Accessible Britain

Six miles north of Omagh, on the B48, the Gortin Glen Forest Park (028 66343032,
www.nidirect.gov.uk/gortin-glen-forest-park) is the western gateway to the Sperrin
Mountains and marks the start of our scenic drive. Enter the park and you’ll come to a
(pay and display) car park with four disabled bays, a spacious adapted toilet and some
accessible picnic tables nearby. Several trails lead through the forest from here, though
none are wheelchair accessible. You can, however, enjoy the scenery from your car by
following the park’s five-mile Forest Drive, which passes several panoramic viewpoints
where you can soak up the mountain vistas. As you drive along, look out for the wild Sika
deer that inhabit the park and for buzzards circling overhead.
Back on the B48, continue north through the mountains. You’ll soon pass the pretty
village of Gortin, nestled in the Owenkillew river valley, and, four miles beyond,
Plumbridge, by the Glenelly River, whose banks make a good picnic spot. From here,
branch east along the B47 through the idyllic, steep-sided Glenelly Valley, carved
through the mountains by ancient glacial flows. It’s a stunning road, offering awesome
views of Mount Sawel, the highest peak in the Sperrin range at 2225 feet. Twenty miles
east of Plumbridge, having left the high mountains behind, you’ll find plenty of places
to stop for lunch in the lively village of Draperstown, famous locally as the site of a
weekly sheep market on Fridays.
From Draperstown, it’s another twelve miles to the small village of Ballyronan, on the
shore of Lough Neagh, Ireland – and Britain’s – biggest lake. Head to the marina, where
you can admire the fine views from an accessible boardwalk, or take a cruise over the
lake on the Maid of Antrim (07969 927098, www.loughneaghcruises.co.uk); there’s no
ramped access to the boat, but the crew are happy to assist wheelchair users (note that
there are no disabled toilets on the boat).
FOOD & DRINK aa Corner House Bar (028 79629855), on St Patrick’s Street in Draperstown,
is a good old-fashioned pub serving tasty, down-to-earth food at reasonable
prices. It also has a fully accessible toilet.
NORTHERN IRELAND
169 Titanic Belfast
Address: 1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT3 9EP Web: www.
titanicbelfast.com Tel: 028 9076 6386: Accessibility line 028 9076 6399 Hours: April–May & Sept
9am–6pm; June–Aug 9am–7pm; Oct–March 10am–5pm; last admission 1hr 40min before closing. Late
Saver tickets are available 1hr before closing but exclude the cable car ride. Dates: Closed 24–26 Dec
Entry: [D]£15.50 [C]free [A]£15.50 [5–16s]£7.25 [Under 5s] free [Seniors 60+]Mon–Fri £11, Sat & Sun
£13 [Students & unemployed]£11 [Fam]£39 (2 adults & 2 children). Late Saver ticket [A]£7.50 [5–15s]£5
Step back to eighteenth-century Belfast and learn about its proud tradition of shipbuilding
at the world-famous Harland and Wolff shipyard – the birthplace of RMS
Titanic. With nine galleries of interactive exhibition space, the museum’s iconic design
sits as the centrepiece of Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
Inside the massive complex (around 150,700 square feet), you can learn about the story
behind the infamous maritime disaster, through reading authentic historical accounts
about the luxurious ocean liner that sank during its maiden voyage in 1912, claiming
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