Breezy Knees
Gardens has a September Garden which is a sight to behold. I really
recommend these gardens for everybody but they are especially good if you are
on wheels.
Even the approach to Breezy Knees Gardens is colourful!
We
visited Breezy Knees before, in August 3 years ago so it was interesting to
see how it has developed. As you might imagine, this time the September Garden
was at its peak and looking really fabulous and colourful.
September Garden, Breezy Knees
In other parts of the gardens, there were still plenty of
roses and myriad other plants: I suspect there will be something of interest at
any time of year.
There are a few gates to negotiate
This time, instead of using my scooter, I used my Powerchair
which did mean that we had to avoid some of the paths as they would have been
too rough. Dilemma! I am less keen on using the scooter these days, preferring
the chair but the scooter makes accessing the loo rather difficult. Using the chair
mean some of the paths would be very bumpy but you can more easily access the
loo if you need it!
Rather narrow loo doorway!Accessible loo, Breezy KneesThe car park, Breezy Knees
The car park is still very rough with loose pebbles although
someone if else was driving they could pull up next to where the tarmac path
starts to drop you off then move the car.
You could use this as a drop-off point if the gravel car park is a problem
There was less of a bump entering the reception/shop than I
remembered. Exiting it there is rather a bump which, because of the way the
threshold is designed would have been worse coming back through but the staff
member serving us said she would be happy to open the gate for us when we left.
Plenty of autumn colour at Breezy Knees
This is where the difference between a manual wheelchair and
a Powerchair is crucial: a manual wheelchair can be tipped to get over the
threshold, whereas a Powerchair can’t and many places which say they are
wheelchair accessible are not actually accessible with a Powerchair.
What can I say?
Staff attitudes are hugely important. This place is clearly
trying to make itself accessible (there are also plenty of benches for anyone
on foot who needs a rest) and the staff are welcoming, friendly and helpful. Their
website says that any new areas will have tarmac paths. I’m quite happy with
gravel as long as it’s the really fine type called self-binding gravel and even
grass is fine as long as it’s firm, although of course this depends on the
weather.
Gravel path, Breezy Knees
This visit was a lovely experience all round: seeing so many
beautiful flowers and shrubs was very restorative in these chaotic times!
Burnby Hall Gardens, Pocklington are renowned for their fabulous collection of waterlilies but there is a lot more to the gardens and they are brilliantly accessible – I just can’t quite decide which type of path I like best.
The Upper Lake, Burnby Hall Gardens
They have been doing some restoration and improvements so there
aren’t so many waterlilies as normal just now (they hold the national collection)
but plenty were out and looking lovely and there is much more to see. It’s
years since we have visited and they have created new paths since then and new
areas to explore, such as the Victorian Garden, Aviary Garden and a shady walk
with hydrangeas each side as well as the revamped rockery.
The Rock Garden, Burnby Hall Gardens
In the reception area/shop they gave us a map which is also on their website although the hydrangea path must be very new as it’s not marked. It was made of what I believe is called self-binding gravel: very fine gravel, claylike in texture and great for wheels. Other paths were resin, such as the ones in the Rock Garden which is lovely and smooth or tarmac with just a couple of loose gravel or bark chip ones which are easy to avoid if your wheels can’t cope with it. I also gave the path to the stumpery a miss as it was too bumpy.
Accessible viewing platform at Burnby Hall Gardens
It was easy to get right to the water’s edge too as there were viewing platforms especially for wheelchair users. Actually, I only remember one of them and you reached it by going over the grass but this was very smooth – more so than our lawn at home! I guess the gravel paths are the greenest option as they are permeable but might get muddy in wet weather.
Smooth paths at Burnby Hall Gardens
It was very busy when we were there but it was never a problem
and there was a lovely atmosphere – everyone was enjoying themselves! There is
a café selling cakes and light snacks with indoor and outdoor seating, accessible
loos (didn’t use them but got a photo and they look very civilised!) and
baby-changing. There were also plenty of benches as you go round.
The café, Burnby Hall GardensAccessible loo at Burnby Hall Gardens
The museum is accessible too. It houses artefacts gathered
by Major Percy Stewart, who lived at Burnby Hall, which is now council offices,
during his travels around the globe during the early 1900s. Stuffed animal
heads might not be to everyone’s taste but there are plenty of other
interesting objects and some interactive parts.
The Stewart Museum, Burnby Hall Gardens
The shop sells gifts and postcards and the staff were helpful and friendly. There is plenty of parking although not enough Blue Badge bays – there were a number of people using scooters and chairs and no wonder when it is so accessible – they hold an Age UK award for accessibility. Pete dropped me off then found a space elsewhere. There are details about parking on their website.
The Victorian Garden, Burnby Hall Gardens
We will definitely be going back – perhaps at different time of the year to see the garden in different moods. It’ll be interesting to see it develop as the lilies and rockery plants return to their former glory. I also like supporting somewhere so committed to making themselves genuinely accessible – they deserve our business.
The Van Gogh Immersive Experience was lovely, visiting that part of town
for the first time in years was not as great as expected.
The Van Gogh Immersive Experience has come to York having
previously been in Brussels and elsewhere – it’s at St Mary’s Church,
Castlegate, next to the Jorvik Viking Centre.
The main event is the 35 minute Immersive Experience where
you are, indeed, immersed in 360° projections of Van Gogh paintings accompanied
by music and some voice-over. They are not just static paintings though: windmill
sails rotate, trees and flowers blow in the breeze, rain falls, a train passes
through a sunny landscape and yes, you become enveloped in a starry, starry
night. They make imaginative use of the space, sometimes projecting different
pictures between the pillars, at other times one picture fills the room and you
are part of the landscape.
360° projections at the Immersive Experience (Visityork.org)
I think their
website said that it was wheelchair accessible but didn’t have
information about who could get a concession and whether an accompanying carer
could go free. I e-mailed them to enquire and they asked me to forward my
booking confirmation so they could make a note that I would be accompanied; this
all seemed a little complicated so I suggested they update their website
information to make all this clear and they have! Result! The staff on duty at
the venue were very helpful.
Entrance to the Immersive Experience
There is ample Blue Badge parking fairly nearby in the
Castle Carpark by Clifford’s Tower. The route between the two is a bit bumpy
but not too drastic – we came via the road as it’s a quiet one and the dropped
kerb at the top of the slope near the church is quite a good one. If your
wheelchair is too big to manoeuvre around to the entrance, you could go in the
exit. The seating was mainly deckchairs which was a jolly idea but many people
were struggling to get in and out of them, plus there were a couple of wooden
benches.
360° projections at the Immersive Experience
Unfortunately, the second part of the experience was in a
room up a small, steep little slope that my chair couldn’t cope with (I think
the stabiliser wheels back got caught in the angle as it was so steep). What we
missed was mainly some activities for kids, so that didn’t matter to us but
there was also some virtual reality headsets (at an extra cost) which I was
really looking forward to as I’ve never tried virtual reality so I was very
disappointed but I guess it can’t be helped: it’s an old building. It might be
that they could have tried a bit harder, though, it was a really steep slope
for anyone on wheels.
Reproduction of Van Gogh’s room at Arles
Afterwards, as the rain held off, we had a look round Coppergate
Walk as I have not been there for years. It was very busy and I don’t want to
do York down, but it was a bit scruffy, very commercial, with pop-up food
outlets and somewhat rubbish strewn. The sloping pavement meant that the
entrance to the Body Shop has a small step so wasn’t accessible. I wasn’t
worried about The Whisky Shop, the jewellers or the umpteen cafés but we were
able to pop into Boots and Fenwick’s which has changed mightily since I was
last there. The fabulous selection of greetings cards that they used to have on
the ground floor has now been moved to the lower ground floor and wasn’t quite
so fabulous anymore but there is a very spacious lift to get you there.
Van Gogh at the Immersive Experience (Visityork.org)
I have mixed feelings about being in town: it was good to
see some once-familiar places, but on the other hand a lot of the things you
can get in town, you can also get out of town where, as well as being more
accessible, is a lot less crowded. We used to be a bit snotty about out-of-town
shopping but now realise how incredibly convenient it is for anyone other than
the very mobile. On the whole, I can live without looking round shops anyway!
Do visit the Van Gogh if you can – it’s beautiful, it’s
different and it’s fun.
I recently read an online article in which someone with MS
said that they dreaded “ending up in a wheelchair.” It made me feel rather sad
and I left a comment to the effect that using a wheelchair can actually be
really liberating.
It’s not that I don’t empathise with that feeling: even
though I had been using a scooter for a few years, I was really upset at the
thought of having to get a wheelchair. I should have remembered how wonderful
it felt the first time I went round our local park when I got my Luggie scooter – after being a regular
visitor to the park, as my mobility got worse we had stopped visiting it, so
going there again after some years was really exciting.
Realising that I was going to have to start using a
wheelchair felt like yet another stage in the process of having no mobility at
all. At that point, I was using my scooter to get to my office from the car, to
get around at work and to visit places such as the park or the out-of-town
shops. You can’t conveniently use Luggie scooters to sit at a desk or table and
they are not comfortable to sit on for any great length of time, so I would
transfer onto my office chair or the ‘teacher’s’ chair in the classrooms at work,
but this was becoming increasingly tiring and quite tricky as the chairs were
used by other people and might have been left at a raised height – it’s really
difficult to lower an office chair if you aren’t sitting on it! I would
sometimes ask a student to lower it for me but even so, I’d be nervous that it
would shoot out from behind me and deposit me on the floor! Luggie do actually
do a Powerchair now, but as it is even heavier than the scooter, I’m not sure
how practical it would be.
We organised a home demonstration of an Eden
Mobility ‘Comet’ Powerchair and once it became clear that I would be
able to use it to sit at a desk, I realised that this was the way to go: no
more worrying about transferring onto an office chair or struggling to get
round the house leaning on the furniture and Pete’s arm. Fortunately, it’s
narrow enough that you can get through ordinary doorways that haven’t been
widened so we didn’t have to adapt the whole house, although we did get a slope
put in up to the front door by Passmore who also did some
of our bathroom alterations but many of our doors do have scrape marks on them
now!
The front door threshold would have been problematic, but
Pete cunningly built up layers of vinyl floor underneath the carpet to create a
gentle slope so I can move in and out of the house with barely a jolt.
We may have to make more adaptations in the future but for
now, I love that I can get round the whole house and now, thanks to Pete putting
in a slope instead of some steps in the garden, the whole of the garden, even
on the lawn when it’s dry.
I would prefer to be able to walk but given that I can’t, a Powerchair
is a whole lot better than struggling around or not being able to go places.
Decided to give Homestead Park a go with my power chair rather than my scooter. I had my email to the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust half written in my head, asking if they could make the crazy paving a bit smoother and found that they have done exactly that: the pathway near the pond that was a bit rough going is now tarmac like most of the rest of the paths – hooray!
Homestead Park, York
I still emailed them, though, to enquire if the surface of
the car park could be improved as it is really bumpy and they promptly replied
to say that they are looking to improve it, so good news all round for those of
us who like a smooth ride when possible.
Circle Garden, Homestead Park, YorkCelebrating 800 years of York as a city
It was a lovely, sunny day so the park was being very well
used: the children’s play area seems really popular and there were plenty of
people admiring the gorgeous flower beds.
Homestead Park, York
There always seem to be improvements on the go. During our
last visit, they were replacing the trees on the Cherry Walk and these were in
bloom and looking lovely. There was a guy in waders clearing the pond and
plenty of other staff generally tending the place, which is always immaculately
kept.
Always improvements going on at Homestead Park, York
Great to know that they are committed to improvements in
accessibility as well as in horticulture!
It was rather chilly for outdoor exploring during our stay
in Norfolk but the views from the car were magnificent! The North Norfolk coast
is completely different to that of North Yorkshire, west of Sheringham it
flattens out and there are no cliffs or rocky coves but lots of shingle
beaches, sand dunes, marshes, wetlands and that huge, huge sky.
Church Farm Barns, Bircham Newton, Norfolk
This was our second stay at Norfolk Disabled Friendly Cottages (now called Church Farm Barns), this time in The Little Workshop, a fully accessible cottage for four. Last time, we booked Stable Cottage but because of a problem with the heating, we were upgraded to The Big Workshop which had a lovely view so this time we booked the smaller next-door cottage in order to benefit from the same view which Stable Cottage doesn’t have.
Great view from The Little Workshop
All the cottages are accessible and of different sizes and
there is plenty of equipment such as hoists or a profiling bed which the owners
will hire out to you if required. The owners are really helpful and Lavinia
makes a point of coming to welcome you and check that everything is all right.
French windows
Despite the name, The Little Workshop is really spacious with plenty of room to move around. Not quite perfect, however, as it’s not possible to sit at the dining table in a wheelchair but, as in Normandy last summer, we raised the legs on top of books which makes the table rather high but at least you can sit at it. Another small gripe would be that all the pillows were really thick ones: I ended up using a thin cushion instead as I couldn’t possibly have slept with my head on such a high pillow! Also, the mattress could do with replacing when they update the cottage: it was a little bit like hammock-like! I’m not sure if it’s an age thing or a disability thing, probably a bit of both, but I find it increasingly difficult to cope with different domestic arrangements. Our house isn’t perfectly arranged, but at least I’m used to it and feel more confident there. Different furniture arrangements, positions of grab rails etc take a bit of getting used to. Sad, but true!
Easy access to The Little Workshop
There was also an issue with getting out onto the patio as
the threshold was rather high and there was a bit of a dip where a drainage
grid had been put in which had maybe sunk a bit. We had found something similar
with the Big Workshop, but with that cottage, you can exit through the front
door and come around the side but this isn’t the case with the Little Workshop.
We mentioned this to Lavinia and somebody brought a bit of board which we could
put down to form a bridge between the rather high threshold, over the drainage
grid and onto the patio itself. We tried it the next day and despite some
overnight rain which had warped the board a bit, it worked a treat!
Access to the patio sorted!
Another brilliant thing is that the cottages are really
cosy, so unlike many of the quaint, old cottages we’ve stayed in, although I
don’t see why they couldn’t be made to be as cosy as this as well!
We arrived on Friday and as I said, the weather was rather cold so on the Saturday we set out for a drive along the coast, heading first for Cromer then driving westwards past Sheringham then we came across the Cley Marshes Visitor Centre which looked like an accessible place so we decided to check it out. It strongly reminded us of The Sill, the National Landscape Discovery Centre that we visited this time last year in Cumbria as it was built in a similar style with plenty of wood and glass and a ‘living roof’ and designed to be sustainable and accessible.
Cley Marshes Visitor Centre
We managed to resist the cakes in the café, but they did look rather good! It’s run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and has a shop and café in the main building, accessed by a lift (one of those rather basic ones where you have to hold down the button as you go up or down) then there was a separate building with information about the work of the Trust and another building that was a hide with telescopes/binoculars that you could use although they were either too high or in front of the bench so accessing them from a wheelchair would have needed a bit of manoeuvring. There was also an exhibition in there by a local artist.
Cley Marshes Visitor Centre
We continued on to Blakeney where we stopped for a pot of
fresh seafood. I don’t think I’ve done that for years so it felt rather
nostalgic! We continued on past Wells, past Burnham Overy Staithe and
Brancaster then slightly past the turnoff back to the cottage in order to check
out Titchwell
Marsh Nature Reserve which we thought we might visit the next day.
The weather continued to be rather iffy but we fancied more
fresh air so the next day we did go to Titchwell. The staff were very helpful
and explained that most of the path was slightly better than the path between
the car park and the visitor centre which was indeed the case, not too bumpy and
some of the way round there were boardwalks but most of the way was a rather
rough path (failed to get a photo of the path, unfortunately). However, as it
was starting to rain we decided to call it a day which was just as well as it
started to chuck it down on our way home. Apparently, there are accessible
hides at Titchwell but we didn’t make it that far!
Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve
It is, of course, really frustrating not to be able to go
for a brisk walk and explore places like we used to but I can’t live my entire
life being irritated by that situation or it would be miserable, so I just have
to accept that we have to curtail what we do. Many of the visitors to Titchwell
were all geared up for bad weather but I think even if I was completely
able-bodied we wouldn’t have wanted to walk around in the rain anyway!
Nowadays, we usually choose accommodation with good views
and this cottage has them in spades: the windows are huge to take advantage of
them and it was fun spotting (and hearing!) the oystercatchers which live round
about. We also wanted to feel like we had had a relaxing time, especially as my
work is slightly stressful at the moment, so it was lovely to not check even ‘home’
emails but to read, do puzzles, listen to music, chat and just generally chill
out.
Lovely sunshine on our last morning!
The Monday when we left, the temperature was due to reach
about 20°!
As ever, different accessibility adaptations suit different
people, but if the facilities at Church Farm Barns suit you, then I thoroughly
recommend them as they are generally high-quality accommodation, even the ones
which haven’t been updated yet, and the staff are really welcoming. They have
improved their website as well which has information about accessible things to
do locally.
These are all the things I’ve thought of but I expect there are more.
Outside
Plenty of Blue Badge parking bays with hatching on both sides
Forget dropped kerbs, have smooth transitions between surfaces with as few bumps as possible
Automatically opening doors where appropriate
If possible, a covered drop-off area outside main doors
Reception area
Low reception desk or at least a lowered portion (and not tucked around the side where it can’t be seen)
Seating (normal height and with arms, such as tub chairs)
Clear signage
Accessible toilet
Rooms
Wide doorway (if there is a spy hole, there needs to be one at a lower level too)
Wide access to both sides of bed
Any chairs should be normal height and with arms, such as tub chairs
If there are alarm buttons or cords, they should be on both sides of the bed (it should not be assumed which side of the bed the disabled person will be on or it may be that the room is occupied by two disabled people)
Facilities such as kettles, hairdryers etc should all be within easy reach for a wheelchair user
Bathrooms should follow industry guidelines and rooms with both right-hand and left-hand transfer toilets available
Toilets should not be the highest possible, but seat raisers should be available to borrow if necessary
Roll-in shower area
Fold-down shower seats and grab rails in shower area
Lower-level mirrors
Consider having lowered or lowerable basins
Restaurants
Tables should be designed so that a wheelchair user can pull right up to them without having to transfer to a dining chair
Plenty of space between tables
Chairs with arms available if required
General
Staff should have disabled awareness training
Wherever possible, doorways should not have a lip to get over
Other accessibility issues
Menus should be available in large print
If there is piped music, consider having a quiet area in the restaurant or sitting area
Contrasting colours on walls and doors and edges of steps
Equipment such as chair or bed raisers, vibrating alarms etc should be available
This time last year we were booked into the Dress Circle at York Theatre Royal but the lift had broken down so they accommodated us in the stalls. Assuming that the same thing couldn’t happen to us again, we booked the Dress Circle this year and… it was great! The Theatre Royal had a revamp a couple of years ago and it is now much more accessible with automatically opening doors, much more space generally in the foyer and of course, the lift! It was one of those cunning ones with doors on different sides so you didn’t have to back out: brilliant! You get a good view with plenty of space and a good solid rail in front of you. There is an accessible loo on the ground floor and the Dress Circle level and a bar at each level too. All the staff are really welcoming and helpful.
The auditorium, Theatre Royal (dezeen.com)
This was our annual trip to see the pantomime and it was Berwick Kaler’s final pantomime after being the Dame at York Theatre Royal for 40 years. It was our 27th consecutive visit to see the usual mayhem. I won’t give away the plot (!) but safe to say there were plenty of laughs and audience participation, all the usual main players and a very professional supporting cast. I don’t know what the theatre will do in future years, as the panto is such a moneyspinner for them but it’ll be interesting to see how they go on.
The Dodo Street Band perform it in spades! Skilful and versatile, they gave us toe-tapping jolly tunes and daft banter to warm us up on the day we had been threatened with freezing rain and blizzards. Fortunately those didn’t materialise, just heavy rain.
NCEM entrance
The NCEM has been granted £144,200 some of which will be used to improve access and seating. I remember from when I used to use their seats that they are not the most comfortable so that’s welcome news and as the place is really accessible already, I can only imagine how fabulous it will be with even better access – less bumpy thresholds and more Blue Badge spaces, perhaps?
When we arrived, the only remaining Blue Badge space in the carpark was reserved – we didn’t realise you could reserve them but now we know! We parked in the street which wasn’t really a greater distance – just as well as it was chucking it down! It did mean setting up my chair in the road which was only busy because of the concertgoers and really not a problem. I will remember to book a space next time though as it means not having to go up and down the dropped kerb.
We used a space for wheelchair users on the front row so had a great view of the band and their amazing range of instruments: violin, accordion, double base, clarinet and bodhran mainly but also recorder, mandolin and plenty of others.
There was mulled wine and mince pies on offer as well as a couple of CDs by the band. We bought both the CDs – maybe we should have gone entirely digital by now but I like buying a CD!
I’m looking forward to future trips the NCEM to see how they develop it further.
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