Browse through our blog posts to find out what life is like at Hoe Grange Holidays along with some great ideas for hobbies and days out in the Peak District.
If there's one thing that we've learnt over the last 10 years of running our self-catering log cabins at Hoe Grange Holidays it's that one thing very quickly leads to another. This is definitely the case with our amazing Boma 7 off-road wheelchair!
Following on from the entertaining calendar photo shoot with marauding animals, which was a laugh a minute, we found ourselves working with Chris and the Boma team once again to host the first Boma Owner's Appreciation Day.
Molten Rock was founded by Chris Swift, who became tetraplagic in 1995 following a neurological illness. As a qualified engineer with a mission to get back outdoors with no limits, Chris and his friend Jon Anders developed the incredible Boma all terrain wheelchair. Many of our guests have been able to enjoy exploring our beautiful Peak District countryside using this off-road machine - the smile on their faces says it all! So it was a pleasure to host the first Boma 7 challenge day.
People travelled from far and wide to join us in the hilly Peak District to test the capabilities of their mighty machines. Jon from Molten Rock together with David created a challenging course, including a balance see-saw, slalom and a reversing box, so Boma owners could test their driving skills.
Bomas are easy to operate but these obstacles needed skillful, controlled manoeuvres. It was fantastic to see Boma users with quadriplegia, MS, MND and CP all competing on the same basis.
The drivers were timed and to make it more fun Jon attached a full glass of water to each Boma frame to see who made it round the bumpy course with the most water. David raced round in record time, but paid the price of speed over skill and received quite a soaking!
After a quick bite of lunch the Bomas headed off over the hill for an off-road adventure. The weather forecast was wild and wet, but fortunately glorious sunshine prevailed and although the wind was a little chilly it didn't put anyone off.
It was a superb site to see the Bomas trekking along the High Peak Trail and heading across the fields to Minninglow, an ancient neo-lithic burial ground, together with a large group of family, and friends.
Lucy takes the lead
Also joining us was the Labrador Velo from Canine Partners who is in training to become an assistance dog. As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations we are aiming to raise £5,000 to buy and train a dog like Velo. We have seen first hand what a difference such dogs make to people's lives and it was great that the Boma challenge day raised over £100 towards our total.
The smiles and spirit of the whole event was creatively captured by professional photographer Ruth Downing from Rural Pictures and her "Sherper" husband Rob who had to carry all the camera bags up hill and down dale! If you would like high resolution versions of any of the photos please contact us.
The unstoppable Boma - nothing too rocky, nothing too muddy, no hill too steep - just pure family fun with everyone included!
Thanks to Molten Rock for co-ordinating the day and all who helped make it a success; to Accessible Derbyshire and Mount Cook Adventure Centre for their support, to Bowler Motorsport for the loan of their mighty off-road Landrover Defender - another amazing off-road machine and to Derbyshire County Council for the loan of their mobile Changing Places toilet.
Make sure you book a place to join in the Boma action next year!
Felicity