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.
Celebrate Bonfire Night with a bang this year at the spectacular community firework display and bonfire taking place at Roundhay Park, Leeds.
Once again in 2009, tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Roundhay Park to enjoy Leeds’ biggest bonfire and fireworks event. Bonfire – Fire lighting at 7.30 pm – Fireworks: Firework Display from 8pm.
The Roundhay Park website simply states that “Roundhay Park is accessible to wheelchair users.”
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.”
This Friday (9th October) is the spectacular annual Leeds Light Night arts event that takes place in the city centre. Residents and visitors of all ages are invited to come and take part in this completely free celebration of the city’s diverse and exciting arts scene.
Millennium Square will host a number of events, including awe-inspiring moving projections on the Civic Hall and a chance to draw with light and see your creations up on the BBC Big Screen. Discover the ‘lost art of conversation’ using yogurt pots and string, see moving artwork around the city at a travelling gallery, create your own planet and become part of the Light Night solar system or see angels ascend from heaven in the university chaplaincy. Just a snippet of the 80 events across 50 venues that are sure to keep you busy all night!
We don’t often have the time to sit and study physical movement. It passes us by as we go about our lives: all kinds of physical shapes and sizes constantly moving past us at various speeds – we see people run, walk, struggle and push as they stride through life.But, there is no one there who is ‘really normal’: there is only difference.
Motion Disabled aims to show movement using clear and unambiguous imagery: the kick boxer who is also thalidomide; the cyclist with Cerebral Palsy; the footballer with Spina Bifida; and others.These are movements that will not exist for much longer; society seems to want to be ‘normal’, to be squarer, flatter, more reduced and banal.
In the work you will see virtual movements based on the day to day reality of the disabled actors involved. Questions are raised: how do shower with short arms? How do you answer the phone if you have no arms?
The work enables the viewer to engage and explore ideas of normality and difference on a pathological and metaphysical level as a challenging art work that reveals who we all are to ourselves and others. A process that is particularly relevant at a time when bioscience is encouraging society to make complex genetic choices that will affect the future course of humanity.Is the future of difference going to only be virtual?
Bradford Music Week runs from the 21st – 27th September 2009 and the event will include a diverse range of music. There is also the World Mile Festival which is running as part of Bradford Music Week. This event will run over the weekend of 26th – 27th September in venues along the route of Ivegate to White Abbey Road.
Bradford Music Week will also cover activities in Keighley and other surrounding areas.
OK, so it’s not quite Glastonbury, but this weekend (4th – 6th September) the small town of Bingley, just outside Bradford, West Yorkshire, hosts it’s very own music festival (BML). The line up includes well known bands such as The Undertones, Doves, Editors and Calvin Harris as well as local bands that have competed for the right to play at BML.On the Essential Information page of the BML website they state:
“There is a viewing area for disabled people at the side of the event arena. Guide Dogs for the blind and/or deaf are the only animals allowed on the Festival site. Parking for disabled blue badge holders is available at Myrtle Park Primary School, Beech Street. (Follow signs) Please note: Disabled parking spaces are limited and are available on a first come first served basis.
We offer a free carer ticket to anyone who accompanies a wheelchair user or someone who cannot attend the festival without assistance. These tickets are only available from Bradford Theatres Box Office on 01274 436000.”
Information regarding getting to the event can also be found on the BML website and those requiring assistance on trains should remember to book in advance.
For information regarding accommodation providers with varying levels of facilities for people with disabilities please check the OpenBritain search facility.
Please note that the OpenBritain launch date is the 1st September 2009, please come and visit us again to see the full completed site. In the meantime, here’s some OpenBritain News!
When my departure date came around I arrived at Leeds about 15 minutes before the train was due to leave and boarded without a hitch.The space for wheelchair users on the train is clearly marked and comfirtable including a small table, plug socket and an emergency intercom to be able to speak directly with the driver.
The next part of the adventure was when I arrived at Edinburgh Train Station to find that of the lifts wasn’t in operation due to refurbishment work. I was quickly and effectively loaded and onto a platform vehicle with tank-like tracks for decending the staircase.
The whole experience was great fun and the staff at ScotRail were appropriately trained, helpful and respectful of my dignity. Shortly afterwards I continued my journey to Aviemore without incident where I was met by one of the team from Equal Adventure.
Below: A video of the Edinburgh Station stair descent.
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