Greygles Access Information
OVERVIEW
Greygles is a four-bedroom property built on two floors.
The kitchen, dining room, and living room are on the ground floor, as also are a shower/toilet and one of the double bedrooms with an adjacent bathroom/toilet. While the latter is not technically en-suite, the other bedrooms are upstairs and guests in them have access to two different bathroom and toilet facilities.
Thus, although Greygles does not have a disability access rating under the Visit Britain scheme, it is in practice very practical for many people who prefer not to have to go up stairs. A couple of past guests have satisfactorily used a wheelchair in the house although not all doors are of an approved width.
As regards external access, there are three doors to the outside, each involving either one or two steps. Greygles is set within a small enclosed garden, looking directly out over fields at the rear. The garage is a separate building from the main house; and, amusingly, the border between the Districts of North and West Dorset runs between the two.
MAIN ACCESS STATEMENT
Before you arrive
• Full directions for finding Greygles are available on our website (www.greygles.co.uk) and a hard copy is sent to guests at the time of confirmation after final payment.
• The village is blessed with a large, friendly village store – Ansty* Post Office and Farm Shop, Brewery Farm, Ansty, DT2 7PN. 01258 881 097 – which sells local produce including meat and vegetables. They are happy to make up telephone orders. Guests coming in for Christmas or special occasions may find this especially helpful. They can provide local turkeys, geese and Christmas trees.
[*Melcombe Bingham and Ansty are in practice two halves of the same village, divided only by a small stream. Ansty is the northern end, Melcombe Bingham the southern end]
• General shopping can be done in the supermarkets in the nearby towns of Blandford Forum and Dorchester. Each is about 10 miles and 15 minutes drive from Greygles.
• There is no petrol station or ATM in the village. The nearest are in the local towns with a 24 hour facility on the Tesco site at Blandford Forum.
Arrival and Car Parking
• We ask guests to arrive after 4 p.m. to allow for cleaning after previous guests; and for the same reason, departure at the end your stay should be by 10 a.m. If you want to vary these times, please call us in advance (020 8969 4830 or 07979 860 266). If no other guests are leaving or arriving on the same day as you, we can usually be flexible.
• Keys to the front door are in a wall-mounted key safe in the alcove of the back door which, facing the front of the house, is round to the right-hand side of the building. The code and procedure for using the safe are given to guests after final payment.
• The entrance to Greygles is through a gate [Width: 3.58 metres] off the quiet road through the village. This may be closed when you arrive, so please be careful as you turn in. It can be opened and closed simply by using the latch.
• There is space to park two cars at the far end of the house, allowing each to exit without having to move the other. Using all the tarmac space available, five cars can be parked off the road but they will then be blocking each other. Street parking is possible around a small green to the right about 200 yards up the road from the house.
• There is a garage large enough for one vehicle [Door width: 2.14 m] but we have never put a car in it! We use it as a simple games room and a place for storing garden furniture, equipment, and bicycles. If, however, you do need covered parking, let us know and the garage can be made available.
Perimeter
The perimeter is made up of a mixture of gate, wooden fence, hedges and wire fence. It is sufficient to ensure privacy and to make it difficult for small children and dogs to wander out of the garden but it is not impenetrable.
• The gate is of the open, 5-bar variety with an attached mesh at floor level to block small children and dogs from going underneath [Width: 3.58m; Height: 1.13m].
• The boundary to the field involves a hedge on the section by the lawn and strung wire at others with a variety of shrubbery along its length.
• All other parts of the perimeter are made up of either close fencing or mature hedging.
Entry Doors
• The main front door comprises a) A wide double door [Width: 1.36m] with a small lip [Height: 5 cms], leading into a small vestibule [Depth: 99 cms], b) A second inner door [Width: 81 cms], reached by one step [Height: 17 cms]. Both for the step, and to reach the keyhole in the inner door, a person in a wheelchair would require assistance.
• The back door involves a step [Height: 17 cms] from ground level into an alcove area, and then a further step [Height: 18 cms] through the door itself [Width: 78 cms] into the kitchen. The width of the alcove leading to the back door is restricted by cut logs we leave for the convenience of guests using the open fire [Open alcove width: 64 cms].
• In the left-hand side of the alcove is a door [Width: 75 cms] that gives access to a small utility room housing the central heating boiler.
• At the rear of the building is a patio door [Width: 79 cms] leading from the garden directly into the living room. This has two steps to it [Heights: 17 and 26 cms].
Ground Floor
• Once inside, the whole ground floor is on one level with no steps to individual rooms.
• All rooms open onto the internal L-shaped corridor [Width at narrowest point: 1.09m]
• The room doors are of the following widths: Kitchen: 72 cms Living Room: 80 cms Dining Room: 72 cms Bathroom/Toilet: 64 cms Bedroom: 72 cms Shower/Toilet: 64 cms Walk-in larder from kitchen: 65 cms
• Bathroom/Toilet: The width of the space in front of the toilet and bath is: 1.07m.
• Floor coverings: The living room and bedroom have fitted carpeting; the kitchen and both toilets have lino-style flooring; all other rooms and the corridor have varnished wood flooring with rugs.
• All windows are lockable and a key for each window hangs in its vicinity.
• The larder has an old-fashioned marble cool shelf, ideal for vegetables.
• The Aga cooker is usually on only in winter but can be lit at other times on request. Please note that it takes a couple of days to reach full heat.
• On the left-hand side of the corridor and in the larder are doors to cupboards for the owner’s goods. These are normally padlocked.
Telephone, wi-fi, Heating Controls, Keys, Fuse box, Logs and Coal
• The telephone is normally situated in the living room but it can be moved and there are phone sockets in several rooms through the house. These can also be used for laptops, etc.
• The house has wi-fi and no extra charge is made for its use. The access code is provided to guests before arrival and can also be found in the Welcome Book that is laid out on the living room table for arriving guests.
• The heating timer is situated on the wall just inside the larder accessed from the kitchen. A central thermostat is on the wall just outside the downstairs bedroom. Each radiator has separate temperature controls.
• On the corridor wall opposite the kitchen is a switch for the hot water immersion heater. This should only be required if the normal central heating has failed. If used, please switch it off as soon as possible.
• All keys that guests might require (Back door, utility room, patio door, garage, spares for front door, fuse box) hang on a board inside the larder. Please always return them to the board after use.
• The fuse box is situated on the left-hand wall immediately outside the back door.
• A stock of logs is left for convenience outside the back door. The main store of logs is at the side of the garage. Coal is stored in a concrete bunker opposite the back door; a shovel is left on top of the wood pile by the back door (please put it back after use).
Upstairs
• The stairs are 67 cms wide, with 13 steps varying in height from 20 – 22 cms. The top three steps are set to create a right-hand turn up to a small landing with doors to each of the three bedrooms.
• On the left-hand side of the stairs is an open area accessed only by climbing over the guard-rail. The rail is removable but there is then no protection.
• Once at the top of the stairs, the first floor is all level with no steps to the rooms.
• The door widths for the bedrooms are as follows: Single room: 64 cms Twin room: 65 cms Double room: 68 cms
• From the double room there is access to the rather funky and extensive bath/shower/toilet room. The door is 72 cms wide.
• Entry to the shower is by a door 62 cms wide with a 10 cm step into the shower tray.
• All floors on this level are of varnished wood with rugs.
• All windows are lockable and a key for each window hangs in its vicinity.
Grab Rails
There is a banister up the stairs but no grab rails in showers and toilets.
Garage
• Keys to the various garage doors are on the board in the larder in the main house.
• Front entrance: A lip of 4 cms; Double doors, 2.14m wide when fully open.
• Rear room: accessed from an internal door – 71 cms wide; lip of 6 cms. There is also an external door to this room. 72 cms wide; 2 steps, 35 and 17 cms high.
• Side room: Accessible only from outside, through a door 72 cms wide with a 22 cms step.
Wendy House
This is situated in the garden and is visible from the kitchen window. Its door is 58 cms wide, 1.22m high, with a 12 cm entry step. A child size play table and chairs are inside, with carpet-tile floor covering.
Contact Information
Owners: Paul and Monica SOMMERFELD,
22 Tiverton Road,
London NW10 3HL
Tel: 020 8969 4830
Mobile: 07979 860 266
Email: paulsommerfeld@btinternet.com
Housekeepers: Sue and Tony BENNETT,
4 Malthouse Cottages
Melcombe Bingham DT2 7PN
Tel: 01258 882 193