Access Holidays have two properties, a gite and a large house, in the small hamlet of Gresignac in the Dordogne region of South-West France. Both are accessible to wheelchair users.
Holiday
FREE & Low Cost Short Breaks
Quite a few charities own holiday properties that they let out to families with special needs children. These properties are all over the country, sometimes even by the beach. These tend to book up fast, and there is occasionally a waiting list, so expect to look for next year’s holiday, unless a cancellation means a property becomes available at shorter notice.
They might include...
- Disabled caravan holidays
- Holidays for children with special needs
- Summer camps for disabled children
- Respite for disabled children
Prices vary, so have a look, and remember you may be able to get funding to cover all costs in our holiday grants section. Other charities will pay for some or all of your holiday if you have financial difficulties or if your child’s condition is severe (see our wish making section). Many charities also offer residential summer camps or special events days just for children, sometimes with and sometimes without their siblings. These tend to be free and include great medical support.
Check out our links for the full list, but here are a couple of good examples:
- The Ty Glyn Davis Trust has a self-catering holiday home for up to 16 people and is fully accessible for those with special needs. The Holiday Centre is set amongst mature woodlands on the banks of the River Aeron.
- Self-catering chalets at the Golden Bay Holiday Village overlook beautiful Bideford Bay on the north Devon coast. There is wheelchair-friendly access from the holiday village leading directly down to two miles of golden sandy beach.
- The Happy Days Charity funds and organises holidays, residential trips, days out and theatre trips for children and young people aged 3 to 17 years with learning difficulties, physical or mental disabilities.
A specially-designed camp that provides Therapeutic Recreation programmes for children with serious illnesses, and their families. For children affected by serious illnesses - primarily cancer and serious blood diseases - from Ireland, Britain and throughout Europe, and their families.
Buddies
Buddies School Holiday Clubs: Provide a safe and secure environment for your child during school holidays, evenings and weekends to spend time with friends, experiencing new activities.
Clubs offer a range of activities for children to get involved in, from swimming and ice skating to days out to the zoo. Brothers and sisters can also attend the sessions.Buddies Go Camping: Buddies Go Camping is an inclusive weekend break for disabled children from 8 - 19.
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Helping young carers and other children in need. They go walking, swim in the sea and build sandcastles on the beach. They play, learn and are cared for in safe and encouraging environments growing in confidence by challenging themselves and trying new activities.
Cerebra supports children under 16 years who have a brain injury, neurological disorder, mental disability or developmental problem. They have lots of services including...
Parent support workers can offer face-to-face help with filling in forms and attending meetings.
The grant scheme funds up to 80% of the cost of equipment and services. E.g. That might be by paying for a touch screen monitor for a little boy who can’t use a mouse so he can do his homework and play computer games like his friends.
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Sleep service
They have a holiday home in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales which gives families a chance to enjoy some respite with a free week long holiday.
Provide adapted equipment and tailor made solutions to problems when there's nothing on the market that meets your child's need.
Cerebra holiday home
Their holiday home Vallecchia gives families an opportunity to enjoy a break in Pembrokeshire, South Wales without some of the difficulties they might experience on a standard holiday.
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Based around a beautiful 17th century farmhouse, in the heart of Cheshire countryside, the Charity offers free adventure breaks and activities to children who are disadvantaged by illness, disability and poverty, from all over the Northwest.
CLIC Sargent Holidays
LIC Sargent can provides a choice of several holiday parks on the South coast. They also have a house in Prestwick, Scotland called Malcolm Sargent House, where several families holiday together and are fully catered for. Malcolm Sargent House offers specialist breaks at certain times of the year, such as couples breaks who have lost an only child.
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Daytrippers was set up to help children with disabilities, life limiting or terminal illnesses enjoy amazing experiences that might otherwise not be available to them. Events include daytrips to theme parks, the seaside, museums as well as unique events such as film premieres
We fund and organise holidays, residential trips, days out and theatre trips throughout the UK for disadvantaged young people with special needs. We help young people in special needs schools, in hospitals and in hospices and we help individual families.
I Need A Holiday Too Ltd
Accessible holidays for disabled travellers, six fully accessible apartments in Brittany, France. Equipment, support workers and adapted transport all available. Direct Payments and Independent Budgets accepted.
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KIDS - School Years
KIDS' vision is a world in which all disabled children and young people realise their aspirations and their right to an inclusive community which supports them and their families.
They run...
Saturday and after-school clubs
School holiday play schemes
Short breaks
Respite care
Residential short breaks
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National Holiday fund for sick and disabled children
They take children with life limiting illnesses/ disabilities on holiday to Florida. The children have one to one care by a group of trained helpers, that include a Senior Nurse and a Doctor. This allows parents to have 2 weeks of respite care, while their children have the holiday of a lifetime.
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The orchyd holiday aims to be a fantastic ten-day experience. Based in St. Martin's Church Hall in Ruislip, where the children lay their heads at night and where they are assigned a helper each morning before setting off on another amazing day's adventure.
Pauls fund helps young adults and their families to have a respite holiday break staying at Paul’s Place, which provides both Bed and Breakfast and self-catering accommodation. Paul’s Place is located in the delightful village of Georgeham near Croyde on the North Devon coast.
You may apply for a grant if you are a young adult facing one of these challenging circumstances:
Diagnosis of a terminal or life threatening illness
Bereavement
Being a long term, unpaid carer of a close relative
Parents and siblings who are caring for a young adult with a life threatening or terminal illness, or who have lost a young adult, may also apply, as may adults
Rotary Kids Out Day
The Day Out is delivered nationally in conjunction with Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) and provides the children who attend with an experience that brings both fun and happiness into their lives. The Day Out could be as simple as visiting the seaside, zoo or theme park but for the children who attend this is often a once in a lifetime experience.
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The Children’s Hope Foundation offer support to buy medical equipment, computers for educational purposes and days out.
The Donna's Dream House Charity in Blackpool is a locally based trust providing free holiday experiences for children and teenagers with life-threatening illnesses and their families, and for recently bereaved siblings and their families.
The Newman Holiday Trust is a voluntary organisation which provides summer holidays for children with special needs. The holidays provide a range of fun activities in a safe and supported environment and use a care ratio of one helper to one child at all times.
The Oliver Curd Trust
Provides fully equipped holiday accommodation to families supporting children and young people in the UK, suffering from childhood cancer and other life threatening illnesses.
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The Youth Cancer Trust provides free holidays to young people between the ages of 14-30 suffering from, or in remission from cancer or any other malignant disease.
Each Spring they run a short holiday for families with an autistic child at Dalesdown, a Christian centre in a beautiful setting in the Sussex countryside. We organise a full programme of activities including craft, adventure trail, praise parties and outings to the seaside and swimming pool.
Trefoil
Trefoil House has a holiday grant fund for children/people to take a holiday where there is no funding available from elsewhere.
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Trewan Sands offer holidays through Haven Holidays at 35 sites throughout the UK. They chose Haven as not only do they offer full disabled access and fully equipped disabled holiday homes but they also help us to provide entertainment by providing Free Fun Passes to the children's clubs. Referrals from LAs, special needs schools and other charities throughout the UK.
Vitalise
Vitalise is a national charity providing short breaks (respite care) for people with physical disabilities and carers.
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