Accessible Britain

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THE WEST MIDLANDS AND WEST COUNTRY its modest opening in 1963, the zoo has become renowned as a specialist in primates and is home to a wide variety of monkeys and apes including the UK’s only group of bonobos, making it the only zoo in the country to house all four types of great ape. As well as primates, the zoo is home to all sorts of other species, including a family of endangered Amur leopards, plus Asian elephants housed in a Sri Lankan themed walkway. Visitors can get up close and personal with ring-tailed lemurs, butterflies and lorikeets in their enclosures, and admire the graceful giraffes in their new savannah setting. Look out, too, for the penguins as they waddle around on their daily parade. There’s also a nature reserve, that is dedicated purely to British wildlife. The zoo and its staff have a commendable grasp of the needs of visitors with disabilities and facilities are impressive. The disabled parking spaces in front of the Himalaya visitor centre (the zoo’s main entrance) are well signposted. Twycross is wonderfully flat with very few slopes, and certainly no steep ones. All path surfaces are hard gravel or tarmac. Powered scooters can be rented for £12, with manual wheelchairs available for £1. All the cafés, shops and toilets are easily accessible, as are all the animal houses, except for inside the lemurs’ abode. While welcome on site, assistance dogs are restricted from entering some of the animal exhibits; check which ones with the guest services team. Induction loops can be picked up at guest services. FOOD & DRINK aa You don’t have to visit the zoo to enter the Himalaya Centre, with its huge glass windows overlooking the snow leopard enclosure – it’s a great spot for a family lunch. The restaurant has several styles of moveable seating, while the hot and cold menu includes healthy and child-friendly options. There are also shops and a softplay area here. Several other places on site offer food, including the Twycross Fish Bar and the Wet and Wild Lodge, and there are indoor picnic facilities at the Cockatoo Café. 086 Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum Address: Millennium Point, Curzon Street B4 7AP Web: www.birminghammuseums.org.uk Tel: 0121 3488000 Hours: daily 10am–5pm; last admission one hour before closing Dates: closed 24–26 Dec Entry: [D]£8.90 [C]free [A]£12.75 [3–15s]£8.90 [Con]£8.40 [Fam]£28.50–47.50 Bursting at the seams with hands-on exhibits, Thinktank is a fun museum, covering the sweep of past, present and future science and technology. Although often awash with young children, there is plenty to engage big kids and adults too, and a family will need at least half a day to enjoy it all. This diverse learning experience is spread over four galleries on four floors. Down on Level 0, the journey starts in The Past, where there’s a full-size Spitfire, plus a new gallery that explores Birmingham’s key role in the manufacture of these aeroplanes, and a look at the steam machinery of the Industrial Revolution that was instrumental in Birmingham’s expansion. From there, as you work your way up the building, through the three further areas, The Balcony, The Present and The Future, all the exhibits are colourful, tactile and utterly compelling. You can play along with a drum-playing robot, solve a crime, record a news broadcast and programme the Robo Thespian, a robot that imitates your expressions, body language and voice. The under-7s roleplay area is vast, amazingly well thought-out and a brilliant place for 102
Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum younger children to unleash their imaginations and learn at the same time. The diverse programme of events, activities and lectures for adults changes regularly – check the website for dates and for BSL-interpreted events. In addition, there is a Planetarium in the wider Millennium Point complex where Thinktank is based, plus the exciting Science Garden outdoor discovery space with family-oriented activities. Launched in 2001, Thinktank was created in partnership with the visual impairment specialists at Queen Alexandra College. Subsequently, it has become a beacon of great design, with every element of the space crafted to ensure accessibility. The displays are unusually low-level, there’s plenty of free space around the exhibits and captions on the walls are generally large. Large-print and Braille guides are available, as well as magnifying glasses. Thinktank has created a social story for visitors on the autistic spectrum to help them prepare for a visit to the museum – download from www.birminghammuseums. org.uk/thinktank/visit. There’s a multistorey car park behind Thinktank, accessed from Jennens Road. Blue Badge parking is free. FOOD & DRINK aa The café, located on Level 0 of the museum, serves hot and cold food including baguettes, jacket potatoes, pizza (whole or by the slice) and daily specials. There is always a Halal option available. Tables and chairs are moveable but manoeuvring can be difficult during busy periods. THE WEST MIDLANDS AND WEST COUNTRY 087 Cadbury World, Birmingham Address: Cadbury World, Linden Road, Bournville, Birmingham, B30 1JR Web: www.cadburyworld.co.uk Tel: 0844 880 7667 Hours: Opening hours vary from 9am–4.30pm at peak times to 10am–2pm in low season: check website for full details. All visits must be pre-booked Dates: Closed Jan 1–21 & 26–28, Dec 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 24– 26 & 31 Entry: [D]£8.30 [C]£8.30 [A]£16.25 [Under 4s]free [4–15s]£11.95 [Disabled 4–15s]£6 [Seniors & students with NUS card]£12.25 [Fam]£49.80 (2 adults & 2 children), £58.40 (2 adults & 3 children) 103
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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
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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 and 100: a boat across it or admire it from
Page 101: 084 RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire
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
Page 141 and 142: Betty’s Tea Rooms, Harrogate If y
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
Page 151 and 152: 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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