Accessibility Access Statement for The Howbeck Guest House

We are located in the Lake District National Park on the outskirts of Windermere village. Full directions are available on our website. Directions can be emailed or posted to you.

Our nearest village is Windermere which is 400 meters away on good pavement. The nearest railway station is Windermere which is 900 meters away and connects to Manchester Airport and mainlines to London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Train services are operated by First Transpennine connecting to Virgin West Coast Mainline.

Taxis are readily available in Windermere and are usually waiting at the station for all arrivals by train. We can ring taxis from the hotel, fares are cheap for short journeys around Windermere and the next village Bowness, but can be much more expensive for longer journeys going outside the area.

Buses are operated by Stagecoach in the National Park and Cumbria. The bus stop is 75 meters away from Howbeck with regular services to Kendal, Lancaster, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick and Cockermouth. Summer timetables also operate services to Ullswater, Borrowdale and Langdale. Full timetables are available at The Howbeck and on the Stagecoach website.

Hotel Car Parking and Grounds

On arrival to the hotel there is a drive way leading to car parking spaces on the left handside, and also two space at the front, These are marked bays and all level on a Tarmac surface. Assistance with parking and unpacking your vehicle is available. A car park light switches on automatically after dark. The grounds consist of a flower beds, and a path to the right side.

Front Door

The building is accessed only by the front door and there are 4 steps with handrails. These steps are stone and 17cm high with a depth of 34cm per step. There is no ramp access to the property. On arrival there is a corridor linking the dining room and lounge, with our reception bureau and bell. Immediately in front of you is the Welcome Lounge with a pair of wing back chairs and banquette seats along with some stools. This is where we will ask you to complete a registration form, prior to being taken to your room.

Stairs to First Floor Rooms

There are 14 stairs leading up from the entrance corridor to the first-floor bedrooms 7 in total on this floor. Lighting is from Venusian style chandeliers with a mixture of LED and energy-saving bulbs, plus natural light. Corridor lighting We have 3 bedrooms on the ground floor, one is at the front door, the other two are at the end of the corridor and there are three steps and a handrail to assist.

Public Rooms, lounge, bar breakfast rooms

The lounge There are no steps from the entrance corridors to lounge. Furnishing in the lounge is a mixture of “easy chairs” and sofas, settees Carpeted using short pile carpet. The room benefits from good natural light as it is South and West facing, supplemented by wall lights and table lamps.

Bar Lounge

– where we like to greet our guests. There are no further steps to negotiate to gain access to this room This room is lit using LED lighting throughout. There is some natural light. Carpeted with short pile carpet. Chair heights vary from 40-46cm with settees and banquette seating being at 46cm.

Public Toilets

– are beyond our reception desk up 3 steps. Mixed-use. Taps are switch free and sensor-driven as are the lights. The toilet height is 42cm

Restaurant

– is set over level with seating for 20 guests All our staff are trained to fetch and carry from our breakfast buffet for those who are less abled. Our table heights are set up with white cloths. Our crockery is stainless steel and we use a mixture of crockery with white and glass plates as well as slate. Menus are written on cream/yellow cards and are prepared in 14 pt text but can be provided in a larger size upon request. Dietary Requirements and Food Allergen Labelling 2014 Howbeck is able to cater for many different diets including – vegetarian – vegan – allergies including; dairy , nuts, citrus, soya, egg, gluten. We would ask all guests to advise us in advance if they have any special or unusual dietary requirements, so we can make special preparations. Please see the separate section on our restaurant pages detailing diets.

Bedrooms

We have 11 rooms 7 on the first floor, 3 further on the ground floor and the annexed Retreat Suite, this is accessed from the rear car park and has 8 steps down with hand rail All rooms are individually decorated benefitting from good quality short pile carpets. All bedrooms have a 5 or 6 foot bed some can be set as a twin room with 2 x 3 foot single beds. Most of our furniture is locally hand-made solid wood furniture and cannot be moved with the exception of the easy chairs and vanity stools. Bedding is hypp-allergenic and we supply a winter tog rated duvet with 2 pillows and a blanket in the cupboard is available to use. Extra sheets and pillows can be requested. All bedrooms have free wifi, flat screen tv’s , We also have a small refrigerator in the retreat suite (may guests travel with medication that can be stored in our kitchen fridge) Bedrooms and lit with natural light and good lighting with overhead lights, bedside lights and dressing table lights.

Ensuite’s

Our ensuite’s all provide slightly different layouts and sizes. E.g. shower bath with grab rail in bath and shower above bath WC and basin Some of the superior rooms have a shower and no bath, all can be viewed and chosen on our web site with full descriptions on each All ensuites are tiled on floor and walls, with white bathroom suites. All are lit with LED lighting and some have natural daylight. White towels are provided for each guest including 1 x bath sheet, 1 x hand towel and 1 x bathmat.

Annexe – The Retreat Suite

Approached down steps with parking in front of suite. front door over slight threshold step and patio doors to bedroom over slight threshold step. Bedroom and bathroom on ground floor but there is 1 step upto the bath and shower. private lounge and dining area is in the bedroom, ensuite shower room with WC and basin. 6 foot bed in Suite with small sofa, dressing table with stool. Bathroom – double ended spa bath (up one step to bath), walk in shower, sink and toilet.

Fire Procedures

Each room displays our fire evacuation plan and we also provide guests with a Red door hanger telling us that you may have difficulty in the case of fires and emergencies. We urge guests to use these so our staff are aware that you require assistant in the case of emergencies. Please advise us also if you believe it is necessary. Doctors and Hospitals We can assist with arrangements for visiting the local doctors surgery, St Mary’s located 800 meters along the road.

The local hospital is in Kendal – Nearest hospital is Westmorland General (Minor Accidents and Injuries) about 9 miles from Howbeck. Their number is 01539 732288.

For the out of hours Doctor, contact Cumbria Health on Call (CHOC) on 03000 247 247 Mobility aids and other items can be hired from the Red Cross in Kendal. Their number is 01539 734289.

This access is correct at the time or writing in November 2016 It will be reviewed annually as there is a constant refurbishment program in place.