Accessible Britain

Exeter quayside
THE SOUTHWEST
stained-glass windows and an intricately carved image screen on the West Front.
Excellent disabled provision includes on-site parking (book ahead), a RADAR key-accessible
toilet, Braille guidebooks, audio guides, wheelchairs to borrow and – with advance
notice – one-to-one tours for visually impaired visitors.
Another of the city’s highlights is the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art
Gallery, on Queen Street (01392 665858, www.rammuseum.org.uk). Voted Museum of
the year in 2012, its beautifully displayed collections are wonderfully diverse, taking
in antiquities, ethnography, natural history and decorative and fine arts. Blue Badge
parking spaces can be booked ahead, and the museum is accessible for wheelchair users.
It has accessible toilets on both floors, large-print information, induction loops and
volunteers trained in disability awareness. On request, BSL tours can be organised too.
On Exeter’s lively quayside, the handsome old warehouses now contain craft
workshops, antique shops and cafés. There’s also a great accessible footpath along the
banks of the River Exe – though there is no barrier between the path and the water. While
you’re here, pop into the Custom House Visitor Centre (01392 271611), where you can
watch a short film on the history of Exeter and pick up tourist information: its lift can
accomodate manual and small electric wheelchairs. There are five disabled parking bays
at the quayside, which is also served by accessible buses from the high street.
Exeter has excellent public transport links, and the train and coach stations are both
close to the centre (wheelchair accessible taxis can be pre-booked on 01392 666666). If
you’re driving here, note that Blue Badge holders can park for free in most city council
car parks (except the Guildhall, Mary Arches Street and John Lewis car parks, where
charges apply). The city centre is fairly compact and flat, and can be navigated with ease
in a wheelchair or powered scooter; Shopmobility, 8–10 Paris Street (01392 494001)
rents out both. There’s a handy RADAR key-accessible toilet on Musgrave Row, near
the library, and at the quayside. Blind or partially sighted visitors can take advantage
of the City Sights project (01392 494001), which provides trained volunteers to guide
visitors around: volunteers can also provide audio description for public events (£2/hr).
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