The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-01)

The Sunday Times May 1, 2022 19

Travel Staycations

HelstonHelston

Gunwalloe

Beach

Kynance

Cove Lizard

5 miles peninsula

TREVASSACK

LAKE

One day Ruby stayed with

Gill while I went out on the

water with Samuel and Ruben

— the former on an oversized

stand-up paddleboard (SUP)

with me, the latter in a kayak.

We laid Samuel down in the

middle of the paddleboard,

meaning he was safe, but

could also dangle an arm into

the water and play. Because

the lake is so enclosed (it’s a

former quarry), the water is

calm; we could paddle over

to see the ducks or geese, and

look down and see the fish

darting around below.

When Samuel is happy he

lets out these little squeals of

excitement, and he picks up

on the vibe very quickly when

people are having fun around

him too. Here delight was

written all over his face.

When it was clear that he

The Hutt family

— with Samuel,

centre, who has

full-body cerebral

palsy. Left, sailing

on Trevassack

Lake. Below, the

new properties

on site are as

stylish as they

are accessible.

Bottom, family

paddleboarding

was getting a bit chilly — he

was in a double wetsuit and

life jacket, but he has low

body fat, so coldness can be

an issue — we came off the

water, stripped out of our

wetsuits and hopped into

the hot tub to warm up.

Everything at the lake

seems to be electric,

meaning the peace isn’t

shattered by outboard

engines or petrol motors.

This also goes for “Floaty”,

the site’s accessible floating

classroom (think

manoeuvrable, covered

pontoon), on which we

managed that elusive

full-family outing. Samuel

could just roll onto it in his

wheelchair and — with Jo

from CST at the helm — we

glided across the water in

this solar-powered vessel.

Later in the week Ruben

joined a Wet ’n’ Wilder group

session with five older kids.

They learnt the ropes sailing

Hansa 2.3 and 303 dinghies,

did some SUPing and played

games such as tag on the

water. I managed to get

Samuel out in a double kayak

— him sitting safely in the

front compartment with me

while Jo was behind taking the

brunt of the paddling duties.

While we knew all about

the Lizard, we’d never really

had the opportunity to fully

explore the peninsula.

Kynance Cove is the big draw —

arguably one of the UK’s best-

known and prettiest beaches.

We took that in from the car

park, slightly intimidated by

the rocky climb down.

We had more luck at

Gunwalloe Beach, a lovely

little spot a few miles north

with a church right down by

the water. Because Sam is only

eight, I’m still able to carry

him across terrain where

maybe his wheelchair would

be tricky to operate. We did

this here, laying out a picnic

blanket on the beach for him

and all just sitting, chatting

and laughing, and taking in

the views of Mount’s Bay.

It’s hard to express just

how rewarding it is to achieve

a holiday when your

circumstances are like ours.

It gave the whole family such

a lift — not least Samuel. He’s

such a joy. I can’t explain it.

Life with him is hard, but

such tremendous fun too.

The best analogy is climbing

a mountain: you reach the

top, and the views and the

camaraderie are just so much

sweeter for what you’ve

overcome to get there.

For us, this holiday was

one of those mountaintop

moments.

The Hutt Family were guests

of Trevassack Holidays

(trevassackholidays.com) and

the Children’s Sailing Trust

(childrenssailingtrust.org.uk),

which have three nights’ self-

catering at Clare Milne House

on Trevassack Lake (sleeping

six plus a cot) from £735, or

£1,050 for a week, including

bedding, towels, the hot tub

and all accessible equipment

ADAM GIBBARD PHOTOGRAPHY

E

ven the simplest

of holidays can be

such a challenge

for families with

disabled kids.

Often it’s a case of either

doing something specifically

for that person — or having to

exclude them. Finding options

that genuinely include

everyone is the holy grail.

My son Samuel, eight, has

full-body cerebral palsy and

needs 24-hour care. But he’s

a happy chappy and up for

anything — ably supported by

his brother Ruben, 12,

and three-year-old Ruby,

who love playing with him

and helping with his needs,

even though they get very

little feedback from him.

We’re an outdoorsy family

— my wife, Gill, and I are from

South Africa originally, so

perhaps it stems from that.

We’ve got off-road wheels

for Samuel’s chair that we use

when we go hiking near our

home in Bath. I’ve put him

on a surfboard before, that

sort of thing, but the level of

care he needs means it’s often

not practical.

Our trip to Trevassack

Lake, on the Lizard Peninsula

in Cornwall, was just what we

were looking for. The site is

run by the Children’s Sailing

Trust (CST), a charity that has

been providing water sports

for youngsters — particularly

those with physical disabilities

or special educational needs

— for 25 years.

For those with disabilities,

financial barriers can be just as

considerable as physical ones;

specialist kit and round-the-

clock care can really add up.

CST gets this, subsidising its

classes and courses to keep

costs down, and ploughing all

profit from its commercial

water sports and holiday

rentals back into the charity.

The newest of these holiday

rentals is Clare Milne House,

one of six super-stylish self-

catering properties on the 26-

acre Trevassack Lake site. It’s

on an elevated setting by the

water. There’s an enormous

wooden deck at the front, and

Gill loved the fact that she

could sit in the hot tub with

panoramic views of the action

and not have to worry.

Too often accessible

properties feel like a box-

ticking exercise; you wonder if

there’s been any consultation

at all with the people they’re

targeting. That is not the case

here — the attention to detail

is superb, the multiple little

adaptations feel intuitive and

everything flows from inside

to out.

There’s a lift from the

waterside level, where there’s

a restaurant, showers and the

sailing centre, meaning

Samuel could happily get

involved in the water sports.

The decking is spacious, but

also discreetly fenced in,

offering plenty of privacy; we

weren’t overlooked by anyone.

We loved the big sliding doors

in the living room that allowed

Samuel to sit in that room on

the couple of days when the

weather wasn’t great and still

feel part of the action, rather

than just stuck.

We certainly made the most

of the days when it was clear.

There’s something about being

out on the water that’s just so

liberating — for the able-bodied

and, particularly, for someone

who spends large amounts of

time confined to a wheelchair

and in a highly ordered

environment. Everything feels

new, different. It’s a fluid

world, full of possibilities.

For someone like Samuel,

it’s not without its risks,

though; should he end up in

the water it could be very

serious. But the volunteers at

the centre were amazing —

patient, engaged, experienced

— and we’ve always believed

in embracing risk as long as

it’s done in a measured way.

Is it possible for a holiday to be affordable, adventure-packed

and truly accessible? David Hutt heads to Cornwall to find out

ON

THE

It’s so rewarding

to achieve even a

simple holiday in

our circumstances

LAKESIDE

LIZARD