Unusual Breaks

A change of scenery can be a hugely rewarding experience. With summer definitely here, we highlight some of our favourite ideas for an accessible, day out!

WORDS: TOM JAMISON

GET AFLOAT!

‘Picture yourself on a boat on a river…’, as the song goes. These days you can do more than just sing from the river bank. The Canal Boat Project – based on the lovely River Stort in Harlow, Essex – enables disabled people to experience the gentle joy of being on the water. It’s an experience that can be as active or passive as you like, with a chance to steer the boat, help with the canal locks, or just enjoy time with friends.

“It’s the peace and quiet that I like,” said Brian, a wheelchair user who comes back time and again to drift off down the waterways on the charity’s specially adapted canal boat. “It’s the way the banks gliding past, calms you down, and the friendliness of the other river folk. It’s brilliant.

“And the crew are just about tolerable!” he adds with a grin, winking at Roger the Skipper.

The Canal Boat Project currently offers river experiences to a range of disabled people from day centres, residential homes, community groups, and families. The charity currently has four canal boats; you can either have a daytrip on Stort Daybreak and Dawn Treader, or hire Red Watch or Stort Challenger from their holidays division. Each of the boats are designed to be accessible by wheelchair users and, once on board, you have full access to below decks via purpose-built lifts.

The Stort Challenger has just undergone a refit to give her more passenger space and was back on the water this April this year. Although care has been taken to ensure these vessels are as accessible as possible, they still retain all of the charm and tradition that canal boats are loved for.

The Project encourages passengers to get involved with steering the boats and to help with working the locks, providing both fun and satisfaction. Just ask Kim, who has learning difficulties. Having not said a word throughout a trip, she rode up in the lift in her wheelchair, smiled at the Skipper and said: “I like river.”

Day boats are crewed by volunteers who are trained under the National Community Boats Association to very high standard. Holiday boats are normally self steered, following familiarisation sessions that take around two and a half hours to complete.

As a registered charity, the Project is able to offer very competitive prices; a four-hour trip on Dawn Treader for up to 12 people is currently £90 – including passing through two or three locks with a brief stop for lunch. A six hour trip would allow a stop for a pub lunch.

A midweek break on Red Watch is also available for £160. This option gives you sufficient time to cruise two rivers (the Stort and Lee), with an overnight mooring in a choice of Hertfordshire towns (Ware, Stanstead Abbots or Broxbourne). A longer holiday enables a trip into a London mooring at Little Venice, passing through Regents Park Zoo on the way!

MORE: 01279 424 444, www.canalboat.org.uk, www.lockviewholidays.org.uk

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LEGOLAND WINDSOR

Legoland Windsor offers a great day out for families with disabled children, or indeed anyone wowed by the miniaturization of mighty structures! Organisers review accessibility on an annual basis, with visitor feedback used to further improve its facilities.

Covering an area of 150 acres, Legoland Windsor isn’t a small place, so if you have mobility issues, it’s advisable to hire one of the park’s manual wheelchairs. You will find pathways are level and suitable for wheelchairs, but there are some fairly steep sections and may require additional assistance. An alternative option is the Hill Train; failing that, alternatives can be arranged with the Attractions team. A guide for disabled guests is available from Guest Services.

Legoland has given genuine thought to the needs of disabled visitors; from designated parking near the entrance and induction loops at the ticket booths to accessible toilets throughout the park and free admission to registered personal assistants. Assistance dogs are also admitted, although (possibly to the relief of the Assistance Dogs) they cannot accompany their owners on to the rides. Some of the rides that require control of upper or lower body are not suitable for everyone, although wheelchair users may remain within their chair on some of the rides and attractions including the Aero Nomad, Orient Expedition, Digger Challenge, Hill Train, Enchanted Forest, Pirate Training Camp, Loki’s Labyrinth, Waterworks and XBOX 360 Gaming Zone.

If your stomach isn’t too churned by this time you’ll appreciate the fully accessible restaurants where considerations to food allergy information are posted. All of the Restaurant Managers are trained in special diets and are able to advise on specific food products.

For something a little more sedate, Miniland provides a fascinating wonder around some of the great sights of the world – ideal if you’ve ever wanted to know what 40 million Lego bricks look like. Here, they’ve been used to create great cities bustling with their own traffic and trains. London landmarks such as Canary Wharf, City Hall and the Lloyd’s Building are all lovingly recreated here.

The 4D offers everyone a thrilling experience, combining all the thrills of a brand new movie full of eye-popping 3D special effects, plus lots of spine-tingling physical effects in amazing ‘4D’ that will literally keep you on the edge of your seat. There are specific wheelchair areas at each show venue that can be accessed by speaking with the usher 15 minutes before the show.

Depending on your choices, Legoland can be boisterous and busy or intriguing and interesting. But above all, it’s ideal for disabled people looking for a safe environment for anyone looking to free their inner child.

One Day Admission: Adult (16-59 years) £38; Children (3-15 years) £28; Senior (60+ years) £28.

MORE: www.legoland.co.uk

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A TRIP TO EDEN

To many, the Eden Project is nothing more complicated, or interesting, than a large greenhouse. Take a longer look, though, and it becomes obvious that it’s role is far more important than you may have imagined – and it’s far from being dull. In fact, it’s a genuine, multi-sensory experience!

The goal of the Eden Project, located in Cornwall, is to use exhibits, events, workshops and educational programmes to remind people of our dependence on – and connection with – the natural world… a passionate commitment that’s passed on to more than one million visitors every year.

The greenhouses are known as Biomes – a term describing an area of ‘ecologically similar’ communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms – often referred to as ecosystems. If you’re expecting a Kew Garden-style hothouse, then you’re in for an incredible surprise – as you make your way through the 240m, world’s largest conservatory! It’s a very comfortable way to trek through the steamy rainforests of Malaysia, West Africa and South America that comfortably contain 1,129 plants in more than 20 different displays ranging from a Malaysian Garden to a banana plantation!

Here’s where your senses start to travel too. Surrounded by flowering plants, you’ll be exposed to all manner of exotic perfumes although amongst them lurks a flower that smells of decaying flesh. The palette is predictably lush as well, although the Eden Project is a collection of structures that would still be worth visiting if it was empty. The conservatories are incredible pseudo natural structures in their own right.

As you might expect from any public space on this scale, accessibility and inclusion were

very much watchwords during and beyond construction. The Eden Project was built with great sensitivity; not only are walkways level and wide enough for wheelchair access but even in the three storey core building it is possible to move between all floors using the external paths without use of lifts or steps. This is an integral part of the structure, not just an additional bolt-on.

Acoustics are also well thought out with café spaces designed to avoid people needing to strain to hear others speaking. Public spaces also escape swamping by ambient noise making the experience far more of a serene escape. Other considerations towards calm include the dismantling of visual distractions. Clever use of lighting helps to distinguish the lift from the surroundings, making it easier to locate and reducing the need for signage.

The Eden Project is an easy building to use, making it all the more easier to wonder at the fantastic array of plants on display – proof that a little thought and imagination can go a long way when it comes to access.

Tickets: Adult £16; Children (under 16) £6; Senior (60+) £11; Families (two adults, up to three children) £39

MORE: www.edenproject.com