Access guide

This access guide describes the facilities and services we offer to all our guests. Please note that Rutherford House is a listed period property with a wood staircase up to the guest bedroom on the first floor. We hope the detailed description below helps you decide if our accommodation is suitable for you, but if you have any questions at all, please contact us.

Getting to us

Rutherford House is on the main street of Town Yetholm and easily accessed by car. If you wish to travel by public transport, there is a bus service from Kelso and buses to connect to train stations at Tweedbank and Berwick-upon-Tweed. See how to find us for directions and details of travel options.

Parking and front of house

There is a gravelled area in front of our house with parking for three cars. There are no pavements on this part of the high street in Town Yetholm, and there is a cobbled drainage channel separating the parking area from the tarmac road. The distance from your parked car to the front door is about 5m.

Main entrance

There are two 10cm-high steps at the entrance to the house. The front door is 90cm wide and opens into a porch with a tiled floor and a door mat.

From main entrance to breakfast room and guest bedroom

The porch door is 85cm wide and there is a 1cm-high threshold between the porch and the hallway. The hallway has wooden floors and wool rugs. The distance from the porch door to the bottom of the stairs is 4m. The breakfast room is on the ground floor. The guest bedroom is upstairs on the first floor. There are 18 steps in the staircase, which are each 15cm high. The staircase is 88m wide and includes two right-angle turns. It is made of varnished wood and has a banister and handrail. The upstairs landing has a wooden floor, partly covered with wool rugs. The distance from the bottom of the stairs to the top is approximately 7m, and the distance from the top of the stairs along the landing to the guest bedroom is 5m.

Guest bedroom

There is a 1-cm high threshold in the doorway of the guest bedroom. The door is 80cm wide and opens inwards. The room has a wood floor and wool rugs. The bedroom contains a king-size bed, bedside cabinets with lamps, chest of drawers with cordless kettle and welcome tray, armchair, a small set of shelves with books and games. Clearance by the side of the bed is 80cm on the door side and 65cm on the window side. The height of the bed is 62cm. The main ceiling light is operated by a wall switch next to the entrance to the room and the bedside lamps are operated with push switches on them. Pillows and duvets are made of synthetic non-allergenic materials. Sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases are cotton. Cushions have feather inner pads and cotton covers. There is a woven woollen throw on the bed. There is a synthetic fleece blanket in the bottom drawer, and a hairdryer and two hot water bottles in one of the top drawers. Heating in the room is via the timer-operated central heating; there is a thermostatic radiator valve in the room to adjust the temperature. We also provide an electric convection heater to supplement the central heating.

En-suite bathroom

There is a 1-cm high threshold in the doorway of the guest bedroom. The door is 67cm wide and opens inwards into the bathroom. The en-suite bathroom contains a sink, toilet and shower. The shower tray has a 14cm-high step-over frame up from the click-lock vinyl bathroom floor. The shower tray is a non-slip 80cm by 80cm quadrant. The sliding doors of the shower enclosure open to a width of 43cm. The shower is operated through a thermostatic mixer and has a fixed overhead shower head. There are no support handrails in the shower enclosure. The height of the toilet is 45cm. There are overhead lights and wall lights in the bathroom, both operated by wall switches just outside the entrance to the room. The overhead lights activate a ceiling fan after being on for 50 seconds. The bathroom is heated by an electric towel rail.

Breakfast room

The breakfast room door is 80cm wide and there is a 1cm-high threshold in the doorway. The floor of the breakfast room is varnished wood parquet partially covered by wool rugs.

Fire procedures

Rutherford House is fitted with interconnected smoke and heat alarms, including smoke alarms on the landing just outside the guest bedroom, in the hall and breakfast room. Doors are solid wood and all rooms have sash windows. In the event of a fire, our escape route is down the main stairwell and out through the front door. Please notify us of any disabilities that may affect your mobility in a fire, or hearing impairments that might affect your ability to notice alarms. If you have any concerns about your ability to leave the building in the event of a fire, please contact us to discuss your specific needs.