Month: September 2018

Ye olde accessible pub!

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
~ Alison ~ Leave a comment

The Black Horse Inn at Thurnham near Maidstone in Kent is an 18th-century inn that manages to be accessible too!

The Black Horse Inn, Thurnham, Kent
The Black Horse Inn, Thurnham, Kent

We stayed here one night on our way back to York from Folkestone and although I’m not sure I would stay here again as there are probably other, better places in the area, it was fine and convenient and better than the Ashford International we stayed at on the way down. (that’s another story!)

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

The old part of the pub has been extended sympathetically so that when you’re inside, you can’t really tell where the old parts ends and the new parts begin. According to the website, the pub is mentioned in The Canterbury Tales, so presumably there was an earlier pub on the same site. The accommodation is in barns across the car park from the inn, the four rooms at the top of the slope being accessible, family rooms.

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

The rooms are pleasant and spacious, ours had a double bed and a single plus a couple of tub chairs, coffee table, tea and coffee making facilities (the UHT milk said it tasted like fresh milk and it did!) and a spacious wet-room style bathroom with a fold down shower seat, a couple of grab rails and two sinks, one lower than the other so more convenient for wheelchair users.

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

To get into the pub, they have ingenuously created a brick-paved pathway that takes you up to the back of the pub, although you could go via the car park if you preferred. When we arrived, it was Sunday lunchtime and extremely busy but once we were checked in, (there is a separate reception, but it was closed) we were able to park opposite our room or you can park directly outside and there was a slope to get in to the room.

Accessible pathway at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible pathway at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

We ate in the pub in the evening. The tables were not ideal with a wheelchair but you could get pretty close up to them. The food all sounded great and although it didn’t quite live up to expectations, it was fine. I did the terribly English thing of, when asked if the meal was all right, I said it was fine when in fact the pork belly I had chosen was rather dry. We had a very nice Greek sharing platter for a starter and my glass of rosé was very good so all in all, a good meal. IMG_1725

Breakfast was good with plenty of choices: I had smoked salmon and scrambled egg, Pete had a full English and there was toast with jam and fresh fruit and yoghurt.

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

The staff are pleasant and efficient, it was easy to find, in fact it was surprising to find such a quiet little village so near to the motorway, so a very convenient place to stay.

Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent
Accessible, family rooms at The Black Horse, Thurnham, Kent

For more detail on the accessibility and photos, see my review on EuansGuide and click here for more accessible places to stay, eat at or visit.

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Accessible gourmet stopover

La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
~ Alison ~ Leave a comment

It’s just as well we only stayed one night at La Cour de Rémi otherwise we might not have fitted through the door on the way out!

If ever you need somewhere that is a bit of a treat and within easy reach of the channel ports, this is it!

La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais

The hotel rooms and restaurant are in the stables of a château that was the headquarters of the British tank command in the First World War. Sébastien, the proprietor, has created a lovely relaxed atmosphere with his friendly team of staff, comfortable rooms and fabulous food. There’s an additional room in a treehouse.

La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais

It is slightly a work in progress still: the paths need redoing, they were very rough and there was no slope into the restaurant. The staff had to bring a wooden board but that worked a treat and everyone was very jolly and good natured about it. In other circumstances it could all have been a bit awkward but it certainly wasn’t here – all just part of the laid-back atmosphere. They will be sorting out the access so maybe we’ll just have to go back to check it out!

Parking space, La Cour de Rémi
Parking space, La Cour de Rémi

Our room (chambre 2, if you are looking at the website) was really spacious with a sofa and two upright chairs with arms. It wasn’t entirely user-friendly as they make use of original features, so what had been the trough for the horses’ feed overhung the head of the bed and did not make a very good headboard! Also, the bed was a bit low and the bathroom floor very slippery when wet but generally it was fine as a disabled-adapted room as it had grab rails and a shower seat. The toiletries were lovely and there was also tea and coffee making facilities. Only one coffee sachet though, so we had to ask for some more but it was worth it as it was surprisingly good coffee!

Chambre 2, La Cour de Rémi
Chambre 2, La Cour de Rémi

Dinner was a really fun experience. Once we had negotiated the temporary slope, we entered a restaurant with tables I could sit at in my power chair (hooray!) and with a huge wooden table down the length of the room, apparently hewn from a single tree trunk. At this, a member of staff was industriously slicing home-made bread. We were brought some of this along with a terrine dish half full of rough-hewn home-made pâté plus a stone jar full of gherkins. This was our ‘amuse-bouche’ or appetiser! Pete would happily have eaten nothing but that all evening! Our food was equally wonderful (best fish I’ve ever eaten!) and they use plenty of home-grown vegetables, fruit and herbs from their lovely walled garden as well as other regional produce.

La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais

Breakfast was equally fun: a brioche loaf between the two of us with two kinds of home-made jam, ham and cheese and boiled egg along with lovely coffee and hot milk. I love it when they offer you hot milk so you can have milky coffee that isn’t cold!

Tank Corps memorial, La Cour de Rémi
Tank Corps memorial, La Cour de Rémi

They are planning to add a little museum about the tank corps but if we were to visit again, it would be for the location, the atmosphere, and, yes, the food.

The chateau de Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
The chateau de Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais

For more details about the accessibility and more photos, please see my review on Euan’s Guide.

Click here for more reviews of accessible places to stay.