For years, Gillian and Russell Scotford were unable to find holiday accommodation to meet the needs of their disabled children. Now, as Fiona Stubbs discovers, they are helping others to experience Derbyshire and the Peak District by creating an accessible holiday home in memory of their late son, Tom.
Go on,” cajoles Gillian Scotford. “Have a recline, see how comfortable that chair is.”
And so, with a gentle backward tilt and rising feet, begins my most relaxed interview ever – in the most stylish and well-planned home.
On the other side of the stunning fireplace of Lake District slate, Gillian describes the labour of love that is Havendale, the luxury accessible holiday escape she and her husband, Russell, have created in Chesterfield.
The single-storey, four-bedroom property offers self-catering comfort for people with a wide range of needs. “One in four households has access requirements and many trips are taken by three- or four-generational families,” says Gillian. “When designing and planning Havendale, we didn’t just focus on one area of need. We wanted to create a space that ensured a comfortable break away from home, that could meet the needs of as many people as possible and allow them to relax with dignity.”
Gillian speaks from experience. Two of her three sons have experienced extensive disability. Tom, who died in 2017, aged 21, sustained a catastrophic brain injury in hospital during his first week of life. Her youngest son, Sam, 27, had a stroke and has severe autism.
The boys’ disabilities meant a change of life for former nurse Gillian, who began her career at Sheffield’s renowned spinal injury unit and went on to become a district nurse, based in Baslow and covering areas of the Peak District. Russell also gave up his job as a plumber to help care for their sons.
“We were always there for them,” recalls Gillian. “They had a lovely life with us and our extended family. We were all very close and took holidays together – though no accommodation ever ticked all the boxes.”
In 2011, when an online search for places for Tom to stay in the Peak District brought up no suitable properties, Gillian set out on a mission for change.
Acquiring funding from Derbyshire County Council, she set up a website – Accessible Derbyshire. “Inspired by my own children, it was all about where you could go, what you could do,” explains Gillian. “It listed viewpoints, scenic drives, accessible places. I shared what I knew.”
Three years later, Accessible Derbyshire became a charity and Gillian teamed up with Jane Cooper – whose daughter attended Ashgate Croft school with Tom – to raise both awareness and funds for access improvements across Derbyshire.
The award-winning charity funded accessible equipment like sailing boats, climbing harnesses and all-terrain wheelchairs and worked with organisations including the Peak District National Park Authority, the National Trust and Visit England on accessibility improvements and training.
One of their proudest achievements is the on-going roll-out of Changing Places accessible toilets, which allow more people to enjoy the countryside.The charity closed in 2023, though the website continues [https://www.accessiblederbyshire.org/]. “We created the UK’s first accessible county,” says Gillian, who now runs her own access consultancy – AccessibleUK. Based in Chesterfield, she works nationwide with organisations, championing access as a priority for all.
Tom’s death in 2017 was devastating for the family and Gillian admits it took a toll on her accessibility ambitions. However, four years later, Gillian and Russell finally received compensation for the brain injury Tom suffered as a newborn. He would have been 25 years old.
“With that money, we created Havendale,” reveals Gillian.
The renovation and extension of the bungalow – project managed by Russell – has taken two years to complete. “There’s a real sense of achievement,” says Gillian. “It’s something very positive to come out of Tom’s life, along with many other things. As a family, we’ve been driven by everything Tom has taught us, from the 1999 playground appeal for Ashgate Croft which led us to build three accessible playgrounds in Derbyshire, through all our accessibility work and the training of thousands of accessibility champions.”
“This is a legacy to Tom and it enables us to help other families to not experience the challenges we faced when looking for a break. It feels very special that Tom’s memory lives on in this.”
Exploring Havendale, it feels as though Gillian and Russell have thought of every possible need – taking expert advice on a range of practicalities as well as drawing on their own experience. Features include adjustable and easily moved furniture; luxurious specialist beds; a sleek, accessible kitchen with pull-down cabinets; sensory lighting; hearing loop; highly specialist bathroom facilities and an emergency lighting back-up system.
Black window frames and door handles provide good visual contrast for people with sight loss and, throughout, there’s an emphasis on comfort with tactile materials and textures. In the secure rear garden, Gillian has planted jasmine and honeysuckle to create a sensory area.
“For people with disabilities, so many sensory things apply,” she says. “People think about level access as the key part of accessibility but, in fact, only 8% of 16.8 million disabled people in the UK are wheelchair users. So, 92% of people have other access needs, including hearing and sight loss, dementia, learning difficulties, autism and other neurodivergence.”
It seems nothing has been overlooked yet, insists Gillian: “While the property has been designed to be as accessible as possible, there is no such thing as fully accessible. Everyone is different and has different needs. We want Havendale to be flexible because everybody has their own way of how they best manage.”
The property was architecturally designed and built in 1965 from Derbyshire stone with floor-to-ceiling windows. With level access and outside space – including plenty of room for parking – it was an ideal property for creating the holiday home Gillian had always dreamed of. And there were other signs that it was meant to be. “It was built the year I was born!” she smiles. “There’s also a little wooded glade in the front garden with bluebells which were in full bloom when we first viewed the property. Tom died at Bluebell Wood hospice …”
She adds: “We chose Chesterfield because it’s a historic market town and so much is being done right now to improve it. We’re 10 minutes from the Peak District National Park boundary but also only 10 minutes from the hospital and just a three-minute drive from the outstanding out of hours doctor service. When people have health issues, they don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere.”
Havendale offers the best of both worlds – including easy reach to some of the places Gillian has helped to become more accessible. “I think improvements in the last 10 years have been significant especially in things like transport, organisations like the National Trust and English Heritage and big companies. There’s a real drive for improving accessibility,” she says.
“Accessible tourism is booming. Overnight stays and day visits alone are worth £14.6 billion per year to the UK economy and the total purple pound [disabled spending power] is worth £446 billion each year.”
An official opening of Havendale was performed by the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Sir Richard FitzHerbert.
“The property is everything I wanted but never found,” says Gillian. “I’ve dreamed about this for so many years, but we never had the money. The original dream was to build something that Tom would be able to enjoy – somewhere that wasn’t like a hospital.
“Moving forward, I’ll learn from our visitors and find ways to make their stay even better. Accessibility is a journey we’ll never complete because things are always changing. We’re always learning.”
• Learn more at www.accessiblecottage.co.uk/ and www.sykescottages.co.uk/cottage/Derbyshire-Chesterfield/Havendale