Who can forget that first Wallace and Gromit short film? I remember watching it on Christmas Eve 1990, having come home to visit my family in Scotland for our first Christmas having got married and moved to the USA in July 1990. Who would have thought that ten years later our world would be rocked by an unexpected visitor, Dementia.

So why have I named this weeks blog “A Grand Day Out”, well it’s because the lengths Wallace and Gromit go to work out together how to build that rocket to get some cheese, which is how family carers can feel when they are planning a day out for their loved one with dementia.
It’s the unexpected encounter with the Robot when they finally reach the moon and the fact that they may not be able to get home safely. This can be the experience and feeling that our amazing unpaid family carers can have when they arrive somewhere that is not particularly dementia friendly and there loved one gets anxious.

Then, there is the analogy you can make of how Wallace and Gromit confuse the Robots motives with how people with dementia actions can be misinterpreted. Anxiety and upset for somebody living with dementia generally means we have to take our time to calmly understand what their worries are and help allay them. It’s a skill and approach to people that’s not unique to dementia. Its just that often people just think that’s the dementia and don’t think about how they can help by putting themselves into that persons shoes.

So, why would you take the risk to go on that “Grand Day Out” to the Peak District? Well, just like holidays its all about the planning and research you do before you go. At MindforYou we have been taking guests on holidays and days out to the Peak District since 2015 and its our number on dementia holiday destination with the best selection of places to visit.

There is something for everybody and this one of the reasons why we are focus our holidays till the end of the year at wonderful Sladen Lodge in Hathersage, right in the middle of the beautiful Peaks.

Here are our top 10 picks of places to visit in the Peak District

1. The Bird Café Hathersage
A unique café where through triple glazed windows you can be at one with the birds feeding on the window ledge. Sitting at eye level you can watch them eating while you enjoy delicious tea and cake. Easy parking, no steps, disabled toilet, but very small so navigating with a wheel chair needs lots of concentration

2. Dam Buster Memorial at Derwent Dam
For me one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots in the Peak District. It’s a particularly great place to visit if you have a blue badge as you can park right beside the memorial and you can drive around the reservoir and enjoy the tranquil scenery with the walkers. Not something most people living with dementia get to do when their mobility is challenged

3. Crich Tramway Museum
A volunteer led museum, where there is a fully accessible disabled tram so anybody can reminisce and enjoy that tram ride from a long gone era. However, its more than just trams. The Red Lion pub is a must visit. Originally in Derby it was moved brick by brick and rebuilt at Crich. You can enjoy a great pint and some traditional bar food. The staff are really friendly and for those who are less able you can take your car directly onto the main street.

4. Yorkshire Bridge Inn
Lovely dementia friendly place to eat on the way to or from the Dam Buster Memorial. The staff are so welcoming and so considerate of our guests living with dementia. Plus there is a great range of food for both small and big appetites and a willingness to go above and beyond

5. Hope Valley Ice-cream
The Marsden Family started milking cows at Thorpe Farm over 300 years ago and their farm is open to visitors. People living with dementia seem to develop a really sweet tooth and there is a very special small ice cream parlour at the farm where you can get the freshest ice-cream. Don’t be put off by the long single track road to the farm, you will get there in the end!

6. Chatsworth Christmas Market
A must visit, but make sure you go on a quiet day, definitely not at the weekend. Lots of entertainment. We always spend lots of time at the Oompah band as they play special requests and really engage with our guests to make it a memorable and fun day out

7. Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop
The staff here are so so friendly. The farm shop has lots of beautiful food to be tempted with and the view from the café for me, is the best one of Chatsworth. Easy parking and all on one level

8. Monsal Head
Another wonderful view to just sit and take in and a great trip to get there with all the wonderful scenery. Plus there is always an ice-cream van sitting at the top so you can just relax and enjoy the view and a 99!

9. Chatsworth Gardens
All our guests really love going round Chatsworth Gardens and seeing the famous cascade. Chatsworth actually offer Buggy’s to go round the gardens, only four at a time, but well worth it as you have to be pretty fit to walk round them all.

10. Cromford Mill
The birth place of the modern factory system and a UNESCO world heritage sight with lots of things for people to do from learning about William Arkwright, to touring a replica of the cotton mill, taking a canal tour to looking around some of their interesting independent shops. Our guests always enjoy the Arkwright Experience an amazing audio visual tour for history buffs. Easy parking, but beware as it’s a historical building there are lots of cobbles which can be challenging for some people living with dementia.

Hope you try and visit some of these attraction, all have toilets close by, have easy parking and the staff have always been really helpful when we take our guests living with dementia. Plus most of them have free carer entry so you don’t have to spend too much to get in!

Go on, take a leaf out of Wallace and Gromit’s book and have a Grand Day Out in the Peak District, your loved one with dementia and you will feel like Wallace at the end of day and say “Well done! We did it!”

Have you ever thought of Donating to MindforYou because Donations Really Matter!

We passionately believe that everyone has the right to have a fabulous holiday and making a donation can make that happen for someone who may really need it!

Our holidays will allow our guests to rediscover their independence, make memories and make life easier by fighting social isolation.

With your kind donation you can help people with Dementia, from all backgrounds, to access a holiday.

By making a donation today, we can use that kindness to help out someone who really needs a holiday who might otherwise not be able to afford it.

Thank you so much for reading this and considering donating to our specialist Dementia Holiday Charity.