Archive for the ‘English Heritage’ Category
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
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:
Visually Impaired Visitors:
Audio tour designed with visually impaired in mind. Included in admission price. Tactile exhibits in the visitor centre.
Hearing Impaired Visitors:
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.
Tags: Access, Architecture, Attraction, Blind, Deaf, Disability, Disabled, England, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Toilet, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair, Yorkshire & Humber
Posted
by Craig Grimes in Attraction, England, English Heritage, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Things to Do, Tourism, Travel, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair User, Yorkshire & Humber | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
As the weather begins to get slightly better and stay a little dryer (0k, so maybe I’m being very optimistic), it’s time for us to start looking again at what we can do in the great outdoors, countryside and parks. Wrest Park in Silsoe, Bedforshire is one of the UK’s least known parks and yet is magnificent and information for disabled people.
English Heritage provide information for people with mobility, hearing and visual impairments on their website which includes:
Facilities Details:
Toilets: Disabled toilet inside the mansion. Please see access details below.
Shop: Within mansion.
Limited refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits, cold drinks, confectionary and ice creams) available from the shop. Currently no tearoom/café onsite.
Access:
Access to house: There are steps at the entrance, but an alternative level entrance is available to the garden. Unaccompanied wheelchair users should phone in advance to arrange for access. Buggies are available for disabled visitors.
Grounds and garden buildings: Access to the grounds is via mainly gravel paths and smooth grass. There are steps or a steep slope to the Orangery and steep steps to the Pavilion. There is a ramp to access the Bowling Green House. Benches are provided.
Parking:
Disabled visitors may park outside the mansion.
Visually Impaired Visitors:
Many garden ornaments and sculptures may be touched. There are also many trees and wild flowers.
Hearing Impaired Visitors:
Transcript of audio tour available. (Source: Wrest Park, English Heritage)
Further details can be found on OpenBritain, on page 204 of the OpenBritain 2010 Guide and on the English Heritage Website.
Tags: Access, Attraction, Bedfordshire, Disabled, England, Gardens, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Park, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair
Posted
by Craig Grimes in Architecture, Attraction, Bedfordshire, Blind, Blue Badge Parking, Deaf, East of England, England, English Heritage, Gardens, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, Things to Do, Tourism, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair User | No Comments »
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Mystery surrounds this 5,000 year old monument in the centre of the World Heritage Site. Visit this prehistoric South West site near Salisbury in Wiltshire, and decide for yourself whether Stonehenge was a place of sun worship, a healing sanctuary, a sacred burial site, or something different altogether!
English Heritage also provide information and services for disabled people such as:
Facilities Details:
Toilets: WC adapted for wheelchair users in large toilet block at far end of car park.
Shop: Level access.
Refreshments: Light refreshments are available from the Stonehenge Kitchen.
Access: On tarmac and grass path around outer circle (subject to weather conditions). One wheelchair available to visitors on request at entrance kiosk.
Parking: Reserved parking for disabled drivers is available close to entrance. Ticket office reached by short, sloping tarmac path.
Visually Impaired Visitors: Braille and large print guides are available on request. Touching Stones accessible at the main entrance.
Hearing Impaired Visitors: Audio tour with hearing loop in ten languages (subject to availability).
Further information regarding facilities at Stonehenge can be found on OpenBritain, on page 126 of the OpenBritain 2010 Guide and on the English Heritage website.
Tags: Access, Architecture, Attraction, Blind, Deaf, Disability, England, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, South West, Stonehenge, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair, Wiltshire
Posted
by Craig Grimes in Architecture, Attraction, Blind, Deaf, England, English Heritage, Hearing Impairment, OpenBritain, South West, Things to Do, Tourism, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair User, Wiltshire | No Comments »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
According to English Heritage Audley End House in Essex is one of England’s finest country houses, and a mansion with a difference:
“Following the restoration of its great Service Wing, visitors can now tour the ‘parallel world’ where armies of servants laboured to ensure the smooth running of this great mansion.
Audley End takes its name from Sir Thomas Audley, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor who, after 1538, adapted the extensive buildings of suppressed Walden Abbey as his mansion. His grandson Thomas Howard, first Earl of Suffolk, rebuilt the house on a massive scale between 1603 and 1614. Known as ‘the Palace of Audley End’, this Jacobean ‘prodigy house’ was three times its present size, and one of the largest mansions in England. But in 1618 Suffolk fell from favour and into massive debt, and his great house went into decline. More
Disabled people can find access and other useful information on Visitor Information page of Audley End House and Gardens where it states:
Facilities Details:
Wheelchairs: we have four wheelchairs, available on request; four motorised wheelchairs available in grounds, but must be booked in advance. Please ring 01799 522842.
Toilets: Adapted; level access.
Shop: Level access.
Tea rooms: Ramped access to the tea rooms. Please note there are 3 steps to the self-service cafe.
Access:
Access to house: Via loose gravel, tarmac, cobbles and smooth grass. Ground floor level apart from Butlers Pantry which has 4 steps.
Gardens: Access via tarmac and gravel paths and very smooth grass. Seats provided. A number of bridges either have a step or steep slope.
Parking:
200m from entrance, with reserved parking for disabled visitors. Please make arrangements in advance if possible.
Visually Impaired Visitors:
Fountain, wildfowl and bird song in grounds; flower and rose gardens
Please see the English Heritage site for further details.
Tags: Access, Architecture, Attraction, England, English Heritage, Essex, Gardens, Level Access, Tourism, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment
Posted
by Craig Grimes in Architecture, Attraction, England, English Heritage, Essex, Gardens, Things to Do, Tourism, United Kingdom, Visual Impairment, Wheelchair User | No Comments »
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