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Havendale: A Luxury Accessible Escape in the Heart of Derbyshire

Offering self-catering excellence in a quiet residential setting, Havendale is a beautifully designed holiday home created for everyone to enjoy. Thoughtfully inclusive by design, accessibility is seamlessly integrated without compromising on style, comfort, or luxury.

"This is such a beautiful property for everyone to enjoy. Its inclusive design means accessibility feels effortless and completely natural."

A cosy and welcoming retreat you’ll never want to leave, Havendale is a truly special ‘home from home’ in the heart of Derbyshire. While perfectly suited for guests with access requirements, it is equally loved by families, couples, and friends seeking a peaceful, high-quality stay.

 

Established by a family who are passionate, experienced, and genuinely care about disabled people, Havendale goes beyond accommodation — it offers comfort, dignity, and a place where everyone feels they belong.

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Accessibility first

When a family has access requirements, leaving their home can create challenges that make a holiday ‘not a holiday‘. At Havendale we want all our guests, their families and carers to relax with dignity, from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

 

Havendale, the first accessible self catering holiday property in Chesterfield, within minutes from the bustling medieval market town. The bungalow is within 15 to 25 minutes of major tourism offerings and is perfectly located to explore Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park. It is also within easy reach of Sheffield, Nottingham, Barnsley, and Rotherham with close access to the M1 motorway. Regular trains connect quickly to places such as Derby, Leeds and Meadowhall Retail Outlet.

Chesterfield

Chesterfield is a welcoming market town on the edge of the Peak District, known for its friendly atmosphere, rich heritage, and easy access to beautiful countryside. With independent shops, cafés, and green spaces, it offers the perfect balance of town convenience and rural charm.

Steeped in history, Chesterfield is best known for its iconic Crooked Spire, a striking landmark that has defined the town’s skyline for centuries. Traditional markets, historic streets, and a strong sense of community give Chesterfield its distinctive character.

Chesterfield, which received its market charter in 1204, by King John, and is one of Britains largest, most historic open air markets, which has recently been renovated creating smooth pathways throughout. There is also an indoor market hall, originally built to remove livestock off the streets.

Today both the indoor Market Hall and the outdoor market are home to wonderful independent retailers and are popular and thriving. They host wonderful events, activities and music along with stalls selling fresh produce at great prices.

With excellent transport links, accessible trains, buses and taxis, it is the perfect base for a holiday. With the recent addition of the Peak Sightseer Bus Peak Sightseer | Stagecoach an amazing seasonal wheelchair accessible bus service, doing open top tours of circular routes around the Peak District, visiting places such as Baslow, Chatsworth House, Bakewell, Castleton and all the villages in between, this has become such a popular day out for many. It allows visitors to hop on, hop off as many times as you like in a day, all included in the one price ticket.

pink cherry blossom tree under blue sky

Meet The Owners

Gillian and Russell Scotford have fulfilled their dream and spent 2 years renovating this ‘Labour of Love’ holiday property, in memory of their son Thomas and have created the accessible luxury they had always wanted but never found.

 

When Gillian was 17 years old she started her nursing career.

As part of this she worked in Sheffield’s world renowned spinal injury unit.  This had a profound effect on her career.  Of all her placements it was this one that showed her how life can change in a split second. In the nearby city of Sheffield, is the Steps Rehabilitation Centre.  Havendale makes a great choice for anyone visiting the area for treatment who requires a comfortable property as a base.

 

Gillian and Russell went on to have a family and having three children, two of whom had severe disabilities, they know firsthand the things that make a huge difference in comfort and relaxation and what truly makes a ‘holiday’. Having always searched for luxury but could never seem to find it combined with accessibility and inclusive facilities they have created Havendale to be the answer!

 

Inspired by her children, Gillian created the website Accessible Derbyshire in 2012 which went on to be an award-winning charity raising funds to purchase fishing boats sailing boats, rock climbing harnesses, all-terrain wheelchairs, equipment etc.

With all this wonderful accessible tourism established, it felt perfect to create this property for everyone to enjoy what is now on offer, with confidence.

 

Gillian is now the Director of AccessibleUK and works throughout the country with clients such as the Royal Parks, Leeds Castle, Chatsworth House, VisitEngland, National Trust and tourism destination organisations. Businesses range from very small to large and Gillian is passionate that wherever you invite people to, access should be a number one priority.

We look forward to welcoming you to our wonderful holiday property.

Russell and Gillian Scotford

The Holiday Property

Havendale is an architecturally designed bungalow, built from Derbyshire stone, it has cascading light from floor to ceiling windows with roof lights and Amtico hard flooring throughout, you only have to enter the bungalow to ‘feel’ the relaxation. Whilst 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.


With Havendale, Russell and Gillian wanted to showcase the challenges of improving access in an already established property, and share how they have overcome barriers with accessibility solutions.
They have used the technical guidance from the VisitEngland Accessible and Inclusive Tool Kit. Wherever possible (within their limitations) they made renovation decisions that meet the needs of 16.8 million disabled people in the country plus their families and friends
One in four households have access requirements. Many trips are taken by three or four generational families.

 

With age comes disability and in many cases individuals may not class themselves as disabled but benefit from specific adaptations to enable them to enjoy their holiday.

 

When designing and planning Havendale, they did not focus on just one area of need. e.g. a wheelchair user, but a range of needs from a PAN disability perspective. They have created a space that would gives a comfortable break away from home, that could meet the needs of as many people as possible. They wanted to demonstrate that ‘progress over perfection’ is very important in accessible tourism. No place will ever be perfect for everyone. Gillian says ‘Everywhere is not accessible to everyone but everywhere is accessible to someone’ This simple phrase has stuck with many people and is now used across the UK with many thought leaders in accessible tourism.

Arrival

Havendale has level access from the off street driveway parking to the main entrance, and throughout the living spaces of the open plan kitchen/dining room and the cosy lounge with extra wide doorways.

Kitchen Dining Room

An open plan kitchen/dining room with lowered granite surfaces and accessibility features, such as  a slide and hide Neff oven, pull down cabinet units, pull out worktop runners for a wheelchair accessible work surface, space under the hob unit for wheelchair users.  There is also sensory lighting and level access through the 3m wide bifold doors leading to the outside garden, creating a wonderful indoor/outdoor connection of space.

Living Room

With a log burning stove, natural Honister Slate fireplace, luxury cosy furnishings, and a supportive G-plan recliner chair and settee.

Utility Room

There is a small utility room accessed via 1 step which has a combined washer/dryer for guests to use during their stay.

Outdoor Space

Enjoy the secure garden, with its fruit trees, blossoms and established planting that creates a natural sensory space to relax at any time of the day.  There is level access to this area which can be gained externally from either side of the property or from within the property via the large 3m bifold doors or from bedroom 1.

There is also a large wheelchair accessible patio to the front of the property overlooking the large front garden to sit and enjoy the evening sun.

Services Available

Professional photo shoots in the Peak District can be arranged during your stay at an additional cost so you have a lasting memory to take home.

Bedrooms

Bedroom 1 – is an accessible bedroom that has a 4ft wide Adjustamatic luxury electric profile bed with side rails and an ensuite wetroom. This room has a clear opening door width of 810mm. The furniture in this room is of a flexible nature as the bed can be manoeuvred to suit individuals transfer and manual handling needs. There is a single wardrobe in this room. This room has access from a direct approach down the corridor, the majority of manual wheelchairs will fit with ease. There is also an 850mm wide patio door directly from this bedroom leading outside onto the patio, where guests can enjoy breakfast on the rear secure garden.

Bedroom 2 – is the master bedroom. It has a super king luxury Adjustamatic zip and link bed with circulation space (room not ensuite). There is a double wardrobe in this bedroom.

Bedroom 3 – is a smaller cosy bedroom with 4ft luxury Adjustamatic bed (room not ensuite). Space is limited within the room. There is a single wardrobe in this room.

Bedroom 4– is at the opposite end of the bungalow, with one step to access this single bedroom with an ensuite shower room. This room is perfect if a family takes a carer so they can have their own bedroom away from the rest of the family/group. There is a single wardrobe and a TV in this room.

Bathrooms

Family Bathroom (Main Corridor)

There is a luxury family bathroom located off the main corridor. This bathroom is not wheelchair accessible. It features a full-size bath (1800mm x 800mm) with a shower over, and a portable bath lift is available on request.

 

The bathroom also includes a vanity wash basin, wall-hung toilet and illuminated mirror. The floor is finished with non-slip tiles.

 

Accessible En-Suite Wet Room
The accessible en-suite wet room offers generous circulation space and is designed for ease of use. Facilities include a Closomat wash/dry toilet, a wheelchair-accessible wash basin with integrated grab rails, and a HEWI fold-down shower seat.

 

The shower area features a ceiling-mounted rainfall shower head as well as an additional height-adjustable handheld/rail shower head. Grab rails are provided around both the toilet and shower areas.


A mobile hoist and wheeled shower chair/commode are available for use within the wet room. The floor is finished with non-slip tiles throughout.

 

Bedroom 4 En-Suite Shower Room

Bedroom 4 has an additional en-suite shower room with a walk-in shower cubicle, toilet, and vanity wash basin. This bathroom is not wheelchair accessible. The floor is finished with non-slip tiles
The property also has a portable toilet seat raiser.

Property Features

  • Level access parking for 3 cars
  • Free on street parking available with a permit
  • Nearby EV charging point is Chesterfield Lawn Tennis Club, Hawksley Ave, 0.2 miles away.
  • Key safe at wheelchair accessible height with good visual contrast and lighting
  • Level access to all areas with the exception of bedroom 4 and its ensuite shower room and the utility room.
  • Height adjustable electric 4ft profiling bed with side rails in bedroom 4, with en-suite wet room.
  • Bedroom 4 ensuite shower room designed for people with sight impairment with good visual contrast
  • Lower handrail in wardrobe
  • Emergency pull out mattress available on request
  • Shower chair on wheels
  • Wheelchair accessible washbasin with built-in grab rails in bedroom 1 ensuite
  • Toilet seat raiser
  • Fixed shower seat in ensuite bedroom 1
  • Thermostatically controlled showers
  • Nonslip tiles in all bathrooms
  • Wet room with grab rails
  • Closomat wash/dry toilet
  • Magnifying mirror in bedroom 4
  • Hairdryer available
  • Bed and chair raiser/blocks
  • Smart television in lounge and 2 bedrooms
  • Large display alarm clock
  • Accessible kitchen appliances
  • Good visual contrast
  • Large print information
  • Sensory lighting/equipment
  • Dementia friendly signage available for use
  • G-Plan electric reclining sofa and chair
  • Hearing loop
  • Good outside lighting.
  • Solar garden lighting
  • BBQ
  • Comfortable Kettler patio furniture
  • Welcome pack for assistance dogs available on request
  • 5 minutes drive to outstanding out of hours GP service
  • 10 minutes drive to Chesterfield Calow Royal Hospital
  • Local care agencies available
  • Local mobility and daily living equipment suppliers
  • Waste recycling
  • Birdie Evo Compact 150kg manual folding mobile hoist available to use within the property
  • Commode chair on wheels

We’ll have a 360 Virtual Tour, Video, Floorplan, Sensory Story and Access MiniGuide available soon on the website. In the meantime, please contact us if you require any further information.

Havendale is now taking bookings via

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Accessible Days Out

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Planning Your Visit

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If we don’t have what you need, please talk to us.  What makes a difference for you to take that break away from home e.g. oxygen supply, dialysis, care calls, early/late check in/out, together we can help create the perfect stay. 

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