Accessible Britain

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Much thought has been given to access. There are twelve Blue Badge spaces right outside the museum, and another six in the main car park; there’s also a disabled drop-off point at the entrance. With a front door you could drive a bus through, there’s no problem getting inside. The reception desk has a lowered section and – like all customer service points – is fitted with a hearing loop. Lifts provide easy access between the ground and upper floors, and virtually the whole attraction is barrier-free. Many exhibits have accompanying audio or video displays; some are loop-compatible and some video displays have BSL interpretation. Many of the exhibits are there to be touched, to help enhance the experience. There are three fully accessible toilets on the ground floor and one on the first floor. FOOD & DRINK aa An upstairs coffee bar gives great views of the river and serves very fine coffee. Downstairs, hot food is served in the spacious café, which has table service. 147 House for an Art Lover, Glasgow Address: Bellahouston Park, 10 Dumbreck Road G41 5BW Web: www.houseforanartlover.co.uk Tel: 0141 3534770 Hours: check website or call, as the house is regularly closed for functions Entry: [D]£3 [C]£3 [A]£4.50 [under 10s]free [Fam]£13 SCOTLAND Legendary Scottish architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh drew up plans for the House for an Art Lover in 1901, but it wasn’t built until the 1990s; consequently this elegant house boasts all the hallmarks of a Mackintosh creation with the accessibility of a modern building. The architects charged with its construction worked closely from the original designs. Mackintosh pioneered the Art Nouveau movement in the UK, and the building is emblematic of his desire to make the functional beautiful. Inside, all his signature designs are present – the high-backed chairs with their robust right angles, the softly tinted stained glass and, of course, the iconic Mackintosh rose. The grand Main Hall was designed for entertaining, and all the other main rooms radiate from it. The rose motif is evident throughout the intimate Dining Room, but it’s the bright Music Room that really dazzles – bathed in natural light from the huge windows that lead onto the terrace, and featuring an ornate baby grand piano, the room is breathtaking. The computers in the Interpretation Room use twenty-first-century technology that Mackintosh could only have dreamt of – it’s used mainly as a study suite, but it’s a fascinating facility for all visitors to use. The souvenir shop is a great place to pick up gifts – you can buy Mackintosh-styled jewellery, as well as prints of his original work. Only two levels of the four-storey building are open to the public – outside there’s a ramp up to the house, and one down to the café, and a lift between floors inside. To save the effort of going uphill, enter via the café, and leave from the upper floor. There are four disabled parking spaces available in the staff car parking area, and disabled toilets are on the ground floor. The house has been designed with access in mind – some rooms are less spacious than others, but all surfaces are smooth. Staff are available if you need assistance. The excellent multilingual audio sets are induction loop compatible. Only 168
yards away from the house are the tranquil Victorian Walled Gardens – particularly worth a look at in high summer when the sweet peas are in bloom. FOOD & DRINK aa The ground-floor Art Lover’s Café, which has a lovely, accessible terrace, serves coffee, cakes, three-course lunches and everything in between – the food is truly sublime. 148 Dawyck Botanic Garden, Peeblesshire Address: Dawyck Botanic Garden, Stobo EH45 9JU Web: www.rbge.org.uk/dawyck Tel: 01721 760254 Hours: daily Apr–Sep 10am–6pm; Feb & Nov 10am–4pm; Mar & Oct 10am–5pm Dates: closed Dec & Jan Entry: [D]£5 [C]free [A]£6 [under 15s]free [Con]£5 [Fam]£11 Dawyck Botanic Garden, nestled in the hills of the Scottish Borders, is a gem of an arboretum. Tranquil, secluded and bursting with colour, it houses a glorious collection of trees, shrubs and flowers, gathered here over the last three hundred years. Although the wheelchair accessible paths represent only a small portion of the garden’s trails, they nonetheless offer a richly rewarding multi-sensory experience: touch a giant Californian Redwood, savour the fragrance of myriad flowers and listen to the birds in the trees and the rushing water of Scrape Burn. In spring, the azaleas are a sight to behold, as are the rhododendrons in summer and Japanese maples in autumn. You’ll also get a sense of the extraordinary lengths that plant-hunters went to in their quest to bring ever more exotic species back to the gardens of <strong>Britain</strong>. You can find out more about Dawyck Garden and its history in the new visitor centre, housed in a stunning oak, glass and copper building. SCOTLAND Azalea Terrace, Dawyck Botanic Garden 169
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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
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available on request, subject to av
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Beach: Address: The Estate Office,
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Emirates Spinnaker Tower THE SOUTHE
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043 Brunel’s SS Great Britain, Br
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and the tidal pools, as well as aro
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centre whose residents range from d
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Temple of Flora and Palladian Bridg
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051 Haldon Forest Park, Devon Addre
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you can pre-book bikes with trailer
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Weymouth and Portland National Sail
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Octavia the octopus always draws a
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Trengwainton Garden THE SOUTHWEST p
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Lincoln Cathedral 059 Lincoln Cathe
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Ideas aa Animal sanctuaries Bolderw
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Holkham Hall Reserve: in summer you
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FOOD & DRINK aa The T&D café bar o
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a wheelchair, while benches provide
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Southwold Pier side and in all the
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Wicken Fen is one of Britain’s ol
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depending on what you most fancy se
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field Cavendish AM LE field Pentlow
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floor has a large step up to it, bu
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M6 M1 Barrow-in-Furness The West Mi
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A619 080 Peak District Scenic Drive
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a boat across it or admire it from
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084 RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire
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Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museu
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FOOD & DRINK aa The on-site café i
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Severn Valley Railway Northwood), a
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091 Royal Shakespeare Company, Warw
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Hereford Cathedral FOOD & DRINK aa
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WWT Slimbridge mile. To take the wh
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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
Page 153 and 154: Fort George (twenty degrees) onto t
Page 155 and 156: which you can reserve in advance. A
Page 157 and 158: Sitting in the heart of the Cairngo
Page 159 and 160: St Andrews itself isn’t easily ac
Page 161 and 162: (with a disabled toilet) about a hu
Page 163 and 164: all but the most limited hand funct
Page 165 and 166: 143 Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh Addres
Page 167: provide a stunning backdrop to the
Page 171 and 172: M6 Wales ISLE OF MAN Barrow-in-Furn
Page 173 and 174: Electric Mountain landscape of Snow
Page 175 and 176: 153-154 Llangollen Wharf and Pontcy
Page 177 and 178: Benar, turn off the A496 just befor
Page 179 and 180: Celtic Quest Coasteering When swimm
Page 181 and 182: 159 Garwnant Forest Visitor Centre,
Page 183 and 184: some of the concrete surfaces insid
Page 185 and 186: 163 Wales Millennium Centre, Cardif
Page 187 and 188: Northern Ireland Oronsay Colonsay J
Page 189 and 190: mobility. If you want to visit the
Page 191 and 192: (June-Aug Sat & Sun & bank hols), a
Page 193 and 194: the lives of more than 1500 passeng
Page 195 and 196: Grand Opera House, Belfast with dis
Page 197 and 198: Ulster Museum Discovery Zones - nat
Page 199 and 200: Ideas aa Heritage Fountains Abbey (
Page 201 and 202: Useful contacts This chapter featur
Page 203 and 204: advice on available facilities for
Page 205 and 206: than state what is possible. Predic
Page 207: Credits Reviewers: Claire-Louise Ba
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