Accessible Britain

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there are areas of the attraction that are still reminiscent of a working farm. Be aware that some of the flagstones and paths are slightly uneven and that some of the ramps for access between barns and to indoor and outdoor areas can be tricky for wheelchair users to negotiate independently. There is no step-free access to the upper level of the granary or to the tractor-towed cart-ride around the farm, however the friendly staff are on hand to assist if required. FOOD & DRINK aa The café/restaurant at the back of the largest building serves basic hot and cold food, including burgers, soup and sandwiches – at peak times it can be a little crowded but there are picnic areas if you want to bring your own sandwiches. 083 Shrewsbury, Shropshire THE WEST MIDLANDS AND WEST COUNTRY Almost completely encircled by a loop in the River Severn, Shrewsbury’s town centre (www.originalshrewsbury.com) has the feel of an island, with water on all sides. It can be accessed via the Welsh Bridge in the west and the English Bridge in the east, their names neatly reflecting the town’s borderland location. One of the most beautiful market towns in <strong>Britain</strong>, Shrewsbury boasts a wealth of stunning, timber-framed black-and-white buildings, many of them dating from Medieval times. The Visitor Information Centre, on Barker Street, offers fascinating guided walking tours around the historic centre – with notice, these can be adapted to suit visitors with disabilities. The tours take in the best of the town’s medieval architecture, including gems such as the sixteenth-century Market Hall and a clutch of twisting, evocatively named streets and alleyways (knows as “shuts”), including Grope Lane and Fish Street – they’re manageable in a wheelchair, but some have uneven surfaces and lack drop kerbs. If the narrow streets leave you feeling a little claustrophobic, head over to the expansive Quarry Park, a beautifully landscaped riverside park, with plenty of rest benches and some inviting, accessible footpaths. Its centrepiece is “the Dingle” – a sunken garden sited in a former quarry, bursting with colourful flowers. Try to pay a visit to Shrewsbury Abbey (01743 232723, www.shrewsburyabbey.com), home of fictional detective Brother Cadfael, just across the English Bridge. Although much of the abbey was destroyed in the sixteenth century, it retains four massive Norman columns from the original church, plus an attractive stained-glass window and fourteenth-century tower. The ancient stone tombs are also compelling, and there is a memorial to local World War I poet Wilfred Owen. The abbey has level access, an accessible toilet and on-site parking with designated disabled spaces. Shrewsbury offers a good spread of on-street Blue Badge parking in the town centre, with bays at Shoplatch, Castle Street, St Mary’s Street, Claremont Street and Roushill. In addition, there are designated spaces in the Raven Meadows multistorey and the Abbey Foregate car park – or use the accessible park-and-ride service (see www.shropshire.gov.uk). As the town is spread over two hills you should be prepared for some steep inclines, which means that manual wheelchair users are likely to need assistance. There are a number of accessible toilets dotted around, including at the Market Hall. The Visitor Information Centre stocks copies of the Wheelchair User’s Guide to Shropshire, which has some information on Shrewsbury. 100
084 RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire Address: Shifnal TF11 8UP Web: www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford Tel: 01902 376200 Hours: Mar–Oct daily 10am–6pm, Nov–Feb daily 10am–5pm; closing times of exhibits vary between 4pm & 6pm; last entrance 1hr before close Dates: closed 24–26 Dec & 1 Jan Entry: free; parking charge for all visitors Even non-aviation buffs will get something out of a visit to the RAF Museum at Cosford – the whole family will benefit from the fun, yet educational, exhibits, and should leave with a new appreciation of what life is like in active service. This is the sister site to the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London. Over seventy aircraft are housed here, in four hangars. There are many fascinating things to see including experimental aircraft, engines, missiles and World War II planes. Captured enemy aircraft provide an interesting comparison with the British models on show, while the Cold War exhibition covers the subject extensively. The displays are interactive throughout, but the Learning Zone in the test-flight hangar is particularly brilliant, and well engineered for kids. Access to the visitor centre from the conveniently located disabled parking spaces is along a downhill tarmac path. Pedestrian entry is through a rotating door but there’s a separate wheelchair accessible entrance. RAF Museum Cosford is pretty well set up for wheelchair users, although a fair amount of transferring between buildings is required. Maps are on hand to help with navigation from hangar to hangar (keep an eye out for Hangar One, as it isn’t as well signposted as the others). The four museum buildings are level and spacious, although in one of them the pedestrian walkways could be better indicated for visitors with visual disabilities. There are four designated toilets throughout the site as well as a Changing Places toilet located near visitor reception. The one split-level building housing the Cold War exhibition has an induction loop and a lift giving access to a very effective viewing gallery. The overall site has a slight gradient and some visitors may find the return trip to the car park quite steep. A limited number of motor scooters and manual wheelchairs are available for loan on site on a first-come first-served basis. Braille and large-print guides can be supplied. FOOD & DRINK aa The glass-fronted café Refuel is very light, modern and spacious. Furniture is moveable, and children will love the menu: plenty of pizzas, burgers and chips. 085 Twycross Zoo, Warwickshire THE WEST MIDLANDS AND WEST COUNTRY Address: Burton Road, Atherstone CV9 3PX Web: www.twycrosszoo.org Tel: 0844 4741777 Hours: Nov–Mar daily 10am–4.30pm; Apr–Oct daily 10am–5.30pm Dates: closed 25 Dec Entry: [D]£13.95 [C] free [A]£16.95 [3–16s]£13 [D 3–16s]£8 [under 3s]free [Con]£14.50; member of “Stay, Play, Explore” ticket scheme with Snibston Discovery Museum (see p.79) and the National Space Centre (see p.81); parking free Set in more than 80 acres, Twycross Zoo is home to around 500 animals from almost 150 species, including some of the most endangered creatures on the planet. Since 101
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THE ROUGH GUIDE to Accessible Brita
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Enjoy even more fun, family days ou
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Contents Click on any chapter to go
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About this book Designed to be good
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HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS IWM Duxford (E.
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Brockholes Nature Reserve (Northwes
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London 001 The Roundhouse 002 Wembl
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It’s the colour of the pitch - su
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On the site of the London 2012 Olym
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LONDON ZSL London Zoo FOOD & DRINK
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The tour starts in the MCC Museum w
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LONDON Royal Opera House FOOD & DRI
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LONDON London Transport Museum ther
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Ideas aa Art and sculpture Tate St
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016 Westminster Abbey Address: 20 D
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hop-on/hop-off at any stop along th
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the Painted Hall and chapel. There
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023 Horniman Museum and Gardens Add
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024 Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire
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Parents of any disabled child will
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If you’d rather go sightseeing, h
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FOOD & DRINK aa The sizeable Studio
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In 1842, when the young Charles Dar
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grotto and birds of prey centre 10a
Page 49 and 50: populated by grazing sheep and the
Page 51 and 52: available on request, subject to av
Page 53 and 54: Beach: Address: The Estate Office,
Page 55 and 56: Emirates Spinnaker Tower THE SOUTHE
Page 57 and 58: 043 Brunel’s SS Great Britain, Br
Page 59 and 60: and the tidal pools, as well as aro
Page 61 and 62: centre whose residents range from d
Page 63 and 64: Temple of Flora and Palladian Bridg
Page 65 and 66: 051 Haldon Forest Park, Devon Addre
Page 67 and 68: you can pre-book bikes with trailer
Page 69 and 70: Weymouth and Portland National Sail
Page 71 and 72: Octavia the octopus always draws a
Page 73 and 74: Trengwainton Garden THE SOUTHWEST p
Page 75 and 76: Lincoln Cathedral 059 Lincoln Cathe
Page 77 and 78: Ideas aa Animal sanctuaries Bolderw
Page 79 and 80: Holkham Hall Reserve: in summer you
Page 81 and 82: FOOD & DRINK aa The T&D café bar o
Page 83 and 84: a wheelchair, while benches provide
Page 85 and 86: Southwold Pier side and in all the
Page 87 and 88: Wicken Fen is one of Britain’s ol
Page 89 and 90: depending on what you most fancy se
Page 91 and 92: field Cavendish AM LE field Pentlow
Page 93 and 94: floor has a large step up to it, bu
Page 95 and 96: M6 M1 Barrow-in-Furness The West Mi
Page 97 and 98: A619 080 Peak District Scenic Drive
Page 99: a boat across it or admire it from
Page 103 and 104: Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museu
Page 105 and 106: FOOD & DRINK aa The on-site café i
Page 107 and 108: Severn Valley Railway Northwood), a
Page 109 and 110: 091 Royal Shakespeare Company, Warw
Page 111 and 112: Hereford Cathedral FOOD & DRINK aa
Page 113 and 114: WWT Slimbridge mile. To take the wh
Page 115 and 116: M18 The Northwest MID LOTHIAN Berwi
Page 117 and 118: South of Grasmere you’ll pass the
Page 119 and 120: it’s a fairly steep hundred-yard
Page 121 and 122: 103 Brockholes Nature Reserve, Lanc
Page 123 and 124: Southport Pier 105 Airkix Indoor Sk
Page 125 and 126: the whole site (even the sewer syst
Page 127 and 128: installations in a converted docksi
Page 129 and 130: Anderton Boat Lift Blue Badge holde
Page 131 and 132: M18 The Northeast and Yorkshire 113
Page 133 and 134: smooth, solid surfaces, although it
Page 135 and 136: Designed by Sir Norman Foster, the
Page 137 and 138: fully accessible bus, with a wheelc
Page 139 and 140: efreshments, call in at the friendl
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Page 143 and 144: Roundhay Park of here sits The Mans
Page 145 and 146: (book in advance). The museum has a
Page 147 and 148: Yorkshire Wildlife Park 128 Magna S
Page 149 and 150: Families are particularly well serv
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130 Callanish Standing Stones, West
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Fort George (twenty degrees) onto t
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which you can reserve in advance. A
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Sitting in the heart of the Cairngo
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St Andrews itself isn’t easily ac
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(with a disabled toilet) about a hu
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all but the most limited hand funct
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143 Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh Addres
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provide a stunning backdrop to the
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yards away from the house are the t
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M6 Wales ISLE OF MAN Barrow-in-Furn
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Electric Mountain landscape of Snow
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153-154 Llangollen Wharf and Pontcy
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Benar, turn off the A496 just befor
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Celtic Quest Coasteering When swimm
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159 Garwnant Forest Visitor Centre,
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some of the concrete surfaces insid
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163 Wales Millennium Centre, Cardif
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Northern Ireland Oronsay Colonsay J
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mobility. If you want to visit the
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(June-Aug Sat & Sun & bank hols), a
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the lives of more than 1500 passeng
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Grand Opera House, Belfast with dis
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Ulster Museum Discovery Zones - nat
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Ideas aa Heritage Fountains Abbey (
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Useful contacts This chapter featur
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advice on available facilities for
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than state what is possible. Predic
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Credits Reviewers: Claire-Louise Ba
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Accessible Britain

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