery in Edinburgh over the last few months. As well as exploring the gallery he has used various techniques to explore artistic techniques and as a result produced some interesting artworks.

He has taken part in so many ways; cutting strips of gold foil, pressing down on paper for prints, holding onto stretchy material, choosing colours for ink and paint, rolling over paint in his wheelchair, decorating the walls etc. It is a challenge to find activities that Quinns can be fully involved in, and this has been a wonderful opportunity where he has been truly valued. Thanks to PAMIS for the opportunity and the lovely artists who have helped him explore the materials and techniques.

Quinns hand holds a blue brush. An adult's hand help guide him to press the brush into clay to make a stamp for printing.
Quinns smiles as his Big Sister pushes his wheelchair over a closed bag of red and yellow paint. There are strips of paper on the wall behind them.
Quinns has his back to the camera. His arm stretches out to stick down strips of gold foil.
Quinns smiles up at the camera. In front of him there is a painting made from dipping wool in paint and pressing it onto paper.

Edinburgh is an hour away. There are  always complex logistics involved with travelling far from home with Quinns. The main things to sort out are how to get there and how we care for him while we are away. I feel reasonably happy visiting the centre of Edinburgh because there are several Changing Places we can use; Waverley Station, Wetherspoons, St James Centre. There is also a facility in the Gallery itself which although it doesn’t quite make the specification for a full Changing Place is fine for us.

Quinns smiles in the centre of a narrow Changing Places facility with ceiling track hoist, adjustable height changing bed, toilet and screen.

We all know Quinns loves the train so travelling that way is a good option for a fun day out in central Edinburgh. For three out of the four sessions our train travel went smoothly. However, the day there was a bus replacement for a tiny fraction of the journey it went spectacularly wrong.

A normally 4-minute train journey took one hour! Even although we arrived in ample time for our train, as a result of inaccessible replacement buses and having to wait for a replacement taxi, we missed two trains and ended up in Edinburgh an hour later than planned. Sadly, it was the same on the return journey. What should have been a total of two hours travel there and back took us four hours!

I trusted the Scotrail app when it said the replacement buses and coaches were all accessible. Generally we have experienced good service on the trains and have also travelled by bus and coach with Quinns, so I had little reason to doubt it. We didn’t set out that day entirely naively so we made it to the art gallery on time but only because we had left a large enough margin of error.

It may have all worked out but we arrived home that day thoroughly exhausted and in shock at how badly the service had failed us. I have, of course, written to Scotrail detailing what happened in order to highlight the issues we faced. The response was an apology and assurances that the issues we flagged have been noted. The third party bus service have also been notified of their failures. All we can do now is hope that changes are made and next time we try we don’t receive such a disappointing service.

It is easy to highlight the good things that happen to Quinns without really sharing the difficulties. He has had some amazing opportunities recently which are good to share but none of them come without challenges. For every photo of Quinns smiling there is usually also a story to share about how he got to that point.

Quinns smiles from the wheelchair space on a train.
Quinns looks out from the gallery window at the trains coming out from Waverley Station in Edinburgh.

North to South

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I can’t let World Toilet Day pass without talking about Changing Places toilets. It has been great to hear that the 2000th Changing Place was registered in the past week. It’s a huge achievement but there’s still a long way to go to get Changing Places in all public spaces.

Quinns smiles while being lifted in his hoist sling supported by his smiling Big Sister by his side.

In recent months we’ve travelled to the north of Scotland and to the south of England from our base in Central Scotland. Our WAV (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) has given us freedom to roam. Quinns is happy and comfortable remaining in his wheelchair as we drive.

Our routes are always rigorously timed and planned according to stops with a Changing Places toilet available to give him a break. On our first journey north of around 150 miles we planned for one stop to break up our three hour journey. There is a choice of only two Changing Places toilets along the entire route!

Quinns smiles sitting at a table with his Big Sister behind him. The front of the Tiso store in Aviemore. A lit up Changing Places sign above the door to the Changing Places toilet in the Tiso store.

We chose the Tiso store in Aviemore, which was slightly over the halfway point. As well as the newly installed Changing Place we were pleasantly surprised to find a cafe in the outdoor/camping shop. The food was so good it tempted us back on our journey south again.

We would have liked to try out the Changing Place in Pitlochry but with limited opening hours it didn’t work with our plans. So for journeys north we will be back to Tiso until there are others for us to try.

Our second journey was the long road back to Quinns’ London hospital. At more than double the distance of our journey north, about 340 miles, we expected it to take us around six hours and need two stops. Thankfully, recently, there has been a large investment of funding for Changing Places toilets in services across England so we had our choice of service station stops with suitable facilities along the route. 

Instructions on how to use a Wall Mounted Changing Bench 3000. Quinns and his Big Sister smiling in the middle of a Changing Places toilet with adjustable height bench, sink, hoist and screen all visible. Sign that reads 'Changing Places toilet installed thanks to funding provided by the Department for Transport with Muscular Dystrophy UK.

In order to meet the standard required most Changing Places look the same, with similar equipment and fittings. On our way south we noted in one of the new service station toilets there were instruction panels for each bit of equipment. This is a really helpful addition as although the equipment is similar it’s not necessarily always the same and we need to work out how to use it.

On the way back we decided not to travel straight home, instead stopping in Leeds to meet friends. We were impressed by the additional details in the Changing Places in the Royal Armouries Museum there. Quinns especially enjoyed seeing the elephant statue on the screen. These small details make a big difference to our experience.

Green elephant fittings on an adjustable height bench which is closed against a wall. Quinns with his back to the camera looks at a screen with an elephant statue on it.

Using Changing Places in service stations meant we didn’t need to track too far off route and add extra time to our journey unless we had a reason to do so. Sadly they are not quite in all service stations yet. On the final leg of our journey we stopped at Tebay North having used Tebay South on the way only to discover there’s no Changing Place in the north one and no access to the south. 

We learned important lessons from our journeys north and south including how little choice we have and why route planning is so essential for us. There may be 2000 registered Changing Places across the country now but the campaigning for more must go on.