We hope you will find the following access information useful, describing the facilities that we offer to all our guests and visitors, but if you have a query that is not covered, then please do get in touch.
Before you arrive
• We are 12 miles from Barnstaple, 5 miles from Woolacombe, 7 miles from Braunton, 66 miles from Exeter, 95 miles from Bristol Airport, and 224 miles from London.
• The nearest railway station is Barnstaple.
• There is a bus stop close to Wildercombe House known as ‘The Nook’, with a half-hourly service offered by the No. 21/21A bus, travelling back and forth into Ilfracombe and Barnstaple and further afield.
• There are several local taxi firms.
On arrival
• Access is via a tarmac driveway.
• We have on-site car parking, with level access from the car park in to Wildercombe House. The car park provides enough space to allow adapted vehicles to turn, park, and unload wheelchair guests.
• We have 1 designated disabled parking space adjacent to the entrance, which is usually allocated to Room 1. However, with prior notice we can also reserve an additional parking space close to the entrance, indicated by a parking cone.
• There is a doorbell on the exterior wall, adjacent to the left-hand side of the porch, along with a door knocker on the main front door.
• The car park is lit during the hours of darkness.
Accommodation and En-suites
• There are 12 en-suite rooms located over 3 floors, with lift access to all floors. Details of the compliant room is shown below, but for full details of all bedrooms please refer to the website.
• Room 1 – Ground floor; Accessible DOC M compliant; Bedroom door width 35.5ins/900mm, opening inwards; Double bed and single bed, providing double, twin or triple occupancy; double bed (left or right-hand transfer) and single bed (left-hand transfer) height 7.5ins/190mm to underside of bed, 21ins/535mm to top of mattress; Vibrating pillow pad and curtain pull rods. En-suite wet room – door width 34.5ins/880mm, opening outwards.
• All bedroom and en-suite doors are fitted with thumb turn locks on the inside for ease of use, and the accessible DOC M compliant room is fitted with ‘D’ shape handles for ease of use. All bedroom doors have ‘quick release’ handles on the inside, enabling the door to unlock and open in the event of an emergency without having to turn the thumb lock first.
• All en-suites have Altro non-slip flooring, overhead lighting, shaver socket, towels and complimentary toiletries. Please refer to the website for full details of each en-suite.
• Accessible compliant en-suite for Room 1 is a wet room, with drop down and horizontal grab rails by the raised toilet – height 20ins/510mm; DOC M compliant washbasin with lever tap and vertical grab rail either side of the basin; additional standard height semi-pedestal washbasin – height 31.5ins/800mm; shower area with drop down seat and shower curtain, Mira select flex shower with lever controls, drop down and horizontal/vertical grab rails.
Entrance and Public Areas
• The entrance porch, fitted with coir matting and French doors, has a maximum door width of 69ins/1750mm, leading to the main front door, with a door width of 41.5ins/1060mm, opening into the reception area with wooden parquet flooring.
• The reception area is 135.5ins/3440mm wide with parquet flooring and level throughout, leads through an archway of 54.5ins/1390mm wide to the main original Victorian tiled hallway.
• Level access throughout the ground floor and the majority of the first and second floors. Doors in these areas are on auto closures.
• There is a mixture of natural and artificial light (using LED bulbs), in all public areas.
• From the ground floor, the main staircase has 24 stairs in total, made up of 6 stairs to the first half-landing, 9 stairs to the second half-landing (plus 2 stairs leading to Bedroom 2 only), then 9 stairs to the first floor landing, with a handrail on one side. The width of the staircase is 43ins/1100mm, and the tread height is 6ins/150mm.
• The DOC M compliant lift provides access to all floors, with braille buttons, sliding door, mirror, voice announcement, handrail, and LED lighting. In the event of the fire alarm being activated, the lift will automatically return to the ground floor, and will remain there with the door open until the fire alarm is deactivated and reset, thereby ensuring guests are unable to use the lift in the event of a fire.
• The ground floor main hallway is tiled and is 199ins/5050mm wide, narrowing to 78ins/1980mm. There is short pile carpet in the area towards and in front of the lift, on the stairs, and the first-floor landing.
• There are two archways in the main hallway, each with a width of 41.5ins/1060mm.
• The first-floor landing is 123ins/3120mm wide, narrowing to 77ins/1960mm, with a swing fire door – width 32ins/830mm, leading to/from the lift and the fire escape.
Public Toilet
• There is a unisex toilet which is not disabled compliant, located on the ground floor opposite the entrance to the breakfast room and adjacent to the main staircase, with tiled floor and one hand basin with lever tap and mirror over, and Dyson hand dryer.
• The toilet door has a width of 30ins/760mm, opening outwards, and the toilet is well lit with overhead lighting.
• The toilet height is 18ins/450mm, but no space for a wheelchair to the side of the toilet.
Breakfast Room
• The breakfast room is situated on the ground floor with level access from the main hallway (door width of 35ins/890mm), has parquet flooring, and is fully accessible for wheelchair users.
• The room has separate tables, all of which are 27ins/685mm high to the underside of the table and 31ins/790mm to the top of the table, laid with cream table linen. All dining chairs are without arms.
• Lighting is natural daylight, with ceiling and wall lamps around the room.
• Your cooked breakfast is served to you at the table, and there is also a self-service cold buffet option. Assistance can be provided if required.
Garden
• During the summer months, seating and tables are located outside at the front of the building on pea shingle, accessed from the main entrance.
• The garden area at the rear of the property, with level and sloping lawn, is accessed via steep steps and therefore inaccessible for wheelchair/less able-bodied guests.
Fire Alarm
• A full and comprehensive fire alarm and emergency lighting system is installed throughout Wildercombe House, with all bedrooms fitted with sound ceiling sensors, and sound and light sensors in the accessible compliant room, and a vibrating pillow pad can be added for those guests with impaired hearing.
• There are several fire escape routes, details of which, along with a plan of the building, can be found on the back of each bedroom door. Fire extinguishers are situated at either end of the corridors. In the event of a fire, the fire alarm will sound continuously, and the emergency lighting will come on until reset. If you need assistance in this kind of emergency (disabled or hearing/visually impaired), please advise on arrival and we will ensure you are evacuated as a priority. All outside fire escape routes have battery back-up automatic ‘dusk ’til dawn’ lighting installed, which remains on in the event of a power failure.
Additional Information
• We are a non-smoking establishment throughout.
• Service dogs only and children aged 14 years and over are welcome at Wildercombe House.
• Mobility scooters/battery powered wheelchairs can be charged in the reception area. There is no charge for this service.
• Night lights are left on throughout the building during the night.
• Check-out time on the day of departure is by 10.30am.
Contact Details
Wildercombe House
St Brannocks Road
Ilfracombe
North Devon
EX34 8EP, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1271 865765
Email: askus@wildercombehouse.com
Website: www.wildercombe.com
