Yasemen Kaner-White takes her Mum for a birthday treat
Cutting through scenic provincial land, we eventually arrived at architecturally beautiful ‘Missy’s House’, in Harringworth. The first good news was we could park directly outside and mum, who uses an electric scooter, could ride straight in through the front door to warm up whilst we unloaded the car, puppy excitedly exploring the new abode whilst we do. Car unloaded, we checked out the rooms to decide who is going where, mum being able to scoot along throughout the entire property.
Gorgeous interiors
Each cosy room is beautifully decorated with whimsical handmade objet d’art, which I later found out is largely down to the wife of owner Rupert, who has a particular penchant for paper craft. Mum, for whom we had mainly arranged the stay, moved into the roomy en-suite which has French doors opening onto the expanse of private garden that comes with the property. No pesky steps or ridge prohibiting a smooth glide from house to garden. Her bathroom, not only squeaky clean but sizeable and modern, atheistically pleasing and equipped with an accessible foldable shower chair, bench to sit on, whilst using the intentionally lowered sink and the cherry on the top: White Company toiletries to make her feel even more at home.
We had a choice of the remaining four rooms and Lychee, our puppy, pretty much had the run of the house, delighted at the lack of puppy gate. Each of the individually designed rooms usefully has its own hairdryer, storage for clothes and hooks to hang coats.
Comfortable living
After unpacking we reunited in the gorgeous open plan kitchen, where we looked through the hamper of goodies left for us including local tea, biscuits, chocolate and more. Making dinner was easy as every utensil we needed was there, as well as plenty of surfaces to prep and plate up. Mum was happy sitting on the comfortable sofa watching Netflix on the large TV, which was opposite the kitchen, so we could see it too, then we all went to the table to eat, Mum easily scooting up to it before sliding onto one of the comfy chairs.
After dinner we went into the sitting room with floor to ceiling windows so we could look out to the garden, Lychee chasing the birds as we played a game of cards. The next day was Mum’s Birthday, so we went into Uppingham and whilst she had her haircut in Sloane’s where the ladies were very helpful letting her in the back entrance on her scooter, we popped into nearby coffee shop ‘Scandimania’ for a decent cup of craft coffee before popping into the array of antique shops, including a very nice antique bookshop.
Time to get crafty
Having made a raspberry and chocolate birthday cake, which was seamless, as again all equipment was there including the cake tin, it was tea and cake in the afternoon, followed by a session in the Arts & Crafts room which we thought was brilliant, brimming with board games, tables with lamps, paper to draw on and all flooded with natural light from the huge windows. We bought a clay set with us and had a go at making shapes and pinch bowls — an opportunity for quality time, something which is sometimes hard to fit in when at home and dealing with everyday duties. It really felt like a holiday.
Out on the water
That evening we had booked a table at wheelchair accessible and dog friendly ‘The Olive Branch’, an award winning, great gastro pub in Rutland, which frankly, was faultless from the welcoming and helpful staff to the incredible food. The next day we ventured to Rutland Water which was delightful to walk alongside the reservoir together, breathing in nature followed by a hearty jacket potato in accessible ‘Waterside’ café with views over the reservoir. It’s worth visiting Normanton church which juts out into the water and has a magical air to it.
Accessible cooking
That night Mum decided to cook which was made easy with the thoughtful low height worktops and accessible sink and cooker. One of the games we found in the Art room was the retro ‘Connect Four’, not only nostalgic we found it rather addictive! After a number of games, as well as Pick Up Sticks, mum practised drawing a squirrel in the sitting room, whilst we caught up on our laptops; what’s nice is the amount of space, so sitting together is easy.
The next day, being culture vultures, we visited nearby Kirby Hall, an impressive Elizabethan country house, worth visiting, though be sure if it’s winter to wrap up warmly as the grounds are nice to explore and all is accessible. When the time came to pack up and leave, it was a sad moment. Decorative Missy’s House definitely lends itself well to a family multigenerational holiday, set within wonderful woodlands and accessible to all.
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Find out more about this lovely escape at www.missyshouse.co.uk
