Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland
AYRSHIRE & ARRAN BRANCH
Registered Charity Number SCO41990
Our aim is to feature news about respite care and accessible holidays on this page. If you know of a suitable and accessible accommodation we'd like to include it, so please call us on
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Ayrshire & Arran Branch
of the Multiple Sclerosis
Society Scotland
84 Main Street
Kilwinning
Ayrshire KA13 6AG
OPEN 11am - 3pm
MONDAY - SATURDAY
Tel: 01294 558866
Email: msayrshire@talktalk.net
Port Selma Lodges, Benderloch: A Wheelchair Accessible Base in Argyll
If you’re looking for an accessible holiday that offers great accommodation, wonderful views and great sunsets, then look no further than Port Selma Pine Lodges at Benderloch near Oban in Argyllshire.
Set just a few yards off Benderloch’s main street - which has little more than a café, a shop, a church and a filling station - the lodges stand in a peaceful location a short distance from Ardmucknish Bay. The busy port of Oban is just a fifteen minute drive away, whilst Fort William is some 25 miles distant.
Port Selma is a great place to relax at. Each of the two beautifully appointed lodges has a view overlooking fields of sheep and cows with a backdrop of mountains in the distance.
The lodges offer a home from home, they are fully equipped with all the electrical appliances you could need – there’s even a dishwasher. The lodges are self-catering only and the kitchen area is a pleasure to work in. There are two spacious bedrooms, a double with a wet-floor roll-in shower room and a twin room, which has a fully equipped bathroom alongside it.
Everything is well laid out and the purpose-built lodges make it easy to get about with their wide doorways and no ledges or steps to interfere with the smooth passage of the wheelchair.
The only downside is there is no hoist, however loan hoists can be hired at about £6 a day from Huntleigh - Telephone 01582 745700 - who will deliver the hoist (they offer many other items of mobility equipment too) to your holiday home before you arrive and collect the item when you’ve finished with it.
My wife May and I are just back from our second visit to Port Selma – many of the visitors return again and again - and we cannot recommend the lodges highly enough. For more information and prices visit the website www.portselma.co.uk or phone the friendly owners, Jan and Willie Orr on 01631 720224.
Please mention that you saw this information on the MS Ayrshire & Arran website.
Nick Smalley
Branch Publicist
We are very aware of the UK decision to close all the Society’s respite care homes including Leuchie House in North Berwick. We wait from HQ details of the new arrangements to be put in place for this key members’ service.
In the meantime, we are looking locally to find out what facilities and places you, our members, have found suitable and disabled friendly for respite care and short breaks from your own personal experiences. For example, we know there is interest at Edinburgh HQ on the successful week-long holiday breaks organised by the Cunninghame Group in Stevenston to Spain.
We intend to gather in your thoughts and publicise them to members and our Support Team who administer our individual grants system which can assist you in this important area.
We also intend to ensure all 3 Ayrshire Councils are aware of our efforts as they are ultimately responsible for providing respite care.
Donald McNeill OBE
Branch Chairman 2010
