About 18 months ago a brilliant addition came in to my life in the form of a golden retriever. Sunny has brought a lot of joy, mess, mayhem and a brilliantly different perspective on life.
As an accessible travel blogger this has made my globetrotting adventures a little more tricky. Recently neither Kasia or I enjoy those long car journeys, as in those we did to Spain or Poland previously. Plus this kind of journey is not so ideal for a young dog. Believe me, as we already tried it!
This has meant some of the trips abroad were without him. Taking him on an aeroplane was another step too far. Whilst my worldly adventures haven’t stopped, I haven’t wanted to go away as far or as often without that bundle of joy.
And so the idea was spawned. What if we could go somewhere closer to home, with Sunny? Now, as many of you are aware, accessibility and inclusion for tourism is not always straightforward. Finding a wheelchair accessible accommodation can be like the proverbial needle in a haystack. Both at home and abroad.
NOW we needed to find a dog friendly AND wheelchair accessible place, that wasn’t too far from Cambridgeshire. Hmm. Where to start?
The Anchorage
Fortunately I knew a seasoned accessible travel blogger with a four legged friend. My influential friends name is Carrie-Ann and you should definitely check out her articles here.
Carrie-Ann connected me with the guys at The Anchorage in Cromer, Norfolk. Their accommodation was designed with wheelchair users in mind, it was dog friendly, and it was well within 2 hours of driving time from Cambridgeshire.
As with any shorter trips, we somehow ended up packing everything, including the kitchen sink. Once in the car, the welcomed weekend break began. Very soon after, we were driving through the winding Norfolk roads, and gaining momentum to the coast.
We pulled up at the cottage around 5pm on the Friday evening. Sunny went crazy, running round the garden with excitement. After unpacking, we got to really appreciate the open and inclusive design of the accommodation.
You can see my video tour right here:
Cruising in Cromer
Naturally, we spent lots of time eating, drinking and generally resting in the cottage. However we wanted to explore too!
On that first evening we walked Sunny to the sea front. He loved the sand, the waves and all the other dogs there. I must admit, it was a bit chilly, but I managed to wrap up and embrace the freshness.
On the Saturday we grabbed lunch overlooking the sea. There was a cafe with space for us to sit with Sunny. So he enjoyed a bit of fish and chips too.
Then we walked as far from the town as the terrain would allow my wheelchair. It got so bumpy at one point that passers by were grinning ear to ear and shouting ‘respect’!
We then grabbed some tea and cake, while Sunny somehow didn’t sleep but instead wanted more of the action. So we walked him all the way up the pier and back.
I was pleasantly surprised by the number of ramps and even lifts to get wheelchair users (and buggies, and scooters, and many other people) between the beach and town centre. The majority of the shops were 3 levels up from sea level.
On the Sunday it poured with rain, as shown in the above video, so we didn’t do so much. But we were grateful for the better weather and all the exploring we did on the Saturday.
It was a truly fun, rejuvenating and successful weekend away.
Thanks to Clare, Steve and the guys at Crabpot Cottages for letting us have a complimentary stay, in return for my independent and unedited review. If you have any questions for me, please reach out! For full information, photos and reservations please head to the cottage website.
Martyn Sibley
– World Changer @ martynsibley.com.
– Author @ ‘Everything is Possible’ (on Amazon).
– Inclusion Captain @ disabilityhorizons.com.
– Presenter and Speaker @ visablepeople.com.
– Adviser @ Governments/Businesses/Charities.
