The Easter holidays are here and the kids are off school so from the 1st – 16th April we’ll be looking at some great days out across the UK that have facilities for disabled people.

First up is Whitby Abbey, managed by English Heritage and set in the picturesque North Yorkshire coastal town of, you guessed it, Whitby. With over 2000 years of history including the royal princess, Abbess Hild and Bram Sroker’s Dracula there’s something for all the family! The grounds are the perfect vantage point for picnics and views of the shoreline, Whitby and beyond.

The first thing people with mobility impairments may think when considering Whitby Abbey are the 199 steps to get to it! Never fear, it’s been tried and tested by OpenBritain’s very own blogger and wheelchair user, me. Assuming you have your own vehicle with you there’s a drop off point for disabled people at the main entrance and then there’s parking close by. There are also various buses that will get you to the abbey.

The English Heritage web site gives this information about access:

• Access to monument and grounds: Via visitor centre; lift up to the grounds.
• Grass paths around the ruins.
• Steps to enter the nave.
• Benches.
• There are changes in the level and cobbled surfaces throughout the site.
• It may become waterlogged in wet weather.
• WC adapted for wheelchair users.

And further information for deaf and blind people:

Audio tour with hearing loop included in admission price. Subtitled audio-visual displays in the visitor centre.

Further information can be found on OpenBritain, on page 263 of the OpenBritain 2010 Guide and on the English Heritage Whitby Abbey Website.

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Tags: Access, Architecture, Attraction, Blind, Deaf, Disability, Disabled, England, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Toilet, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair, Yorkshire & Humber

This entry was posted by Craig Grimes on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Attraction, England, English Heritage, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Things to Do, Tourism, Travel, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair User, Yorkshire & Humber. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.