Peak District Spa Peak District Spa, Buxton Rd, Alsop en le Dale, Ashbourne DE6 1QU, UK

Rivendale and Peak District Spa are located in the White Peak area of the Peak District National Park about 1 mile north of the hamlet of Alsop-en-le-Dale, mid-way between the villages of Tissington, Parwich and Hartington. The closest towns are Ashbourne, Bakewell, Matlock & Buxton, with Rivendale roughly equidistant between them, located close to the A515.

Rivendale and Peak District Spa are located on a site of about 37 acres; Rivendale holiday park area being located at the northern end in the former quarry, with Peak District Spa about ½ kilometre further south in the old Crosslow House stone buildings.

Rivendale holiday park is a large ledge on a hill side, sheltered by a tree-covered embankment at the southern end. This area is generally flat or at a gradient of no steeper than one in thirty except for about 20 metres of the access to the area of tent pitches with power. The main access road has a gradient no steeper than one in thirty except for a short stretch into the main car park in front of reception which is about 1 in 12; there is a steeper access path (about 1 in 5) which sort cuts from the main access road down to reception, the alternative being to use the (considerably longer) main road into the car park.

Rivendale offers:-

• Pitches for tents, trailer-tents, caravans or motorhomes, either all-grass, all-hardstanding or 50/50.
• Lodges to rent or buy. We have 2 lodges on site graded M1 by the National Accessible scheme.
• Timber and canvas Yurts.
• Camping Pods.
• Bedroom suites are available at Peak District Spa, the ground floor rooms being graded M2 suitable for accompanied wheelchair users.

Pre-Arrival

Travelling into the Peak District & Rivendale.

• The nearest rail station is Cromford, followed closely by Buxton station. The latter has a bus stop outside, from which buses travel south towards Ashbourne (Bowers 442 service) stopping at the bus stop at the bottom of our site near our fishing lake. However, the drivers are usually amenable to stopping opposite our main entrance if requested. The bus service runs until about 6 p.m. at approximately 2 hour intervals on most days. Our stop is not listed on the timetable but is the one between Biggin Church & Newton House.
• The villages and roads within the Peak District surrounding Rivendale generally do not have footpaths or street lighting and we would not recommend the use of buggies or other small, slow-moving vehicles on the main road. However, the former railway lines (now the Tissington Trail about 100 metres from Rivendale’s entrance) offers a hard-paved trail with very slack gradients. It is possible to reach Cromford via the High Peak & Tissington Trails, which will also link through to Buxton, Bakewell and Matlock as work is carried out to re-open tunnels.
• Mobile phone signals are variable, with no Vodafone coverage but some coverage with Orange/O2
• There is broadband available in the bed & breakfast rooms, café & pub with an initial 30 minute free trial - it has limited bandwidth due to the BT network. In the lodge, a higher speed satellite- based broadband is available - but it is currently a paid for service.

Car Parking and Arrival

• Upon entering the park, guests with mobility difficulties should park in the parking bay nearest to reception that is reserved for them, before visiting reception approximately 20 metres away. Guests with mobility issues may either phone reception or honk their horn 3 times and our staff will register them in their vehicle. However, access from the car park space to reception is along level tarmac or gently sloping paving slabs with a level access and 990mm (39”) clear width entrance door. Within reception there is a lowered counter 800mm high at one end.
• The car park and front of the building is reasonably well lit at the end where the disabled parking space is, but the site generally has very low levels of illumination – as does the surrounding National Park. Parking for bedroom suites, accessible lodges, Camping Pods & Yurts in the main pitching area (only) is directly in front of the accommodation, in all cases on level areas.

Reception

Facilities and Services at reception

• The entrance door into reception is level and 1000mm clear width.
• There is a space in front of the counter measuring approximately 1500mm x 1700mm, however, at busy times reception may get congested and it may be preferable to stay in the car in the disabled space and honk for service.
• The shop and reception floor comprise grit stone flags which are not perfectly smooth, but provide good traction and the interior is well-lit with a large number of LED lights. Currently, there is no hearing loop, although pen and pad are available.
• Our reception has information about the locality and we will investigate local facilities for our guests in reception (subject to internet working!). We will also print off information in large format print, however, we currently have no braille or audio facilities other than the descriptive videos on Google and our website.

Touring Facilities 

Touring Facilities – Main Pitching Area

• Hard-standing pitches (with or without grass) are available for caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents; guests with mobility difficulties are asked to make that known at the time of booking so we can select a hard-standing caravan pitch nearest to the building (which would be about 40 metres away) and establish if they need assistance to pitch the caravan. Otherwise, guests are provided with a site plan with directions to their pitch upon arrival. Parking is available on the pitch next to the caravan or motorhome subject to its size.
• Rectangular tents can be pitched on 50/50 pitches provided they will fit on a maximum width of about 4.5 metres over the guy ropes – in which case they could be about 50 metres from the toilet building - accessible along flagged paths. The all grass pitches for tents are a minimum of approximately 150 metres or more away from the amenity building and are generally less suited to people with mobility issues. Parking is at the front of the tent pitches.
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• Waste points are provided within 50 metres of the pitches within the main pitching area, these contain chemical toilet disposal points for BIODEGRADEABLE chemicals, waste and recycling bins, water points and fire points. Some caravan/motorhome pitches are on hard standings approximately 40 metres from the amenity building – we will endeavour to allocate these pitches to parties who have people with mobility issues if you let us know at the time of booking. Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to do this other than by speaking to someone in reception.

Caravan Holiday Homes & Chalets

The Olympia 36' x 20' 3 bedroom lodge (classified as M1) is adapted for wheel chair users with a ramp access of gradient 1 in 12 (and a short 1 step ramp of steeper gradient). It offers 1 bedroom with two bunk beds, 1 double bedroom (with a divan bed) and one bedroom with a profiling single bed which is height adjustable which may also have EITHER an electrically operated mobile hoist OR a single z bed (note there is not enough room to operate a hoist AND have two beds within this bedroom). 

There is a shower room wet room with a shower seat, toilet with grab rails and wash basin, the turning space opposite this room is 1000mm. There is clear floor space up[ to 1200 x 1200 but the basin has a small pedestal with a limited overhang.

Although the Olympia lodge is a holiday lodge, it is completed to BS3632 residential specification to provide greater warmth and comfort. The fitted kitchen has an integrated fridge and freezer as well as built-in oven, hob and hood, there is a microwave, the usual appliances such as kettles, toasters, crockery, cutlery, tea towels. Linen and towels are included - as are gas, electricity, water and other utilities. Note the kitchen is a standard kitchen not designed for use from a wheelchair.
The following equipment is available but should be specified as required AT THE TIME OF BOOKING:-

• Showerproof wheelchair.
• Commode wheelchair.
• Electric hoist.
• There is an electric recliner armchair in the lounge which stays permanently in this lodge.

Toilet & Washing Facilities

• Toilets and Showers for Caravan and Tent Pitches in the Main Pitching area
• The main toilet and shower building is located in the centre of the main pitching area accessible by gently sloping flagged pathways. The unisex accessible toilet and shower room, & laundrette within the building both have level thresholds and minimum 800mm clear door widths - note both doors open inwards.
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• The unisex accessible toilet and shower room is fully tiled and completed with grab rails, sink without pedestal, and plastic shower-proof chair. This room is accessible by RADAR key – guests are advised to bring their own – or buy them from our shop.

Food & Drink Outlets

• The café is located next door to the reception and accessed by a gently sloping flagged path; it is about 20 metres from the parking space allocated to people with mobility difficulties. There is a level access with a clear width of 900mm. There are a mixtures of dining tables and chairs and leather sofas with coffee tables - all of which can be moved. The café is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a minimum. There is 30 minutes free WiFi on each device you have with you. There is a call button in the café adjacent the door towards the toilets which will call attention.
• In the evening the café becomes a restaurant. Although guests usually order at the bar on the first floor, the waiting on staff will take your drink and food orders to the bar on your behalf and return with change so that you do not have to negotiate the stairs.
• There is one step to access the toilet level (although there is level access from the rear terrace) due to the age of the stone building the corridor is relatively narrow (between 900 & 1060 mm wide) with a pinch point by a pipe of max. width 775mm. The corridor opposite the accessible w.c has a turning space of 1000mm.

Launderette 

• The nearest parking (other than that on your pitch) is about 50 metres from the laundrette door.
• The building also contains a laundrette with sinks, washing machine and dryer. There is a level access into the laundrette and space to turn a wheel chair although as the washing machine is top-loading, it is not well-suited to wheel chair users. Washing up sinks are also available in a separate annexe on the side of the amenity building but these are also better suited to occasional wheel chair users because they have limited turning space.

Shop(s)

• The shop is located adjacent reception with a 775mm clear level access. It offers a basic range of tinned goods, bacon eggs, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, toys, fishing tackle, ice creams and camping equipment, about 60% of which can be accessed from a seated position - but our reception staff will assist with any other goods. The shop is level throughout and well-lit. Asda & Tesco will deliver to site; most supermarkets in Ashbourne & Buxton (such as Waitrose) have a pre-order & collect facility.

Leisure Facilities

• Leisure facilities at Rivendale comprise the fly fishing lake and various points of interest in the wild flower meadow. The fly fishing lake has a casting platform and we can provide wheel chair users with a key to open the main gate to the lake to access the parking area. However, the parking area near the fishing platform is approximately 300 metres from the access point - so unless the field is very dry, there is a real danger 2 wheel drive vehicles may get stuck and we are working for a solution to this problem right now. The field itself has many wild flowers and bird watching interest - but obvious difficulties with wheelchairs on uneven meadow.

Grounds and Garden

• Most pitches in the main pitching area are subdivided with hedges; the remainder of the 37 acre park is a mixture of pasture and woodland with various wildlife and fishing ponds. The Camping meadow has many wild flowers including orchids, trefoil, etc and the blue butterflies and other insects that feed on them. Curlews, buzzards, woodpeckers and owls of (various varieties), herons, waterfowl overfly most of the site. there are lovely views from the dog walking field on the east side of the main pitching area outside of the quarried area. However, by their nature only the lower hard-paved areas are accessible to wheel chair users.

Additional Information

Accessible ground floor bedroom suites graded M1/M2

Guests are asked to either park in the car parking space denoted by the wheelchair sign and check in at reception, or honk 3 times to attract attention, in which case our staff will come out to their vehicle to welcome them & check them in. They will then be guided around to the car parking spaces directly outside of the ground floor rooms (3 & 4) where there is a level access through a doorway of 890mm clear width. The digital access keypad is 1250mm above ground level.

Room 4

The corridor width opposite room 4 entrance is 1100mm; the clear doorway width is 775mm. The door is an inward-opening, self-closing fire door.The clear turning space at the end of the bed is 1200mm x 1200mm, with the inward-opening entrance door into the shower room wet room 785mm clear width. The clear space within the shower room with the door fully open is 1200 x 1200. There is a shower seat in the room, but we can provide a shower-proof wheelchair, if available (and requested at the time of booking).
This room has a standard double divan bed and so is not suitable for a hoist.

Room 3 

This may be a twin room or a super king (to be specified when booking). Note all beds are divan beds and not suitable for a hoist.
The clear door widths are both 785mm in this room, with doors opening in to the rooms.
In twin single bed form the turning circle offered in the room is 1300 diameter, increasing to 1500mm if the room is set up for a super king bed.
There is a clear space of 1300 x 1300mm with the shower room door fully open, a shower with an extended sliding rail and a shower seat. A showerproof wheelchair can be provided (subject to availability) if requested when booking.
There is a shower room wet room