This month I went camping for the weekend, in Anglesey. To be honest, our decision to camp at Bryn Goleu was largely based on the fact that it was a working farm, that housed goats! We didn't know much about the site's accessibility, but I'd read there was an accessible bathroom and so I simply, hoped for the best!
Image Description: Nash is wearing a red co-ord with green palm leaves. He is sitting in his manual wheelchair, stroking a baby goat through a large metal gate. We don't know what their 'actual' name was, but we named this brown and white goat, Bobbin.
The campsite was a short drive from Holy Head and Trearddur Bay, and was close to local supermarkets - incase you forgot to pack something (or many things!), as we did! The location was pretty much perfect for anyone wanting to spend a few days exploring the island. We chose to spend Saturday at Trearddur Bay, sunbathing and paddling in the sea, before heading over to Holy Head in the late afternoon. Then on Sunday, we packed up our kit, said goodbye to the goats and played a few rounds of Swing Ball, before heading home. We decided to stop in Chester for a few hours, as it was on our route back and somewhere we'd never been before.
Around the Site
With just 25 pitches across the site, Bryn Goleu is the perfect place to unwind in the great outdoors. The actual campsite was peaceful, however the noise from the main road was a little annoying whilst trying to get to sleep at night. Maybe I'm just too used to the peace and quiet of living in the Peak District!
Much of the site's paths and roads are gravel, which is notoriously difficult to push a wheelchair on; however, I quickly learnt where the gravel wasn't as deepest, and adjusted my routes accordingly. None of the site was particularly level, and because of the inclines, combined with the uneven ground, I needed someones help to get around. I'm a relatively fit and strong person, and struggled to even get from the tent to the bathroom independently, because of the terrain. My advice would be to use a power attachment or the help of a friend, if you're navigating the campsite in a manual wheelchair. I didn't bring my power chair with me on this trip, mainly because there was no room left for it in the car, but I think it would have been easier to get around in it.
Image Description: A bird's eye photo of the gravelled paths around the site, taken by Nash, from his wheelchair. Part of the wheelchair tyre and black frame can be seen at the bottom of the image.
Pitch Accessibility
The pitches are on the lower end of the site, meaning that to get from the pitch to the toilet/shower block, you have to go up a gravelled hill. When we first arrived we walked from the pitch to the toilets and I needed pushing up the hill - it was too uneven and steep for me to get up it alone. At the top of the hill we met the campsite owner, who offered us to stay on a different grass patch, closer to the ablutions, so that it wasn't so much of a struggle for me to get around. We took them up on the offer and ended up camping at the back of the toilet block, on a grass patch beside a disused go-kart track. It wasn't 'technically' a pitch, but with the help of the owner, we made it work!
It definitely felt more private, being on our own pitch away from the main camping area - especially in the evenings. But there was some building work going on, on the disused racetrack, so our morning brew was often interrupted by various diggers and excavators trucking past our tent.
Bathroom
I wouldn't say that my SCI has made me 'care' more about bathroom facilities, but it's definitely something that I've come to appreciate more than before. I probably do get too excited when I see a new changing space has opened, or that a hoist has been provided in the loo - but it's not like some weird special interest of mine, I promise!
Anyway! I was impressed with the wet-room facilities at Bryn Goleu, I wasn't expecting such a small business to have put so much thought and effort into making the site more accessible. It was also nice to see that the bathroom had a modern feel to it, as some disabled toilets tend to look a bit clinical.
Image Descriptions:
Top Left: The toilet is accessible for transfers from the right side (as you're facing it). There is one drop down grab bar, and and a fixed bar on the opposite side. There is a small sink, with two fixed grab bars above it, in addition to a soap dispenser and a mirror above. The mirror was too high for me to be able to use, from my wheelchair.
Top Right: A plastic fold down shower seat is fixed to the bathroom wall. Around it are two drop down grab rails (one beside and one in front), and one fixed grab rail (beside the shower seat).
Bottom Left: There is an automatic hand dryer fitted to the wall beside the sink. In the corner, there is a grey bin and a wooden mop. I found the bin was way too far away from the toilet, to be any use.
Bottom Right: A smooth concrete ramp is in front of the accessible bathroom door, surrounded by a metal rail. At the bottom of the ramp, the concrete meets dark grey/black loose gravel.
I had no issues getting on and off the toilet, or shower chair, as the grab rails were perfectly positioned. However, I found it difficult to wash my lower body whilst on the shower seat, so needed to get someone to help me with it. The flooring also wasn't non-slip, so I needed help to transfer back into my day-chair after showering, as the wet floor was pretty slippy. In hindsight, I'm thinking maybe taking a rubber bathmat would have helped the situation, but that's something I'll try next time.
Final Thoughts
Whilst the campsite wasn't the most accessible of places, it was definitely accessible enough for me to have enjoyed staying there. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who doesn't have a friend/PA etc to help them manage the less accessible aspects of the site, but for our group, it was alright. The fact that the site owner was so welcoming and tried so hard to accommodate my access needs, really meant a lot and went a long way in making our trip a success. Personally, I would return to this campsite, however I would probably invest in some off road tyres or a power attachment first, so that I didn't have to rely so heavily on the rest of our group.
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