Now that the first term of school is nearly finished I can finally reflect back on our busy summer holiday. We packed a lot into our six weeks, making the most of our time off for adventures.
Our initial main holiday plan had been to travel somewhere by ferry but alas it wasn’t to be this year as it would have required more planning than time allowed to find accommodation that we could have ‘made work’. Instead we stayed closer to home when I found the most beautiful little cottage nestled in Royal Deeside which was perfectly suited to us.
Crathie Opportunity Holidays have four specially-adapted cottages centred around a courtyard and right on the banks of the River Dee. It has everything we need including a profiling bed, hoist and wet room for Quinns and laundry facilities for me! It made a perfect base for exploration. We made the most of our week with a couple of days in Aberdeen and a trip to Cairngorm. There were also a couple of quieter days close to our Crathie House exploring the Balmoral Gardens and swimming in the river.
Dad and I both have history with Aberdeen, and Big Sister is hoping to have a future there, so it’s always lovely to visit. We met up with friends to explore one of my favourite places, Aberdeen Art Gallery. I’m so pleased that a renovation around 2021 included a Changing Place toilet so it was an obvious choice especially with Quinns’ love of art. The exhibition was a brilliant exploration of the wonderful world of Automata. There were buttons, cranks and activities for everyone to enjoy.
A trip to Aberdeen wouldn’t be the same without a visit to Duthie Park. On a previous visit we found it to have not one but two pretty-inclusive playparks with highbacked swing and multiple wheelchair accessible roundabouts. And this time we were even more delighted to discover a newly-installed wheelchair-accessible swing which Quinns absolutely loved!
The Cairngorm Mountain Railway has been on my to-do list for Quinns for a while now. We know how difficult it is to climb mountains with him (not impossible just challenging!) but this way he could experience the change in altitude and perspective with little effort from us. Thankfully we visited there before the wildfires ravaged the landscape and have since watched in disbelief at what happened.
We were very impressed with the service on the Mountain Railway. Quinns was boarded first into the front of the carriage by a really friendly member of staff. The visitor centre at the top is across multiple floors and we had a different route from everyone else to find lifts. It was amazing to get out onto the top of the mountain although it was pretty cloudy and very windy!
We spent a fair bit of time at the visitor centre; eating in the restaurant, visiting the exhibitions, buying a tiny giraffe in the gift shop. The main attraction was the viewing platforms of which we wanted to make the most. Quinns enjoyed being outside the first time, tolerated it the second and refused the third trip out!
The views were spectacular from the front of the train on the way back down. We would definitely recommend this as a trip to any wheelchair users. The only improvement for us would have been a Changing Places toilet on site as the nearest one was in Aviemore at Tiso.
With Aberdeen and Cairngorm about an hour’s drive away from our cottage it was also important to have a couple of more restful days around our cottage. We were just a short walk from Balmoral and with our accommodation we got free access to the grounds. So across the bridge we went to explore the castle exhibition, gardens and learn about capercaillies. There were no sightings of Royals though as they have usually flown south for the winter.
We also spent a day by the river. Big Sister, of course, in her happy place swimming while Quinns battled the tree I’d parked him under to shade him from the sun. And with happy children I got to sit on a rock and read a book.
It was difficult to get Quinns’ wheelchair right down to the river but Big Sister instead brought the river to him, by filling bottles of water to pour over his feet, which he found hilarious!
The holiday was as relaxing as it could be thanks to the Crathie Opportunity Holidays cottages. Sadly, there are very few facilities like these in Scotland but they make such a big difference to our lives. Imagine the adventures we could have with more provision of suitable holiday accommodation!
