Disability

Most of us take our good health for granted and do not even consider just how profound a life-changing experience it is to become disabled in some way. Even I, though I was raised by a parent who became increasingly more disabled, have only a vague understanding of how humiliating and frustrating it feels to have the independence and freedom that was once taken for granted taken away from you.

This page is not intended as a "how-to" or guide to resources, but rather a reflection on what I have encountered in relation to access and awareness of disability issues. As such it is biased towards Bradford and Yorkshire where I live, but hopefully some of the more general themes may be a starting point for people.

Stores

Most of the larger supermarkets have trolleys that attach to your wheelchair available as well as electric scooters and manual wheelchairs available for customers who require them. Usually they are to be found near the store entrance and do not require a coin to use. (Tescos operate a nationwide pass scheme for users of its electric scooters) A little bit of trial and error may be required in attaching trolleys to wheelchairs are they often differ slightly in construction. Staff are generally helpful and understanding of the difficulties that disabled customers can face. Toilets can still be a tight squeeze sometimes. Most other larger stores have reasonably wide aisles and manual wheelchairs are often available if required. Smaller stores are a bit of a hit and miss affair in terms of accessibility, and sometimes you may have to use the goods lift to get access to different floors, so it is always worth asking.

Parking

All the stores suffer from people abusing the disabled parking bays. Finding disabled parking bays in the town centre is very difficult if you do not know where they are, as they are rarely signposted in advance. Because the town centre is quite hilly a certain amount of pre-planning is essential, especially if you are using a manual chair.

Eating Out

Although we have not tried many of the restaurants in the area, we have found that several pubs have made efforts to make access for disabled patrons easier. Worthy of a special mention is the Hitching Post in Idle, who have good access to all areas of the pub, and a large toilet which is on the RADAR key scheme, and they have a key available for users who do not have (or forget). The management have always made us feel very welcome, and indeed always try to make all their customers welcome.

Driving

We recently changed our car, and now are the proud owners of a Vauxhall Astra diesel estate. Although we initially looked to purchase the car through the Motability used car purchase scheme, we finally opted to finance the purchase of the car using a normal finance company. We are currently in the process of taking out a membership within the Disabled Motorists Federation.

Places to visit

We are members of the National Trust, and have visited some of their properties. The National Trust have a booklet for disabled visitors which does contain a lot more information about accessibility and facilities for disabled visitors.

Malham Tarn

We last visited Malham in 2003. The visitor centre is a little way from the Tarn and cliff, but within "pushing distance". Although the centre of Malham village is fairly flat, the entrance to the Tarn Estate is uphill. If you phone the Estate office prior to arrival, they can usually arrange for a warden to be available to open the gate to allow disabled visitors to drive down to the Tarn. Many of the shops in the village have steps inside them, but staff generally are quite helpful.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens Gallery pics

We last visited Fountains Abbey in April 2004. The visitor centre is adjacent to the main car park and also has a shop and restaurant. A mini-bus with wheelchair clamps is available to take visitors to the abbey and gardens. There is a smaller car park by the Abbey entrance, however this can fill up quickly at busy periods.
NOTE: the slope between visitor centre and Abbey is 16% (1 in 6) in places and is NOT recommended for wheelchair users to attempt!
The Abbey itself is accessible across the lawns, however you may need to walk around the side to gain access to parts. Most of the interior is accessible, although some parts are up or down steps. There is a small museum which is accessible from the path before you reach the Abbey. There is also a working water mill which is now fully accessible with a lift to the upper stories. The gardens are in the main accessible, although there a few short hills. It is possible to get into the lakeside tea-rooms, however at busy periods it is often crowded.
Toilets: There are disabled toilets by the visitor centre, by the Tea-rooms, and up a short slope next to the Hall, near the Abbey entrance gates.

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