Although OpenBritain is mostly concerned with tourism in the United Kingdom and flying is not absolutely necessary we are still worried about the consequences of the grounding of aircraft and how this effects disabled people trapped abroad and disabled foreigners in our country.
The unexpected extension of trips for disabled people can have dire consequences such as the lack of available suitable accommodation, the running out of medicines and other equipment as well as issue of hiring mobility aids. Through my work in Barcelona I received a phone call from the British Consulate as a woman needed to hire a wheelchair. I also read an article written by an American living in London whose mother is trapped in the UK and is running out of vital medication.
On my personal blog, Accessible Everything, I wrote a piece giving general advice to disabled travellers so that they could prepare for events such as short delays. However, now the situation seems as though the volcanic ash cloud is going to keep aircraft on the ground for several days and it could be weeks before the airlines return to normal.
As disruptions at many airports across the UK and Northern Europe continue most news sites such as the Guardian and the BBC are covering the disruptions. They are also giving information about people’s rights (Guardian and BBC) and advice for stranded passengers.
Let’s hope that the volcano stops erupting and that European travel can return to normal as soon as possible.
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.
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.
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.
OpenBritain would like to wish all our visitors a Happy New Year! 2010 will see a new groundbreaking alliance, DisabledGo, the UK’s largest provider of access related information is joining forces with OpenBritain.
From early in the New Year, visitors to this site will be able to comprehensively search over 50,000 leisure and tourism venues throughout the UK including restaurants, hotels, cinemas, shopping and all associated facilities including public and private transport.
This will create OpenBritian as the largest leisure time information resource in the UK for all those with access needs – and it will continue to grow and be continually updated with each new venue that is assessed.
It is also your opportunity to contribute by using our interactive feedback system where you can post your reviews and experiences for others to benefit – OpenBritain needs You !!!
Register with us now to enjoy all the benefits we can offer – there are many more services due to go live next year and we will alert you to each and every one as they go live.
Hartswheal Stables at Hartswheal Farm is self catering accommodation at a Cornish working farm where the stables is the lower floor of an old granary which has been converted for wheelchair access. The accommodation has a profiling electric bed and ceiling hoist with tracking into the bathroom.
The property is located just off the A390 one mile east of Lostwithiel, Cornwall and 5 miles from Fowey, the Eden Project and Bodmin.
A full Access Statement is available in PDF format on the OpenBritain website, just click on the blue AS symbol in the accommodation description for further details.
Manaros purpose built luxury accommodation sleeps up to 8 people and is located in the beautiful Welsh village of Aberdaron on the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd. The village boasts a glorious sandy beach, known as “The Land’s End of Wales” and the Llŷn Peninsula is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Seals and dolphins and all manner of bird life are plentiful.
Manaros is an accessible, single-storey, luxury accommodation purpose built for letting to groups of friends and families that wish to enjoy all the benefits of a spacious and comfortable open plan living area together with the privacy of a secluded position and 4 en suite double bedrooms.
The Manaros website gives lots of vital and useful information for disbaled people and includes a full access statement which includes relevant information such as:
Manaros was built on one level in 2008 to the highest possible access standards.
The property has been designed to comply with the Disabilities Discrimination Act and Part M of Building Regulations to enable people, regardless of disability, to have access to and use the relevant areas of the building.
-There is ample car parking with a spot reserved for the Disabled right by the front door with external lighted area to the front door.
-There is no significant step or sill on internal or external doors -with the exception of (a) an internal door into the garage/utility room. Wheel chairs can still access this from the front garage door which is wide and on the level. (b) the conservatory door onto the patio which has a 63mm sill. The patio can still be reached by wheelchair from the adjacent lounge and by a level path around the property from the front door.
-Main external doors are double doors min 1.8 metres overall. Two escape doors are 820mm wide. Entry doors into the bedrooms and a Disabled Shower room and WC are a minimum of 830mm. Bedroom One has a 860mm wide door into the en suite. Bedrooms 2, 3, and 4 doors into their en suites are .750mm wide.
-All bedrooms and have laminate floor covering and no carpets or rugs.
-Bedroom en-suites have Marley non-slip safety flooring.
-There are two shower rooms/WC which are specially equipped for wheelchair users – Bedroom 1 and the communal Disabled Shower/WC/wash room off the hall. Both are designed to Part M of the Building Regulations.
It’s great to see that individual accommodation providers are beginning to supply such information for disabled people and you can also read the full access statement on the OpenBritain website.
The new OpenLondon guide is the definitive guide for visitors to London with access needs. The guide contains everything required to enjoy London to the full.
OpenLondon is packed with useful information on accommodation, places of interest, transport, theatres, restaurants and shopping.
Clear, attractive entries present the reader with facts at their fingertips and useful maps help find locations.
Inspirational information about places to visit and practical advice on getting around the city make this guide an invaluable holiday or business trip planning tool for anyone with access needs.
Why advertise in the OpenLondon guide?
If you want to promote your accessible services to an enormous, largely untapped market, this is the publication for you.
• The OpenLondon guide is a unique publication – a definitive travel guide for people with access needs. OpenLondon has everything needed to explore and enjoy London to the full
• Display advertisers also receive a free detailed listing including photographs and a link to your website on www.openbritain.net
• OpenLondon will be marketed through networks used by disabled people including RADAR and Tourism for All UK
• OpenLondon is available in newsagents, bookshops and Tourist Information Centres throughout the UK
• The OpenLondon guide is a full colour, high quality book
• This publication is the OFFICIAL guide which is supported by The Mayor of London, Visit London and the London Development Agency
For further information please download the OpenLondon Media Pack below.
Woodlands Country House is a comfortable, award winning, family run B&B guesthouse, standing in a rural setting with farmland views, sweeping down to Trevone Bay, just around the corner from Padstow, Cornwall. The accommodation has 1 adpated bedroom with facilities for disabled people including a roll in shower and also an Access Statement.
The Woodland’s website has an Out and About page for local actvities and they have indicated which attractions have facilities for disabled people.
Information regarding the Woodlands Country House can also be found on OpenBritain.
“Under European law, if you are disabled or have difficulty moving around you can request assistance when you fly to and from Europe.
Anyone who has difficulty moving around, for example, because of their disability, age or a temporary injury, can receive help when they fly. You do not need to be permanently or physically disabled to benefit from this service.
For further information regarding “Your rights to fly” please see the guide provided at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The “Your rights to fly” guide is also available in hardcopy, Easy Read, Braille, audio CD, data CD, and downloadable pdf versions.
For further information you can also look at the European Commission’s page on Passenger Rights.
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