After having such a nice week away with Mum at Center Parcs last year I really wanted to go again this year.
I was really looking forward to going but I was so nervous about going somewhere different, I like my routine and being in familiar surroundings. We went to Whinfell Forest up near Penrith again, so we were only 90 minutes from home and my carers were still able to drive up to do their usual night shifts.
I chose to stay at one of the adapted lodges so I had a spacious bedroom with a profiling bed and big wetroom. The kitchen also had lowered surfaces for if I wanted to help and you were able to move the sofas so that I could join everyone else which was really nice. The living area is all open plan so I could sit on the sofa and talk to Mum or my carers as they were making tea. We all chilled out and watched Love Island together before I went to bed and to start my night routine.
Anywhere that we go we always seem to need to take so much stuff with us, I have to take all of the most important things like my hoist, shower chair, both vents, cough assist machine and all of my medications. We had to take three cars; my car and Dad’s which were both full of thing’s, and one of my cares, Chantelle, took hers so that her and my other carer Zoe could get home on Wednesday night. Dad helped us to get everything out of the cars and into the lodge before he left to go back home and look after the dogs.
It was good that we weren’t too far from home which meant the girls on the night shifts could still do the same nights. Chantelle and Zoe did Monday day right through to Wednesday night and then they went home, and Nikki B came Wednesday night and then stayed with me and Mum until we got home.
Whinfell Forest is so pretty and even in winter when it’s cold you could walk around there for ages, the lake is just beautiful and I loved following the trail in the Enchanted Forest.
The majority of the whole site is so wheelchair accessible which makes things so much easier to get around. It’s just a shame that I’m not able to use the swimming pool. When I first started staying overnight at a hotel, we would rent a hoist so that it would be waiting at the hotel but it was expensive so I bought a mobile hoist. Last year we stayed at a hotel that had a ceiling hoist like the one that I have at home. It would be great if they were able to put one in one of the adapted lodges which would maybe make some people find it not so daunting to take all of their equipment. You are able to hire certain types of equipment from Center Prcs but I would hesitate to do that in case it wasn’t right for my specific needs.
When we went to Customer Services to ask if we were able to turn the heating down in the twin room that Zoe and Chantelle were sharing, we were told someone would come out to the lodge but nobody came.
The Pancake House was the first place I wanted to eat at and I loved my blueberry pancakes that I was so excited for. We chose to have breakfast or lunch out at one of the restaurants and then just cooked our tea back at the lodge We planned our meals beforehand and took everything with us. It can get expensive, and it was just nice for us to relax in front of the fire while our tea was in the oven.
t’s always fun when we go bowling so we did that after the Pancake House and somehow I managed to get one more point than my Mum and won overall.
On the Wednesday I had planned lunch at The Lakeside Inn so we had a really nice walk to it and then went to pottery painting afterwards, I loved the gonks Chantelle and Zoe painted for me last year and this years’ masterpiece was a little toadstool house.
I had an amazing time, and it definitely gave me some peace and quiet that we all needed but I was very happy to get back home to Poppy. At home Mum always likes to be doing things but it was nice to be able to have her just chill out and watch a film with me.
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