[Apparelyzed]

Hi all,

Are you in a wheelchair?

Have you been on holiday in the UK?

Was it memorable, good or bad?

I'm looking for anyone in a wheelchair who has been on holiday in the UK, who is prepared to write a small review of their experiences, to give others ideas of where to go on holiday in the UK.

If you want to share you experiencies, just sign up as a member, which is free, and you can leave your review to give other wheelchair users ideas of where (or where not!) to go on holiday in the UK.

To leave your review or idea, just click "Add Reply" below, and type away!

Please include the holiday website's address as well if they have one.

Please remember, this is for holiday destinations in the UK only.

Many thanks for your help

Simon.

[HiltonP]

"Where There's A Will, There's A Way"

It's a phrase which has rolled off all of our tongues at one time or another, and the trouble with such catchy phrases is that their truth becomes watered down over time. I have, however, recently had two experiences which brought home the true significance of this phrase for me. Both were disability related, one was at a personal level, whilst the other has far broader implications.

The first "will" occurred during a flight from Cape Town to London. Airline flights are always a flashpoint for us disabled travelers, particularly when is comes to the care and well being of our wheelchairs. I always ask for my wheelchair to be stored inside the cabin, in the coat rack, as I am entitled to do under aviation authority regulations. I've seen first hand how the baggage handlers treat wheelchairs and it's not a pretty sight. Most airlines try, and often succeed, in meeting my request. SAA always decline me, but on this flight there was a flight attendant with some savvy. She could see the way. Despite my being loaded into my seat, and my storage request dismissed offhand by her seniors, she, without fanfare, took it upon herself to negotiate for the storage of my wheelchair in the coat rack. She had the will, and knew the way.

Sadly, for the return flight, which happened to be on exactly the same aircraft, I encountered an aircrew which had neither the will, nor did they want to know the way. They were the exact opposite of the abovementioned attendant, instead choosing to be deliberately and calculatedly obstructive. They agreed to my storage request, loaded me into my seat, waited for the aircraft to take off, then told me they had not loaded the wheelchair and had sent it into the hold instead. Some people do not know the way, and never will.

But this story is far bigger than my personal battles with SAA. When I was last in London wheelchair access was possible, but with difficulty. The challenge was physical in the sense of ramps, steps, lifts, etc, but the greatest barrier I encountered was a mental one. London as we all know is a historical city, and the city fathers and their minions down the chain hid behind this historical legacy at every opportunity. All too often one would have the excuse of "this is a Grade 1" building thrown in one's face when looking for a lift, or ramp, or accessable toilet. In 1996 I could not get to certain V&A museum exhibits "because it is a Grade 1 building and we cannot build a lift in", yet they could not explain to me why Starbucks was allowed to have a coffee vending kiosk right on top of the gravestones in Westminster Cathedral.

But time has passed, and legislation has been passed, and it seems that some of the people who were so obstinate have passed as well, passed on that is. It is amazing to see how, when there is the will (or maybe the law) just how creative and innovative architects and builders can be in providing access for wheelchairs. It is equally interesting to see how financial resources can be freed up as well. The entire South Bank has been integrated and paved. One can roll down to Waterloo Station, catch a train (thanks to access ramps) to Hampton Court and tour Henry VIII's castle fitted with lifts and ramps and accessable toilets. Items which ole' Henry probably would have given his eye teeth for! Most of the bridges across the Thames are accessable. The majority of the famous red buses are fitted with wheelchair lifts. A large percentage of the city taxi's provide wheelchair access. Public toilets have private accessable cubicles, with fussy caretakers to boot! The nett result is a historic city which is now relatively easy to navigate in a wheelchair.

Much of the access is unobtrusive, with ramps being integrated with stairs, to the extent that the average Londoner is probably not even aware of its existance. As we have been pointing out to city planners for decades, this not only serves to assist disabled commuters, but also the elderly, mothers with prams, delivery personnel, etc. The cost of this access is negligible relative to all the development taking place, the benefit is potentially huge, as has been shown with the awarding of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to the city.

Access is about removing obstacles. Ten years ago London was riddled with obstacles, the largest of which were mental. During this period there has been a mind shift, a big one, and suddenly the obstacles have been cleared away and replaced with opportunities. The way to achieve this turn-around is not very difficult, nor is it expensive, all it requires is the will to do so.

HILTON

[simon letzer]

Hi

My family and i recently took a holiday in Nar Valley Pentney Norfolk at a farm we rented one of three lovely cottages, the one we stayed in Threshing Barn was ideal and i had no access problems with my wheelchair and the wet room made holidaying a breeze. The couple who own the farm were lovely, it was one of the most stress free holidays i have had in a long time and would thoroughly reccomend it to any one with any form of disability.

As well as the property the location was fantastic wel cited for the north norfolk coast, swaffham etc.

The address of the holiday website is http://www.narvalley...esnorfolk.co.uk

I Hope anyone who visits enjoys it as much as we did

Kind Regards

Simon

[Nubsy]

Hi everyone,

Well, the other half and I just spent a few days away last month in Godney, nr Wells, Somerset - at a beautiful little B&B called Double Gate Farm... and it's literally a farm. Out in the middle of no where, the sort of place where you think you're lost as you're bouncing along country lanes, dodging farmer Giles in his massive tractor!

It's a family run place, and they've made a huge effort in terms of accessibility - especially for a B&B, as where we live in Bournemouth it seems NONE have thought to accomodate those with disabilities... Anyway, we both loved the place - huge wet room, cute little pub next door (brilliant food), .... and total peace and quiet (something so alien when you're not used to it)! It's just a typical English cottage - so avoid it if you're afraid of floral wallpaper, LOL

The only issue we really had was the carpark was pebbles, not tarmac - which isn't THAT big of a deal for Craig - and unfortunately, there's only one accessible room and it only features two single beds (not cool when you're wanting a nice, romantic weekend away!!) But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves.... saw Glastonbury nearby and doubt we'll return, it's on one giant hill (obviously), though the abbey was alright...

Wow - talk about long winded!

URL is: Double Gate Farm

[robbo100bike]

We recently stayed in a Static Caravan On Havens Thorpe Park Site, Cleethorpes. Enjoyed it so much bought a caravan there!!!

I am fortunate enough to be able to cope with a standard unadapted caravan but i understand they have adapted caravans available.

The site has plenty of entertainmentt especially for the kids and found all the public areas to be accessible and had plenty disab toilets. Activiites on site - amusements, go karts, pool, fishing , golf, tennis, beach, caberet acts, kiddy disco

I can recommend the 4 pint pitchers of beer which not only saves a few pennies but also reduces trips to bar, sadly it increases trips to the aforementioned toilets!

Cheers

[Shy]

I had a nice stay in Torquay in a large self-catering apartment.
There is a huge living/dining room with 2 pull down couch's .Kitchen and large bedroom with a double bed and electric hoist if needed. Believe it sleeps 6.
Torquay is very hilly though, but I managed with some help on the hilly parts.
Fantastic veiws. beautiful beach's and tons for the kids to do,Paignton Zoo is only 4 miles or so away, and there's great water places too.(forget name)
Site I used was called Grooms Holidays but seems to have changed name.

http://www.livabilit...aylet.asp?id=75

I has lots of different holidays both hotel style and self catering.
Not to sure about hotel T&C but self catering had to have a disabled member in the party.
All in all I enjoyed myself and the prices were very reasonable.

I am T5/6

Forgot to say a large wet room with shower chair and bath

Park House, St Marychurch, Babbacombe is the one I stayed in.

This post has been edited by Shy: 25 June 2009 - 05:15 PM

[kathmitch]

Hi.My husband and myself have just had a great holiday in South Wales.Just 2 miles from Camarthenshire.It was a 3 bedroom cottage great wetroom with self propeled shower chair.everything was perfect for wheelchair user.The view from the cottage looked out over the valley to Carmathernshire.Places to visit were spoilt for choice,shopping was great and all the places we went to were mostly flat so easy to get around.I would highly recomend a visit,we will be going back next year for sure.
The Cottage was called Swn y Gwynt E Mail antony.griew@virgin.net You can see it on a web site I Know Wales cottages.or Cottages in wales.

This post has been edited by kathmitch: 18 July 2009 - 04:59 PM

[guido]

Just been sent this link: http://www.holtonlee.com/home

Don't know more about other than the 5 minutes I've just spent looking round their site, but they seem to have made an effort with accessibility, care arrangements and catering for people with disabilities. Anyone makes such an effort deserves a mention, and if anyone has been here then they can comment?

[Valo]

Hidelow Lodge

I stayed at Hidelow Lodge part of Hidelow House Cottages at Acton Beauchamp near Worcester last September 2009 and it was great. Pauline (owner) can arrange the rental of any additional equipment you require (profiling bed, hoist etc) for your arrival at additional cost.

This post has been edited by Valo: 01 August 2010 - 07:30 PM

[Darkghost]

Hi,
I'm not long back from taking a few days break in Pitlochry,I stayed at the Craig Mhor guest house.It had a very nice suite which had a fantastic on suite wet room.
Room was lovely and clean.They only did breakfast,but there was plenty of places to eat in the town,(look out for cafe Biba on the main street}.Only downside which wasn't too bad was going from the room to the main building (about 25ft) for breakfast as the driveway was thickly covered by small stones, took a little work for my quickie argon,however it did not put me off and I will def going back soon.As with a lot of places up north the access into some of the older shops is not great at times but it did not stop me enjoying myself.I took in a visit to nearby Dunkeld which if you get a good day,Had a lot of very interesting walks a couple I found were resonable with my chair.
George

[ss770640]

Dubai in a wheelchair. Summary review.

Ladies & Gents, here is a summary of Dubai access. I have been there 3 times, 2007, 2009 and 2011. (My skiing accident was actually in Dubai itself, so it owes me! I am T12 complete). Read my "Dubai wheelchair issues" section at the end also.

General Access-Out and About

All shopping malls and hotels are 100% fully accessible. These are the main areas you want to hang around anyway as Dubai is a dry (non alcohol) state. The best bars and restaurants are in the hotels and shopping malls. These are the only ones allowed to serve alcohol. Bathrooms and ramps are no problem. Lifts are common place and very few hills, if none, are in Dubai. In Dubai nobody walks as its too damn hot during the summer so everything is flat, polished air conditioned marble, very easy to roll on. The public bathrooms in the malls are actually of equal standard to the ones in the hotels. No kidding. You practically have your own Indian assistant on hand and everything is pristine clean. I'd bet a months salary that the place is cleaner than your own home cities. Shower rooms and large bedrooms are the norm but as usual check before you go to make sure. All modern (post 2007) buildings are built to UK and American standards. A very modern city. My only problem was the private roads that entered or exited the many skyscrapers. These roads do not have dropped kerbs. So even getting to the metro station, you will need an able bodied person with you to give you a hand up the kerb. They are high kerbs too. The pavement surface is generally flat slabs or small square type pattern. Easy to roll on. However, if for some reason, you wish to get the metro on your own in a chair, simply get a taxi outside your apartment/hotel to the metro station and instruct the driver where to park his car for your transfer. (hand signals or broken english needed!). *Outwith malls and hotels*, restrooms are not always identified with a wheelchair sign. Sometimes they are present inside the normal bathrooms, sometimes they are not. Normally ramps are present but a lot of shops and supermarkets have a single step in. as before, this only applies to ones outwith the malls. So you wont be needing these anyway, unless you forgot the bacon.

1. Habtoor Hotel has a nice Lebanese restaurant by the pool amongst its Italian and others. But accessible bathrooms are inside the main hotel up two steep ramps. Will need help for that one.
2. Burj al Arab is a 6* hotel so enough said. 100% perfect.
3. Burj Khalifa, highest tower in the world, is brand new so enough said. 100% perfect. There is an excellent Thai restaurant at the Souk Bahar which is next to the Burj Khalifa, which is next to Dubai mall. Access via the 5* hotel and past its swimming pool. This place overlooks the dancing water present at the Burj base. Wheeling here is about 1000 yards from the Metro station but in the heat will feel like 30 miles. Facilities available.
4. Le Meridean by the beach has Barasta bar in it. Very nice and flat level access. Restrooms near the beach bar but the accessible one is in the lobby 200 yards away.
5. Grosvenor house has a fantastic champagne bar on its 44th floor. 100% full table service and proper posh. Accessible bathroom on the 2nd floor. The door guy will take you down to it and even wait for you! lol. This place has a fantastic Thai restaurant and bar called Buddah bar its base.
6. Souk Medinat is tourist type souk (middle eastern mall) at the base of the burj al arab. All is 100% accessible except the rooftop bar which does not have a lift up to it. Many restruants and bars here. A good place to chill out at night or during the day.
7. Irish village. Located near the airport (30 mins from Dubai marina, £10 taxi for 3 people). It has bars and food. But NO accessible bathroom! I simply transferred into a normal cubicle and left the chair, linked via my bag strap, on the other side of the door. Hey it worked for me! Nobody touched it either. Job done.
8. Ibn Battuta, Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, etc all perfect, full of shops and eateries. A new mall every month so always a new one around the corner. Literally.
9. A safari will take you into the desert if you wish. A guy in a massive 4x4 will pick you up and make sure your breakfast comes back up as he beasts the jeep over the sand dunes. This can be done if you can transfer into a high jeep. I would not recommend the after party which is a tourist type BBQ and dance in the middle of the desert. Worth doing if your able bodied like i used to be. Wheelchair would be a nightmare due to sand. Plus it really is not that great so your not missing much. Do the dune bashing though. You'll love it. Is about a 1 hour drive from Dubai for sand bashing.
10. Wild wadi water park is fantastic but again, unsure of wheelchair access/ability. It is a water park after all! I was there before my injury.


Metro System and taxis- Getting Around

Dubai has a metro system that opened in 2009 with some parts still under construction. It consists of red and green line with many armadillo shaped stations at the popular locations. Their is a direct lift from ground access which takes you to the platform or bridge crossing the main road (Sheik Zayed Road, a 5 lane highway). The platform and train is perfectly horizontal allowing very easy roll on roll off wheeling. See picture. Accessible bathrooms are also located at all metro stations. A metro ride across town costs about 10 AED. (£2 UK GBP). The main shopping malls and/or areas of interest, have direct bridges connecting the metro station to the mall/area itself. So no outside wheeling is required. (Note, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall does not have this yet as of Jan. 2011). If you do need to wheel somewhere, note that whilst dropped kerbs do exist in Dubai on the public roads, a lot of the skyscrapers' entrance/exit roads DO NOT have dropped kerbs. So you'd need someone with you if your planning on wheeling more than a few blocks. As stated before nobody walks. Taxis are very very cheap. About 30 AED, £6 ($12?) for a 30 minute 15 mile ride. They are so cheap it is easier to transfer into them instead of using the metro. All drivers are Pakistani and will help you no problem. (sometimes against your wishes!). Note that some of their English speaking ability is not so good nor are their driving ability. 100mph, tailgating and undertaking is the norm for these guys. But they are professionally presented and drive nice 'normal' Toyota sudan style cars. Large vans are available and i believe wheelchair specific vans are also available but these must be booked in advance. I did not see many of them. Personally i would not drive in Dubai simply because you dont really need to and the driving is near madness on drugs. Apparently Dubai police will issue wheelchair users with a temporary driving licence so you can hire cars if you want. This would be a good way to get around in your own privacy. Petrol is dirt cheap at about £0.30p a litre. ($0.60 c?)

I travelled from my apartment in the Dubai Marina to the Burj Khalifa. (7 miles away). I left the apartment, onto the road outside, my girlfriend helped me with 4 kerbs to the metro station (50 yards away). And after that, all was perfectly manageable. Metro station was easy. I left the metro station at the other end and took a bus to the Dubai mall. The bus has ramps and air con too. Drivers and door boys will assist you if you need a push up. I'm lazy like that especially when its a steep ramp! Accessible Bathrooms are everywhere. Dubai is a brand new city so as every wheelchair user knows, new means accessible.

Shopping Malls

100% accessible. Air con and very nice, large and lush. Preferential treatment for hailing taxis and people always on hand to literally whim to you every need. The best shops and places to eat are here which makes Dubai excellent for the wheelchair user. There are literally thousands of malls which will blow your mind in size, expense, cleanliness and quality. You name it and it is there. No cost benefit for UK people though as clothes and food is the same price as back home. Approx 5 AED to the pound.

Flights

During flying, it took me 4 flights to figure out where the button was to put up the arm rest. See picture. My poor ass was dragged over it many times. The light switch type button is located near its hinge between the side cushion and arm rest. Makes transfer a lot easier to the aisle chair but it really is hidden. Even the hostesses didn't know where it was. Wheelchair users are given preferential queue jumping treatment at Dubai. The person who took me through it all even insisted on pushing me the entire way! Pakistani bloke didn't understand no! Bathroom trips mid-flight is always a hassle. I normally make a bathroom trip mid flight. But two guys helping me and strong leg twitches didn't make it an easy affair! Biggest bathroom is located in the middle but you'd better be good at transferring as its a tough one to make. As a T12 i made the transfer in both types of bathroom but i have good upper body strength so a worst case 180 deg turn can be done. Middle bathroom is a 90 degree transfer and is larger in space. I recommend Picolax to flush everything out (google it) and an indwelling for the bladder. Flight is 7 hours from the UK or 6 hours from Amsterdam. Allow 1 hour extra for flight loading/unloading. Assistance at all airports was taken care of by the local guys. My RGK wheelchair was put in the hold and i was able to use it at Schipol (Amsterdam), then collected at Dubai as i exited the plane. So it was perfect. Book ahead and notice what the earliest opportunity is for you to reserve seats. KLM is 90 days in advance. Emirates is 24 hours i think. You can fly from the states as i saw Atlanta flights at the airport. Airport has smoking rooms in it and a vast duty free zone.



Warning-Things to note

1. As always check before you fly. Hotels speak excellent English and will bend over backwards to help. Apartments, hotels and apartment blocks are fully accessible and are generally large/huge in size. All bathrooms are technically wet rooms but for cleaning purposes instead not showering. Some have cubicle type showers, others have baths, others you can use a stool to simply wash next to the normal sink. The bathrooms have drains on the floor (for cleaning the room). Moral of the story is check first and consider your ability/confidence to transfer over/into the shower. As a T12 i had no problem at all with my apartment which had no specific modifications for me at all.

2. Swimming pools are always under utilised and perfectly accessible. So it is always yours to use alone. But no 'chair lifts' are present. I used the sun loungers to transfer down and back up.Balconies usually have a step in/out. But i managed on my own to force my wheels over them. In the last apartment, the balcony step was too big so i needed a hand to get to the balcony. Small things like these can be hit/miss.

2. Very limited presence of dropped kerbs so make sure if your going to go for a walk/wheel, have a a/b person nearby! These are big boy kerbs, some 8 inches high! Dropped kerbs do exist but only on public built access roads. Private built access roads to skyscrapers normally do not have dropped kerbs annoyingly.

3. Do not wheel on the road. Get a dirt cheap taxi instead and your kerb issue goes away.

4. Dubai is full of Indian and Pakistani labourers and general people from that area of the world. They've never seen a young handsome(!) bloke wheel around so expect to feel like a goldfish. Especially on the metro or when a bus passes you on the street. You can feel the 100 pairs of eyes on you. Generally once they've analysed your wheels, they will start to eye up each other again. So its harmless but annoying if your that way inclined! They will always help you if required. And are very honest. (one Indian bloke returned my expensive sun glasses to lost and found instead of keeping them!). The benefit of strict law in the UAE.


All in all, i would definitely recommend Dubai to any wheelchair user. It is 'almost' 100% accessible (compared to the USA) and with a little planning can be 100% no problem.

Just don't go skiing like i did.

[ss770640]

Alicante - Spain,

Went here for my first post injury holiday. Never again. Hotels were ok even though the food was not. Everything else, utter rubbish! Steep hills, bars & restaurants with bathrooms upstairs, rubbish food. No Thanks.

Orihuela was nice but again, outside the hotel nothing was accessible.

If you wish for Spain in a chair, i can highly recommend Palma staying at Footprints villa. (google it). Fully accessible and 3 hours total transit time from Scotland (UK). Again, the restaurants and even new hotels simply did not have accessible bathrooms. Of the two i found, one was used as a storage cupboard the other was on someone else's restaurant which i blatantly abused. (because i had too!).

Spain for me, in a chair is a no. I would assume France and Italy as being the same but will post in due course.

From what i hear the northern EU states are very good at access. Germany, Norway, Sweden etc. But a lot colder!

[Trinity]

Stayed here last year http://www.manorfarmholidays.co.uk/ can't praise it enough! More than enough room for 4 paras!

So good we have booked top go again this year. Can't praise them enough

[Edinburgh Colin]

ss770640, on 12 January 2011 - 01:08 PM, said:

Alicante - Spain,

Went here for my first post injury holiday. Never again. Hotels were ok even though the food was not. Everything else, utter rubbish! Steep hills, bars & restaurants with bathrooms upstairs, rubbish food. No Thanks.

Orihuela was nice but again, outside the hotel nothing was accessible.

If you wish for Spain in a chair, i can highly recommend Palma staying at Footprints villa. (google it). Fully accessible and 3 hours total transit time from Scotland (UK). Again, the restaurants and even new hotels simply did not have accessible bathrooms. Of the two i found, one was used as a storage cupboard the other was on someone else's restaurant which i blatantly abused. (because i had too!).

Spain for me, in a chair is a no. I would assume France and Italy as being the same but will post in due course.

From what i hear the northern EU states are very good at access. Germany, Norway, Sweden etc. But a lot colder!

Is the Footprints villa in Palma this one? villa link


looks nice but no mention of accessability?

[ss770640]

Edinburgh Colin, on 12 January 2011 - 02:03 PM, said:

ss770640, on 12 January 2011 - 01:08 PM, said:

Alicante - Spain,

Went here for my first post injury holiday. Never again. Hotels were ok even though the food was not. Everything else, utter rubbish! Steep hills, bars & restaurants with bathrooms upstairs, rubbish food. No Thanks.

Orihuela was nice but again, outside the hotel nothing was accessible.

If you wish for Spain in a chair, i can highly recommend Palma staying at Footprints villa. (google it). Fully accessible and 3 hours total transit time from Scotland (UK). Again, the restaurants and even new hotels simply did not have accessible bathrooms. Of the two i found, one was used as a storage cupboard the other was on someone else's restaurant which i blatantly abused. (because i had too!).

Spain for me, in a chair is a no. I would assume France and Italy as being the same but will post in due course.

From what i hear the northern EU states are very good at access. Germany, Norway, Sweden etc. But a lot colder!

Is the Footprints villa in Palma this one? villa link


looks nice but no mention of accessability?

Yes it is, correct. Very nice. 100% accessible. The access road is light gravel but ok. Town is only 15mins wheel away.

The owner's sister uses a chair hence why the design is good. Also has parking. Stereo and UK TV! Very nice chap. Expensive during July but May is equally good at half the price.