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The Salt Cave (London)
by catsholiday
THE SALT CAVE
320B Earlsfield Rd London, SW18 3EJ
020 8870 6006
My daughter lives in London and so when we are planning a visit I keep my eye out for deals on Groupon or kgb for things we can do when we are down there. This offer came up for a session in the Salt Cave and I thought it would be an interesting ... experience and so I bought four deals for us to visit this place and see if it helped us with our allergy problems. I paid £10 each for us to have an hour's session but when I actually looked up the place I discovered that you get your first session free but I think you have to sign up for a few to get that so maybe it was not a bad deal.
WHY A SALT CAVE?
Firstly I love trying new things and I do suffer from asthma, hayfever and strange itchy skin problems so I hope this might help. My husband also suffers from blocked tear ducts and I thought it would be an interesting experience anyway.
A series of sessions in a Salt Cave is supposed to help with Asthma, sinusitis, hayfever, and other respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and it is also supposed to help with eczema. On the website they claim that session in the salt cave can assist with all the following conditions:
* rhinitis
* hay fever
* respiratory allergies
* cystic fibrosis
* tonsillitis
* eczema
* asthma
* chronic bronchitis
* cough
* sinusitis
* ear infection
* Psoriasis
I was not naive enough to think that one session would cure me of all my years of allergy ut i thought it would be interesting to see if I felt any different at all.
GETTING PREPARED:
We had a look on the website to see what you had to wear and do etc. It seems that they suggest you do not wear any scented products like perfume, creams or deodorant and to wear comfortable clothing. They do not require that you change into a robe or provide any special clothes. You can take your own track suit or shorts if you want and change in the toilets there.
You can take a book to read or use the magazines in the room. You can take your kindle in there as some people do but I suggested that my daughter didn't as i didn't think salt would be that great for an electronic device.
OUR ARRIVAL:
I handed over our vouchers and the lady hand us forms to complete about our medical issues that we hoped would be helped.
We were then taken to a rather small room when all five us us where in there. We were given lockers to put all our bags and phones etc in and then we were handed very glamorous shower cap things and similar ones to put over our shoes.
Once kitted out we were taken into the salt cave.
INSIDE THE CAVE:
This was quite a sizable room which had grains of salt like salt on the floor and sprayed salt on the ceiling and walls so that it was all white. There were several wooden sort of beach chairs with cushions so you could raise your legs and lie back and relax.
I think there were probably about ten chairs in there. We used four then another couple of people came in followed by a single lady who was obviously a regular and she sang the praises of the place and was full of enthusiasm for the benefits of salt therapy.
My daughter's partner thought she might have been their advertising method and put there to convince us!! She told us she had had pneumonia in March and several sessions over two weeks had cured her when medicines had failed. She had a chest infection and was coming to sort that out.
Apart from the rather chatty lady who latched on to my husband the atmosphere was really peaceful and quiet. You could lie back and close your eyes and totally think of nothing.
While you are in the room it isn't just the salt on the floor and walls that benefit you. All the while you are in there salt mini particles are being sprayed into the room using a special machine called a 'Breeze Ttronic Pro' . Which in fact was rather noisy and di spoil the peace and relaxing atmosphere a bit for us. My daughter and I were both very aware of it but my husband said he didn't notice it!! After the lady finished talking to him he did manage to fall asleep so he obviously found it very relaxing.
Apparently breeze Tronic pro is:
"Is a system for generating and maintaining a negative ionized dry saline microclimate in a dedicated therapy room."
A BIT ABOUT SALT THERAPY AND THE SALT CAVE
Patients in Canada, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Austria and Germany have been successfully treated by speleotherapy in natural salt caves. This Salt cave mimics the environment of these caves and they say you can expect to see the benefits of easier breathing after around seven to thirty days depending on the number of sessions.
This Salt cave was opened in 2007 and has been extremely successful both as a business and medicinally recognised. Over the first two years 7000 clients were treated and there are now 5 Salt caves open around the country.
Thanks to their success the Breeze Tronic Pro therapy is now an NHS Approved therapy and many GPs and physiotherapists refer patients to the Salt Cave and Royal Brompton hospital is using the salt therapy.
It is certainly is not just a flash in the pan or one of those 'weird alternate therapies' it has a lot of medical backing.
WHAT DID WE THINK OF OUR SESSION OF SALT THEREAPY?
We all found it very relaxing despite the noisy salt machine sending in the micro particles. I am not totally convinced that my asthma and hay fever has been helped but I imagine you might need more than just a single session to feel the benefits.
I did feel that my sinuses were clearer so a few more sessions might have done the trick. My husband said his tear ducts felt a lot better and it is a shame we don't live closer as I think we would certainly give the Salt Cave a few more tries to see if we could get rid of our breathing blocked bits problems.
PRICES:
A single session is usually £35 but if you sign up to a five session package that will cost £150. Ten sessions are £260 and the price is reduced per session the more you sign up for.
They also sell salt products and salt scrubs from the Dead sea or Pink Himalayan salt and you can also buy salt lamps which are attractive but not sure they are of any benefit medicinally as I didn't ask.
CHILDREN:
They have a special room for children with toys as this therapy is supposed to be especially beneficial for children suffering from asthma and eczema. Certainly if I had a young child with asthma i would give this a good few sessions trial.
Because salt therapy is 100% drug free it is particularly suitable for children from the age of six months onwards and children apparently respond fairly quickly to the therapy.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
I would say that if you suffer from any respiratory or skin condition listed I would certainly give it a try if you live near one of the centres. There are a few others in the UK, This one in Earlsfield, South London, One in Kent, Milton Keynes and Edinburgh. Sadly there are none in the Midands so they are all quite away from us really.
I enjoyed the session and would really like to give it longer try as I hate taking anti histamines and using my inhaler but it is just too much hassle to get down to London that regularly sadly.
Thanks for reading. This review may be posted on other sites under my same user name.
©Catsholiday
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Coach House (Mayfield, Derbyshire)
by SWSt
This year, Mrs SWSt and I decided to take our holiday in Derbyshire - an area neither of us had visited for a long time. However, when we came to look for a holiday cottage, many of the properties were either for bigger parties or not available when we wanted them. Until, that is, we found Mayfield Coach House on the English Country ... Cottages website.
Getting There
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Finding the cottage was very straightforward, since it is located just off the A52, one of the major routes to Derby. Excellent instructions were provided by the owners on how to reach the cottage and this was made even easier by the presence of the Rose and Crown pub, which acted as a clear marker for the turning for the cottage. We managed to find it first time with none of that frustrating driving around knowing you are in roughly the right area, but unable to find the exact place!
Location, Location, Location
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As its name suggests, the property is an old converted coach house. It stands a little back from the road and can either be reached through a gate at the side of Mayfield Cottage (the owners' home) or via a small service road that bends right round to the front door. The location is ideal for a pleasant, peaceful holiday and the cottage is very quiet: the road at the front gets scarcely any traffic (it only leads to a few isolated farm buildings and houses), whilst the back of the house overlooks the owners' garden (which they are happy to share with you) and some fields. The only real "disturbance" you are likely to hear are the contented moos coming from the cows in the field out back, reminding you that you are in the heart of the countryside. Being woken up tot the gentle mooing of cows was actually quite a pleasant experience!
Inside the Coach House
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The Coach House is small, but very comfortable. On entering, you come first to the kitchen. The kitchen is fairly basic (a cooker, fridge and microwave), but more than adequate for most people's needs (although note: there is no washing machine or freezer). The kitchen leads through into a small, but very cosy living room (equipped with TV/DVD player/Digital Freeview), whilst stairs in the kitchen lead up to a surprisingly large bedroom (equipped with a bed, bedside cabinets, desk and curtained off clothes-rail) and a bathroom. The whole place is very pleasantly furnished and whilst it might not have as much in terms of furniture or extras as some places, there was more than enough for us.
Out and About
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A big plus for Mayfield Cottage is that the owners have provided a lot of helpful information - far more than the minimum amount required by English Country Cottages. In addition to the usual stuff about how to use the various appliances, heating etc., they have also collected information leaflets suggesting places to visit. Also provided is lots of information on the village of Mayfield, pointing out some things of interest, giving a brief history of the area and even providing routes for some walks around the area. This attention to detail really made us feel welcome on the cottage.
One of the best things The Coach House has going for it is its location, both locally and for the wider county as pretty much the whole of Derbyshire is no more than an hour or so drive away. Ashbourne is just a couple of miles away (within walking distance if necessary) and provides access to some basic shops and banks; other areas like Buxton and Matlock are relatively close if you want a few more shops combined with tourist attractions, whilst there are plenty of areas to walk nearby (the area around Dovedale is particularly to be recommended and is only a 15 minute drive away). The Coach House is ideal for exploring this beautiful part of the world; away from the hustle and bustle of the major tourist centres, but within reach of any of them.
Size Isn't Everything
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Before you book at the Coach House you do need to be aware of a couple of things. First of all, it is one of the smaller properties available and can only sleep two people in the same bed (this is made clear in the brochure). As noted above, it consists of just a four rooms: a kitchen, living room, bedroom bathroom. For us, this was not a problem, as we used it as a base to explore the area and so tended to be there only in the evenings. However, if you are looking for somewhere that will give you a lot of space in which to spread out, it might not be ideal.
If you like total privacy, you also might want to bear in mind that the Coach House is right next door to the owners' house. Not that the proximity of the owners should put you off for one minute, as they were both friendly and unobtrusive. They were away when we arrived, but contacted us in advance to make sure we knew where the key would be. Ss soon as they arrived back, they made a point of coming across to welcome us and check we had settled in OK. After that, they pretty much left us alone, so having their main house next door was not the slightest bit intrusive.
The other thing you need to bear in mind is that the Coach House has a very steep, narrow staircase leading to the bedroom and bathroom. This was noted in the original information about the cottage, but even Mrs SWSt and I were surprised by just how narrow it actually was (even coming down the stairs with a suitcase was a challenge!). Certainly, the Coach House would not be suitable accommodation if one member of your party is infirm or uncertain on their feet.
Conclusion
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Overall, we were very pleased with our choice of Mayfield Coach House for our holiday cottage. It might be relatively small and basic when compared against some of the other properties available, but this means it is also at the cheaper end of the price scale (the cost varies depending on the time of year you visit). If you are looking for somewhere comfortable and cosy to stay which provides a base from which to explore Derbyshire, then Mayfield Coach House is an excellent choice.
Basic Information
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The Coach House
Middle Mayfield
Near Ashbourne
http://tinyurl.com/6a4v7na
© Copyright SWSt 2011
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