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.
This month the Civil Aviation Authority published its review on the implementation of European legislation on the rights of disabled and reduced mobility passengers in the UK.
The CAA concluded that there are some areas where it would be helpful for industry and People with Reduced Mobility groups to work together to consider possible improvements. These include:
increasing consumer and industry awareness of their rights and responsibilities under the Regulation;
increasing the capture of passenger needs at booking, and to ensure these are effectively passed on to airports;
ensuring that airlines/tour operators/travel agents provide sufficient information so passengers can make informed choices about journeys;
ensuring that airports are aiming at a service that covers all parts of the passenger journey (including points of arrival at airport and journey through airport after arrival by air);
increasing the number of routes available for passengers travelling with assistance dogs; and
making airports simpler and easier for PRMs to navigate themselves or with assistance from accompanying passengers, e.g. by better signage and provision of audible and visual information to assist blind and deaf passengers.
A full copy of the Accessible Air Travel Review can be downloaded at the CAA website.
The Mobility Roadshow on the 1st – 3rd July 2010 will be held at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. Don’t know where that is? Have a look at the location map on the Mobility Roadshow website. You can also find local accommodation and other things to do on OpenBritain.
Our partners DisabledGo will also be attending this event as well as Naidex. For those interested in Caravanning and Camping, Nirvana Motorhomes will also be attending the event as well as car manufacturers, companies that adapt vehicles and test drives will be available as usual.
This is a large event so people would be wise to try to deicide what they want to see before they go. You can do research on the Mobility Roadshow website and also download and print the event floor plans.
The event will also be held in Edinburgh on the 17th & 18th September and details will follow shortly.
Naidex has also announced that ”Shannon Murray will be opening the event at 10:00am on Tuesday April 20th at the Birmingham NEC. Shannon is without doubt the UK’s most recognisable disabled model and recently starred in the Channel 4 series How to Look Good Naked. In addition to opening Naidex, Shannon will also be giving a short talk and answering questions within the lifestyle and demonstration zone at 1:30pm.”
OpenBritain partners DisabledGo will be at the event so why not pop along to visit them and other holiday exhibitors.
The Naidex website gives information on exhibitors, floor plan and details on how to get there. Information about where to stay and other things to do in the Birmingham area can be found by using the OpenBritain search engine.
Registration for the event is now open, please do so on their registration page.
Situated on the shore with fabulous views over the sea to the Isle of Mull the Ledaig Caravan Site is “A wonderful 30-acre park that has been awarded the David Bellamy Conservation Award, it is situated on a 2 mile sand and shingle beach on Ardmucknish Bay. Here sailing, water sports and safe bathing can be enjoyed by all the family. Some pitches at the caravan site are almost on the water’s edge and all of them face the sea, offering panoramic view to the beautiful Isle of Mull.”
Although you may have your own suitable facilities in your caravan or camper the site also has a bathroom equipped for disabled people including a WC with grab rails and a level access shower.
Cambushinnie Croft is on a working farm in Cromlix, Perthshire and was completed in 2008. The farm is surrounded by open views of the Ochil Hills and is also only 4 miles away from the Cathedral town of Dunblane.
The 3 bedroom property sleeps up to 6 people and one of the bedrooms is on the ground floor making it accessible for wheelchair users. This bedroom also has an en-suite wet room with shower. Cambushinnie Croft has been assessed by Visit Scotland and has been awarded a Category 2.
Eildon Holiday Cottages are located in the Scottish Borders a relatively unknown and unexplored area of Scotland and just 40 minutes by car to Edinburgh. The property is an 18th Century farm which has been converted into 6 self-catering cottages, some of which have facilities for disabled people and have views over the Tweed Valley to the Lammermuir and Moorfoot Hills.
Information about the cottage’s facilities for disabled people can be found on the Eildon Holiday Cottages Accessibility webpage. In brief, 5 of the cottages have at least 1 ground floor bedroom with bath or shower room. 2 of the cottages also have ceiling hoists and a portable hoist is also available for guests in other cottages. Other mobility aids and equipment may also be rented during your stay such as commodes and shower chairs.
Crathie Opportunity Holidays are 4 self-catering cottages in the restored Manse Courtyard of historic Crathie Kirk, Aberdeenshire. Located in the Cairngorm National Park, Crathie lies between the villages of Braemar and Ballater some 50 miles west of Aberdeen.
The 4 cottages are all named after glens near Crathie and all have level ground floor access throughout, fully accessible kitchens, level access showers, height adjustable beds and ceiling tracking hoists. Each of the cottages have their own pages where more details are given about the specific accommodation. Please see the Clunie, Gairn, Gelder and Girnock pages for further information.
Proven House provides self catering accomodation situated on a working farm near Alston, Lancashire, in the beautiful Ribble Valley and was converted to a very high standard in 2008. The property has been assessed and given awards for mobility, visual and hearing impairments under the National Accessible Scheme.
The house consists of a fully equipped kitchen/dining area with all modern amenities, comfortable lounge with digital TV/DVD, twin bedded room with adjustable beds and en-suite wet room with disabled facilities.
Primrose cottage constructed Primrose Court 1 and 2 in 2007 with the disabled traveller in mind. They provide the same facilities as Primrose Lodge such as 2 beds, 2 bathrooms with the addition of double ended Jacuzzi bath, en-suite 4-poster, electrically operated bed, twin room, flat screen TVs throughout, dish washer and washing machine. They are both Non-Smoking apart from where smoking is permitted outside on balconies from the lounge.
Both are flat, with level access and have private drives and parking adjacent to the units. Pets are welcome and they are set in 1 acre garden and within a five minute walk is the Cross Keys Inn, a delightful old country pub, serving bar meals. The little village of Tebay has two churches, two pubs, a railway club and pretty walks along the banks of the River Lune.
Tebay is situated 16 miles from Penrith to the north, 11 miles from Kendal to the south and almost adjacent to the north Lakes and Yorkshire Dales. The Howgill fells, as yet one of the quieter places for walkers, are the hills located within easy reach of the village. The Scottish border is approximately one hours drive north, making Tebay and Primrose Cottage an ideal overnight stop for journeys up and down the country, or an excellent centre to access Cumbria, the Lakes and the Yorkshire Dales.
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