One vacation,one family, two disabled parents!

Going on holiday has always been something of a military operation throughout my life.Rarely did my parents show stress about anything but going on holiday with one wheelchair bound, huge steroidal child and three other healthy children including an eight month old baby,two children requiring active past times, other two, youngest brother and I, needing more sedate times,it must have been stressful yet we never saw a moment of my parents losing it! I do not know how they did it but they always pulled off great vacations full of loads of happy memories that we all shared together.

 

I more recently have appreciated the lengths my folks went to during my own bookings for holidays with friends, it certainly takes the zing out of holiday searching when you have to go through every place you want to visit with a fine tooth comb! You have to study small print about accessibility in every hotel and for every tourist attraction nearby.

 

Most people who are able bodied, stick a pin in a map and go, they can get a guide to what is on in the area and not wonder if they will be able to get to it, get in it or get with it! Able people can take up late deals because they do not need specific hotel rooms which cater for special needs. If a physically disabled person goes away one can not take up late deals because a venue /location needs to be check out that it will be something that is going to be doable and fun.

 

It was a military operation back then with friends but now with a family comprising of one healthy toddler and two physically disabled parents the mission just reached epic NASA levels people!

We settled on Windsor!

5,4,3,2,1! Yesssss we have found somewhere that sounds promising, it only took me a good five months to find something but by jove I think I have it, it really feels like a Eureka moment at times!

 

We plan to go and visit the Queens Cribb at Windsor Castle, ride a Lego train at Legoland Windsor, jolly around Hampton Court which famously was home to our Tudor King, King Henry the eighth.

Windsor Castle, the Queens favourite home.

For Windsor castle accessibility information please go to this site:

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle/plan-your-visit/access


We will stay in a hotel in Windsor, with accessibility ,I am told by the hotel proprietors, there is also a restaurant and a swimming pool. My son has not been swimming yet because public swimming pools are not accessible unless some embarrassing display is made of hanging around at pool side, waiting for an adolescent member of staff who aspires to being David Hasslehoff, who sticks you in a giant nappy sling, then doesn't know how to work it ,leaving you and a child suspended in air in this nappy chair, stared at by public then finally lowered in a pool by his mate, it is safe to say the UK is not great at inclusivity yet! God help you if you want to get out the pool quickly with a toddler turning red and filling its swim nappy! So with my husband around at the hotel, he can give me a shove off the side of the pool and lower my son in to me etc, far more dignified all round!

 

For Hampton Court accessibility go to this site:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/planyourvisit/disabledaccess

Hampton Court

I have read all the small print of all attractions, I have studied the disabled Parking locations in Windsor, I have found where the nearest Shopmobility scheme is in Windsor, all necessary sat nav postcodes for attractions, parking bays are on my phone,we have a cot booked for the room so there is less for husband to carry. My scooter is charged and raring to go etc.

 

Image from virtualvagabond.com

I have high hopes for Legoland as they have produced an entire accessibility booklet on their site for disabled access and it sounds well thought out and is raved about by other parents with disabled children etc on the Legoland Facebook page. Apparently King George had appalling asthma and so the steps to Hampton Court are very shallow and access relatively good, Henry was a large man so I guess wide doorways were dignified. I therefore hope I can at least see a fair portion of this, I appreciate I may not be able to see all of it by heck, to me seeing something different is a great day and I don't get down on what I can't do.

For Legoland information for guests with disabilities please click on this site:

http://www.legoland.co.uk/Plan/Guests-With-Disabilities/




 

One last word of advice to disabled visitors planning on coming to UK, if you access the following site:

http://www.accessibleguide.co.uk/home.php


Here you will find a free "Disabled visitor Rough Guide to Accessible Britain" book available to download. It is FREE! Very useful and cuts out some of the guess work on whether something may or may not be accessible.

 

 

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