Accessible Britain

THE SOUTHWEST
mini museum pieces in themselves, complete with their original fittings. The two main
stations are definitely worth visiting. Swanage station has a small picnic and viewing
area, while Norden has a picnic area, playground and a small mining museum.
The trains have “open access” carriages suitable for powered scooters and wheelchairs.
It makes sense to call ahead to check they are in operation before arriving – if they aren’t,
but you still want to travel and can transfer from a chair, then your wheelchair can be
stored in the guard’s van. These dedicated carriages also have disabled toilets, which is
handy because, with the exception of Norden where there is a RADAR key-accessible
toilet, the stations do not have accessible toilets. Norden is the most accessible station
all-round; it has dedicated parking, which is an approximately two-hundred-yard level
journey away from the station. Swanage station has level access to the town centre and
all the stations have disabled ramps on the platforms and helpful staff to assist, but there
are no low access ticket offices on the entire route. Dogs on leads are welcomed on the
trains (assistance dogs travel free, other dogs £2 return).
FOOD & DRINK aa Norden and Swanage both have station cafés, based in old railway
carriages. Neither has wheelchair access but there is adjacent seating outdoors. Both
serve inexpensive snacks and light meals such as soup, baps or sausage and chips for
under £6.
054 Weymouth and Portland National
Sailing Academy, Dorset
Address: Osprey Quay, Portland DT5 1SA Web: www.wpnsa.org.uk Tel: 01305 866000 Hours: Daily
9am–5pm: additional access varies by course and season Dates: no instruction Dec–Jan; contact
individual schools for closures Entry: training prices vary according to experience, course and season
Occupying the site of a former Royal Navy air station in Dorset’s Portland Harbour, this
world-class sailing venue provides year-round facilities that are open to all, including
a sailing school and windsurfing school. It provides direct access to the waters of
Weymouth Bay and the more sheltered Portland Harbour, making it ideal for a wide
range of abilities – from complete beginners to international competitors. The waters
here offer some of the best small boat sailing in the world – so much so that the venue
hosted the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Besides offering ideal sailing conditions – against the stunning backdrop of the
Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – the venue includes a modern, fully
accessible clubhouse (with its own café), slipways, a boat hoist and storage space for up
to six hundred boats.
The Academy offers excellent access. Its large car park has five disabled bays about
fifty yards from the main entrance to the building, which is accessed via an automatic
door and is step-free throughout. All signage is tactile and subtitled in Braille, and
an induction loop is available. There are spacious disabled toilets on both floors, and
the ground-floor changing rooms include large, wheelchair accessible shower cubicles.
Outside, several extra-wide pontoons provide wheelchair access to the water, and four
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