HASTE YE BACK
After the atrocious wet summer of 2007, most haemo-dialysis patients and their carers need a holiday. A REAL holiday without long airport delays, lost luggage, tummy upsets, bomb alerts and worries about the treatment they will receive when they reach their holiday destinations. In short, what we really need is a holiday in Edinburgh. A holiday that starts on our own doorstep, from the moment the taxi whisks us off to the nearest mainline station and into the capable hands of JourneyCare who ensure that every moment of our journey on the train from north-west England to the ‘Athens of the North’ is problem free.
As a wheelchair user, I have made the journey from Manchester to Edinburgh many times with my wife, Jean. Given at least 24 hours’ notice, JourneyCare staff ensure that we get on the train, that our luggage is safely stowed and that arrangements are in place for us and to be met at our destination. Once in Edinburgh, we are helped off the train by station staff and taken to the taxi rank.
In Edinburgh of course, there are scores of places to stay, catering for all tastes and budgets, but we have chosen to stay in a friendly B&B, Adam Drysdale House in Gilmore Place, partly because one of its owners, Roddy, has personal experience of renal dialysis, and partly because it is just across the road from Scottish Holiday Dialysis (SHD).
Stuart and Karen, the two experienced dialysis nurses who run SHD are like old friends. They take a personal interest in all the kidney patients who come to them from all over the world. They understand perfectly that you are there as part of your holiday. As you relax in your armchair, the treatment goes ahead without any fuss. Karen and Stuart like to sit with their patients, telling amusing anecdotes about life as a nurse or listening to what you’ve been doing since you last saw them. A few minutes’ walk from SHD the extensive parkland known as ‘The Meadows’ begins. You can stop there for a game of mini-golf or head straight for Arthur’s Seat and climb this ancient volcanic outcrop to gain splendid views of Edinburgh and over the Firth of Forth to Fife. Feeling less energetic? Hop on a bus outside SHD and, a few minutes later, you’ll find yourself on Princes Street: on your left, famous shops stretching as far as the eye can see; on your right, Princess Street Gardens (don’t miss the floral clock!), home to the National Gallery of Scotland and overlooked by Edinburgh Castle. Be ready to jump at one o’clock when the guards fire the cannon on the half-moon battery! Try one of the City Tours starting from Waverley Station or hop on a service bus and, a few minutes later, you can be at the Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh Zoo or the Royal Botanic Gardens.
When you get tired of exploring Edinburgh on foot, more than a dozen coach companies are anxious to tempt you on board for trips to places of interest close at hand and throughout Scotland; or you can jump on a train and have a day out on your own. Over in Fife there’s Dunfermline, capital of Scotland before Edinburgh, with its Bishop’s Palace, Abbey and the ruined royal Palace, birthplace of Charles I. Here too lie the graves of Queen Margaret, the pious Saxon who helped to civilise the Scots, and King Robert (the Bruce), who won independence for Scotland at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. At the Bannockburn Visitor Centre near Stirling, try on the chain mail and the crown, and hear the sounds of battle all around. You’re not a kidney patient any longer, you’re a king!
My wife and I spent eight years abroad and during those years we visited many interesting places and enjoyed numerous unforgettable experiences. We walked on the Great Wall of China, we breakfasted with monks in a Zen Temple, we climbed volcanoes and crossed Russia and Europe on the Trans-Siberian Railway, but Edinburgh is still our favourite city and Stuart and Karen at Scottish Holiday Dialysis make it possible for us to return again and again.
JourneyCare is available to disabled people or anyone who requires extra assistance when they travel by train. They provide information, book tickets, reserve seats and wheelchair spaces and arrange help to get you on and off the train. They need at least 24 hours notice before you intend to travel. Tel: 08457 44 33 66. Scotrail is also very good with disabled travellers.
Buses are a good way to travel around Edinburgh. A Smart Card allows you to hop on and off Lothian buses all day. Most buses are wheelchair-friendly and the drivers are very helpful. Parking can be a problem in Edinburgh and no private cars are allowed along Princes Street.
Useful websites:
The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for information provided. The above is for guidance only.
Page created: 23 October 2007
Last updated: 27 December 2007
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