Key: = Part booked   = Booked

Month	Week beginning and price
January	1st	£410	8th	£410	15th	£410	22nd	£410	29th	£410
February	5th	£410	12th	£530	19th	£410	26th	£410
March	5th	£410	12th	£410	19th	£410	26th	£410
April	2nd	£690	9th	£690	16th	£390	23rd	£420	30th	£550
May	7th	£430	14th	£430	21st	£430	28th	£880
June	4th	£515	11th	£515	18th	£545	25th	£625
July	2nd	£675	9th	£830	16th	£845	23rd	£1065	30th	£1065
August	6th	£1065	13th	£1065	20th	£1065	27th	£1065
September	3rd	£565	10th	£535	17th	£535	24th	£535
October	1st	£445	8th	£445	15th	£640	22nd	£640	29th	£445
November	5th	£445	12th	£445	19th	£445	26th	£445
December	3rd	£445	10th	£445	17th	£445	24th*	£1180	31st*	£1060

*Please note change over days for Christmas and New Year may vary.
Short break pricing

3 Nights = £265*
4 Nights = £335*

* Short break prices shown are low season prices.

Additional costs

Security fee: £100.00
Booking fee: £22.00

Stephen & family
-
“We have all had a lovely week here, we picked this house because of the promise of peace and wildlife, and it really lived up to that promise. In our week here we have seen many garden birds, a buzzard, rabbits, foxes and a deer in the garden. My grandson Taymar loved the garden … and we have found great places to go with a small child.” July 06

Jennie
-
“A truly delightful spot, close to all amenities yet secluded in the middle of much wildlife. We saw deer, squirrels, blue tits, coal tits, a pair of green woodpeckers, fox and a buzzard. A lovely holiday. Many thanks also for a very well equipped cottage.”

Family from
Worthing
“Thank you for a lovely Christmas holiday. Very nice bungalow and grounds. Wonderful views, plenty of wildlife. Seen in three days – fox, rabbits, squirrels, buzzards, blue-tits, great tits, long tailed tits, robins, nuthatches, woodpecker, and jays. Hope to come back sometime. Extra touches for Christmas much appreciated.” Dec 08

Group RNID
-
“Had a lovely stay here and really enjoyed it. All of us feel relaxed and happy. Lovely to see all the wildlife and the beautiful scenery. Thank you for allowing us to visit.”

Two families
-
'Great few days. Lovely setting and kids had a great time in the garden and woods, as weather was cold but dry. House was very good – loved the log fire!! Would definitely recommend and come again.' Feb 09

Access Statement for Birchcroft – 2010

Introduction

Our self-catering chalet bungalow was built in 1968 by my father and remains our family home. It is a NO SMOKING and NO PETS property. A nature lovers secret hideaway, Birchcroft nestles at the end of a winding lane, surrounded by rhododendron bushes in over an acre of land and enjoys walks into the local woodland. This beautiful chalet bungalow offers accessible accommodation with ground floor bedrooms and bathrooms and is large enough for two families. All rooms are of a good size with a particularly large lounge. Step onto the ample terrace and enjoy breathtaking views of the local landscape, with Longham lakes in the distance. Wild life including deer, foxes, rabbits, and many species of birds are often seen in the garden. For the children there is a large rear garden laid to lawn but boundaries are unsecured and lead directly into 19 acres of woodland.

Pre-Arrival

·We are listed on Dorset Cottage Holidays’ website [www.dhcottages.co.uk] and all bookings are done via their website.
·The nearest train station is Bournemouth Central and is approximately 6 miles away. There are accessible taxis at the station but no convenient bus services. [Nearest bus stop is 1 ½ miles away]
·We can offer the hire of wheelchairs, etc – please contact Dorset Cottage Holidays on 01929-553443 for details. A full size cot, highchair and stair gate are available.
·We can arrange for shopping to be delivered from the nearest Tesco store prior to your arrival. Please contact us via email [holidayindorset@btinternet.com] to advise of your requirements. However you can shop on line your self at www.tesco.com and quote a delivery address of Birchcroft, 85 Christchurch Road, Ferndown BH22 8TB and leave in porch at front door.

Arrival & Car Parking Facilities

·You can drive right up to the front door for unloading luggage and passengers.
·There is ample parking for up to 4 cars on the drive and to the right of the bungalow – maximum distance 5 metres.
·The entrance to the open porch is via a concrete ramp suitable for wheelchairs. There is a handrail on the ramp. The front door allows an entrance of width 78cm with a slight left turn in front of the staircase. The door is hinged on the right.
·The entrance via the conservatory has a step of 14cm high, 150cm wide, 48cm deep, sill height 18cm and followed by the backdoor [77cm wide] which has a step of 12 cm high, 110cm wide, 30cm deep, sill height 7cm and goes directly into the kitchen, where it is a level walk to the rest of the ground floor of the premises.
·There are grab handles either side of the backdoor.
·The entry via the front door and the conservatory is from a level tarmac driveway.

Main Entrance & Reception

·The entrance via the front door has a concrete slope with handrail and allows a 78 cm wide entry [cill height 5cm] with a slight left turn in front of the staircase. The door is hinged on the right.
·The front door opens onto a hall [330cm by 163cm] with lounge, kitchen/dinning room and wet-room off to the left. On the right is a corridor 82cm wide that leads to 2 downstairs bedrooms [one with en-suite] and bathroom. Each door on the ground floor is 72cm wide [minimum], excluding en suite that is 64cm wide.
·There is a weatherboard over the full width of the front door that is 5cm high.
·Entrance via Conservatory and Backdoor is via two steps. [See section “Arrival & Car Parking Facilities”]

Public Areas – General [Internal]

·Corridor to downstairs bedrooms is 82cm wide.
·Décor is all neutral colours throughout with a mixture of new and antique furniture.
·Books and maps of local interest and jigsaw puzzles are available in the lounge area.
·Floors are wood block or tile with rugs [fixed] and fully carpeted in bedrooms.
·The property has a friendly, family feeling.
·The staircase to the First Floor is a paddle staircase and is not suitable for elderly or disabled persons.
·There is a large hall cupboard for coats that incorporates an airing cupboard with iron, ironing board, vacuum, etc.

Public Areas – WC

·Wet room on ground floor has toilet, electric shower, wash-hand basin and large clothes drying rack. It has handrails to both sides of the WC and to the right of the washbasin. The shower has a vertical grab rail.
·Door width is 70cm

Dining Room & Lounge

Dining Room
·The dining room is open plan to the kitchen and has a set of double doors to the lounge [maximum width 160cm] with a door to the corridor [74cm wide].
·Table – very heavy solid oak – has legs on each corner, 63cm floor to lowest point of table [under space], is 220cm long, 90cm wide and 75cm high.
·Free space between table and door wall is 97cm and table and wall is 87cm and 45cm at window end; other end leads to kitchen.
·Chairs [all moveable] – 8 chairs with padded seats that have no arms. There is a chair with arms stored in the hall that can be used at the table.
·There is a large free space at the kitchen end of the table that is 120cm x 200cm.
·Flooring is ceramic tiles.
·Window looks out onto the beautiful views of the local landscape

Lounge
·Accessed through the doubles doors from the dining room [width 135cm] and the hall door [74cm]
·Flooring is ceramic tiles with a large Indian rug.
·Furniture is 2 x 3 seater leather sofa and 1 x 2 seater leather sofa [not easily moveable] with non-feather scatter cushions.
·There is an electric armchair that has a reclining as well as an assisted stand-up facility.
·Solid Oak coffee table in centre is moveable, with assistance.
·French single door to patio [82cm wide with one step (19cm high, 121cm wide and 46cm deep) down and threshold (19cm high, 34cm wide)] [not suitable for a wheelchair]
·The patio door locks with a key and has lever locks top and bottom of door.
·Teletext TV provided with remote – also DVD, Video, and Freeview box.
·Open fire is a Baxi under floor draft type and starter wood is stored in the green rectangular garden storage chest. [Coal and logs can be ordered – call 07889090773 for details]

Conservatory

·Accessed through the kitchen and backdoor [width 77cm] weather board [height 7cm] and down a step [height of step is 12cm].
·Seats 4 people on a 3 seater sofa and single armchair.
·Has fan for summer cooling and heater for winter heating.
·Vinyl flooring.
·Floor to ceiling windows.
·Double opening doors [maximum width 135cm] to front garden down one step [height of step is 14cm].
·Ideal spot to sit and watch the wild life, including many birds, squirrels and occasional deer.

Laundry

·There is no separate laundry room but there is a washer/drier in the kitchen [front loading].
·There is a large drying rack that can be folded down on the wall in the wet-room.
·There is a retractable clothesline outside, behind the conservatory.

Shop
·Not available but a list of local produce providers is available – call 07889-090773

Leisure Facilities

·There is a pleasant short walk [walking shoes required] through the woods at the end of the garden that leads into a large public area [Poor Common] in which there are many walks. This is not at present suitable for a wheelchair.
·There is a golf club [Dudsbury Golf Club] opposite the entrance to the lane – easy walking distance but down a small hill on tarmac surface – approximately 1/3 mile.

Outdoor facilities

·Access to large lawned area [slightly sloping] via the right [one step on uneven paving] and left [grass slope] sides of the bungalow.
·In front of the bungalow are large lawned areas [flat] with trees and a summerhouse that contains chairs and loungers.
·In the turning circle garden there is a bench seat [access via paving slabs and one wooden platform – not suitable for wheel chairs].

Conference & Meeting Rooms, Banqueting, Clubs, Entertainment.

·Not available

Bedrooms

Room combinations: Ground floor – 1 twin room with en suite, 1 king size room. First Floor – 1 twin room and 1 double room.

General:
·Non feather duvets and pillows in each room.
·Feather pillows available for use stored in wardrobes.
·Sheets, duvets covers and pillowcases are poly-cotton.
·TVs provided in each room, 3 with remote controls.
·Fully fitted carpets in all bedrooms.

Ground Floor:
·Corridor width is 82cm.
·Door widths are 74cm.

Kingsize room:
·King is 55” [140cm] with wooden surround [10cm wide].
·Largest transfer width on far side is 51cm.
·Largest transfer width on near side is 135cm.
·Bed heights 58cm floor to top of mattress.
·Bed is not easily moved. Please ask owner to move if required.
·Dressing table, armchair and blanket box can be moved to one side – then largest available space is 328cm by 120cm.
·Door width minimum is 75cm for this room.

Twin room:
·Each twin bed is 3ft wide.
·En suite shower room – door width is 64cm.
·Left hand twin bed electrically tilts head and feet areas to assist in sitting and getting up, blood circulation, etc.
·Largest available width to side of left bed is 56cm.
·Largest available width to side of right bed is 35cm.
·Largest available width between beds is 38cm.
·Armchair to left of first bed.
·Largest available space is 250cm x 130cm.

First Floor:

·Reached via a paddle staircase [not suitable for elderly or disabled persons].
·Handrails on both sides of stairs.
·Stairs are stained wood, open plan.
·Width of stairs is 70cm.
·Landing is fully carpeted with opening [71cm wide] leading to small hall on right of staircase.
·All doors to bedrooms are 71cm wide.
·All bedrooms are fully carpeted.

Double room:

·Door width 71cm.
·Double bed is 4ft 6in wide, height 43cm floor to top of mattress. Width from bed to windowsill is 48cm and 54cm from bed to wardrobe.
·Largest free space is 120cm x 210cm.
·Escape window to ground – 3.m metres.
·Window has child locks.

Twin room:

·Door width is 71cm.
·Twin beds are 3ft each, height is from floor to top of mattress is 58cm.
·Beds against wall on one side only.
·Largest free space is 95cm x 210cm.
·Escape window is Velux Escape type and leads onto roof – height from floor to window is 160cm.

Bathroom & WC [Shared]:

General:

·All bathroom and shower rooms are fully tiled.
·All are heated.
·All have release mechanism on outside of locked door.

Ground floor:

Family bathroom:

·Door width is 74cm.
·Shared with all bedrooms.
·Curved shower bath with Power Shower and hand shower.
·Vertical grab handle over bath/shower.
·Grab rail by WC.
·Large wall-hung basin.
·Hot air heating and electric towel rails.
·Light switch outside of bathroom.
·Push button operated WC.
·Access to bath, shower or WC is 53cm between open door and half wall.

Ensuite shower room:

·Door width is 64cm.
·Large shower cubicle with Power Shower – one step entry [step height 24cm] – door width is 45cm.
·Grab handle in shower cubicle.
·Electric towel rail.
·Wall-hung basin.
·Push button operated WC.
·Grab rail to side of WC.

Wet room:

·Door width is 70cm.
·Walk in electric shower area – level walking from hall with shallow slope – suit wheelchair shower.
·Adjustable shower head.
·Vertical grab handle by shower.
·Shower stool.
·Lever operated WC – seat height is 41cm.
·Pull down grab rail by WC and horizontal grab rail on other side.
·Small wash-hand basin with lever taps.
·Vertical grab rail by right side of washbasin.
·Pull cord light switch.
·Pull cord electric shower operation.
·Fully tiled flooring and walls.
·Large folded wall drying rack.

First Floor:

·No WC facilities at present but toilet and basin planned in the future.

Self-Catering Kitchen:

·Kitchen entrance from dining room is 121cm wide.
·Backdoor width is 77cm with step down [12cm high] to conservatory.
·Worktop height is 93cm.
·Built-in oven has drop down door – height 66cm.
·Height of lowest shelf in oven is 75cm – front access only.
·Built-in microwave has left hand opening door – height 134cm.
·Sink is 93cm high with 51cm width. Built-in cupboards under.
·Lever action taps.
·Hob is gas and height is 93cm.
·Flooring is ceramic tiles.
·At least 123cm x 250cm free space between fitted furniture.
·Evenly lit kitchen with spotlights above work surfaces where required.
·Built-in Larder fridge – highest shelf height is 190cm – right hand opening door.
·Built-in Freezer – lowest drawer is 35cm – right hand opening door.
·Built-in Dishwasher – pull down door with pull out drawers.
·CD/Radio player on worktop.
·Easy pull-out pots and pans drawers under hob.
·Front loading Wash/Drier – left hand opening.
·Easy access utensils – cordless kettle, can opener, jar opener.

Grounds & Gardens

·At back of property there is access to large lawned area [slightly sloping] – via right of property [one step on uneven paving] and via left of property [grass slope].
·There is access to lawned area via patio but this has several steps and is not suitable for wheelchair access.
·The back lawned area leads to a walk through the woods but walking boots are required – not suitable for wheelchair access.
·In front of the property are large lawned areas [flat] with trees and a summerhouse that contains chairs and loungers.
·In the turning circle garden there is a bench seat [access via paving slabs and one wooden platform – not suitable for wheel chair access.
·The approach to the house is via a tarmac lane that has a large turning circle in front of the property and ample parking, though the turning circle itself must be kept clear as the owner uses the garages.

Additional Information

·Safety – Mains operated smoke alarms throughout the premises and Carbon Monoxide alarm in central position.
·Special strobe smoke alarms in downstairs bedrooms for the hard of hearing.
·Personal safety alarm call system via a necklace call button that activates a central alarm.
·Colour definition on all downstairs doorways for the visually impaired.
·A Loop system in the lounge for the hard of hearing.
·Escape routes – these are clearly marked on scale plans on the notice board in the hall.
·Emergency lighting – should the electricity fail, emergency lighting will switch on in all essential areas and will last for up to 3 hrs, enabling clients to inform the owner immediately of the problem.
·Alarm – full alarm system that will dial the owner’s mobile in 8 seconds should the alarm be activated while you are out – please set alarm each time you leave the premises – you will be informed of the current alarm code.
·Help folder – situated in the kitchen on open shelves, this gives instruction sheets on use of all main equipment.
·List of emergency services in Help folder.
·Services, restaurants, shops, hospitals, etc are on the notice board in the hall – they can be provided in Large Print on request.
·Ordnance Survey maps of the area are available for use and store on the bookshelves in the lounge.
·Key safe in use to right of front door.
·Safe available for use if requested.

Contact Information

·Contact Address: Dorset Cottage Holidays, Trinity Church, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 4LU.
·Property Address: Birchcroft, Ferndown – full address available on booking.
·Telephone: 01929-553443 [Dorset Cottages Holidays].
·Fax: 01929-552714 [Dorset Cottages Holidays].
·Email: enq@dhcottages.co.uk [Dorset Cottages Holidays].
·Website: www.dhcottages.co.uk [Dorset Cottages Holidays].
·Hours of operation: Telephones 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday. Saturday 9 am to 3 pm. [Dorset Cottages Holidays].
·Local carers: Pramacare - tel: 01202-590044.
·Local equipment hire: The British Red Cross – tel: 01202-892772.
·Local accessible taxi number: United Taxis – tel: 01202-556677.
·Local Tourist Information Centre: tel: 01202-451700.

Future Plans

·We are planning to install a WC on the first floor some time in the future.
·We will be launching our own website and will provide all information in alternative formats via the site to improve access to our information and facilities.