About Us

A truly autism friendly holiday home built on our experience

Hi, we are Tamsin and David and we have 3 children (4 including our dog!). Our son Henry is autistic and the inspiration behind Sungate, a bungalow in the beautiful city of Bath which we have lovingly adapted to meet the needs of autistic children, adults and their families and carers.

Sungate also welcomes non-autistic families who would enjoy the many features we have put in place to ensure our guests, including young ones, are happy.

We have always strived to go on holiday together as a family. However, for many years we found this very difficult, due to our son Henry’s autism and complex needs. The accommodation we stayed in has been too cluttered, the house layout confusing or overstimulating, and there was very little in the property to meet sensory needs. Still, year after year, we tried to go away and stayed in a variety of UK holiday homes, with nothing quite managing to ‘fit’ our requirements. Things reached crisis point when, one year, we tried to re-book a holiday home and were told that the accommodation was not suitable for us, and, even more disheartening, that we were not welcome back! We initially felt dejected and defeated.  We would just have to give up on the idea of going on holiday, something that other families took for granted. But after the initial shock, we began to ponder on what had happened, what this meant for us as a family, and whether families like ours had experienced the same thing. Surely, there must be other families with autistic children in a similar position? Would they have to give up on the prospect of a holiday too? Perhaps there was something we could do to change this bleak outlook for families like ours, and so we decided to create our own autism friendly holiday home. …And so Sungate was born! Sungate has been lovingly adapted, down to very fine detail, from our experience of going on holiday with an autistic child. We have also carried out research and spoken to autistic people, families of autistic children, parents and carers. We have tried to include adaptations that we feel we enable everyone to have a holiday – autistic children, young people, adults and their families and carers – because they all deserve a holiday! We offer our guests accommodation to meet their needs, plus a warm welcome too. We know just how much effort and stress it takes to organise a holiday with autistic loved ones. At Sungate, we hope to remove some of that stress and provide a judgement free environment where you can relax and enjoy your stay. We aim to be as inclusive as possible at Sungate and also welcome families that do not have autistic members. We think you will enjoy it here too!
Our vision for Sungate is to provide a truly autism-friendly holiday, with accommodation that meets needs across the spectrum, and recommendations for places to visit that autistic people can fully enjoy in the beautiful city of Bath. We have learned through experience, we have listened to others, and from this we have created Sungate to meet the needs of autistic children, young people, adults, and their families and carers. We know that many of these families face challenges when trying to go on holiday in terms of the accommodation. And when they do try to venture out, it can be hard to find places to visit that meet their needs. We also have lived experience of autism friendly places to visit in Bath. We hope that staying at Sungate will give you and your loved ones the opportunity to relax, have fun and enjoy a truly autism friendly holiday. When families book somewhere that isn't right, they simply end up needing another holiday! Everyone deserves a break, including autistic people and their families and carers. We hope that we can provide something truly unique at Sungate, a truly autism-friendly holiday!
We believe that having a short break locally can be just as restorative as a long holiday away, if the place you stay in is the right fit. We believe that local people living in Bath should benefit from Sungate too, and we are happy to offer respite breaks and holidays to autistic children, young people and adults, and their parents and carers who live locally. Sungate has been carefully adapted to meet the needs of those on the autistic spectrum on holiday. It would also benefit local autistic young people and adults who may want to take a short break with their family or a carer. Perhaps they would enjoy staying somewhere new, and doing some cooking or a little laundry, whilst having a break away from home. Our vision to be a truly autism-friendly holiday home is there to give rest, relaxation, enjoyment and comfort to local people living in Bath, as well as those visiting this beautiful city from further afield.
At Sungate, we are proud to have worked with a range of local tradespeople, companies and professionals on our autism friendly mission! We would like to give special thanks to: