Handicaching? Handicaching? I hear you all say, has Craig completely lost it? What the heck is handicahcing?!
I became aware of Geocaching last year through a friend, but to be honest, I would have had a similar reaction about handicaching until a few hours ago when I read a post by Liz Carr on the BBC Ouch blog. So to break it down, here’s a quick YouTube introduction from the friendly guys at Geocaching.com:
So, there you are, it’s all about a game to find hidden little treasures around the country using GPS devices and GPS enabled mobile phones! But what’s the difference between Geocaching and Handicaching?
Well, with Geocaching each cache that you look for (the hidden little treasure) normally have a star rating from one to five to indicate how difficult the terrain is with one star being the easiest.
The problem according to Handicaching.com is that the Geocache Rating System uses one star for caches that are wheelchair accessible. This idea is flawed in several ways which include:
The rating system or the wheelchair aspect of the system is often overlooked by cache hiders, who can rate the terrain for caches higher or lower than they actually are
A cache that may be wheelchair accessible may not be accessible to people with other types of disabilities, or even people who cannot use a wheelchair for anything other than short distances
Many non-disabled people are unsure of what constitutes accessible and are therefore unable to rate or mark a cache accordingly
So basically, Handicaching decided to come up with their own system and make it truly accessible for disabled people.
Not only may Handicaching be fun for the participants but I can also think of lots of practical uses for disabled people such as marking disabled toilets, entrances to public buildings, safe crossings for roads, maybe even mark accessible routes along foot and canal tow paths. I think that Handicaching could really be a useful tool for disabled tourists wanting to get out into the great outdoors and have their own GPS map to help guide them through the countryside.
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.
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.
The Lovat Lodge Hotel overlooks the Moray Firth in Scotland and is located near to Inverness. The hotel is adapted with facilities including lever taps, adjustable beds, accessible bathrooms and walk-in showers. Lovat Lodge is wheelchair accessible and has wheelchair accessible suites with bathrooms. The staff also have experience in the requirements of disabled people and they have equipment such as wheelchairs and motorised buggies which maybe available during your stay. You should contact the hotel for further information.
Although the hotel does not have a full Access Statement you can contact them directly if you have any specific questions. The hotels contact details and further information can be found on OpenBritain, on page 330 of the OpenBritain 2010 Guide and on the Lovat Lodge Hotel Website.
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.
Tourism for All have recently updated some of their publications for disabled holiday makers. The new publications include a 30 page “Activity and Special Interest Holidays” and 12 page “Transport” guides.
The Activity and Special Interest Holidays publication gives information and advice regarding:
Organisations providing activity holidays
Multi-Activity Centres
Water based activity holidays
Special interest holidays
Accommodation with activities available nearby
Useful contacts
The Transport publication is a great resource for people wanting to know more about:
Travel by Rail
Travel by Car
Travel by Air
Travel by Coach
London Transport
National Travel Associations
National Voluntary Organisations offering assistance
To order your copy of the new publications as well as any of the older ones simply visit the Tourism for All publications page.
Still need more ideas about what to do this Halloween?
Although the Haunted Attractions web site doesn’t have any specific information for disbaled people it is a great place to start the search for your perfect Halloween fun. You can serach their seasonal attraction listings as well as their year round listings. From there you can go through to the individual attractions websites to look for the relevant information and facilities that you require.
The Scare Witch Trials can be found at dungeons in London, Edinburgh and York from the 17th – 31st October and according to the Dungeons website you have to:
“Keep your wits about you as you as you pick your way through clawing bony branches of the Dungeons’ creaking woodlands where the Scare Witch darts between the shadows ready to pounce on the lost and unwary.
Should you make it through the darkness of the Dungeons’ hellish Halloween forest alive prepare to face the Witch-finder General in the Dungeons’ 17th century courtroom.
Be prepared to stand trial as he searches out the witches amongst you and quake in your boots as those in the dock before you are sentenced for horrendous witch crimes. What will be found guilty of? Turning yourself into a frog on Fridays? Being too pertinent with peculiar potions? Or cackling continuously over a cauldron?”
Finding information for disbled people on the Dungeons website isn’t all that easy but if you type “disabled access” into the Dungeon’s FAQ search engine it comes back with some information such as:
Yes, All the dungeons have wheelchair access, however certain rides are not suitable for disabled customers.
Please see below for full details for York Dungeons disability access:
The York Dungeon is unsuitable for battery powered electric wheelchairs or mobility scooters, however we do have a standard manual wheel chair on site which can be used (subject to availability). This wheel chair would need to be pushed by an accompanying carer. Therefore it is necessary for you to be able to transfer from an electric wheelchair or mobility scooter to the manual chair. We have two flights of stairs, both sets of stairs have stair lifts and again you must be able to transfer from the wheel chair to the stair lift to gain entry.
The York Dungeon is situated in a Grade 2 Listed building and this does cause some restrictions for guests with mobility difficulties.
Please call the York Dungeon directly on 01904 632599 and speak to a member of staff prior to booking or arrival to check suitability. Our staff will be happy to answer any questions regarding access to the York Dungeon.”
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