Places to visit

A foggy day at Fountains Abbey!

Fountains Abbey in the fog!
~ Alison ~ 4 Comments
Fountains Abbey in the fog!
Fountains Abbey in the fog!

OK, so sunshine would have been great but it was so atmospheric with the abbey ruins looming out of the murk!

Park at the West Gate entrance and this is where you may need someone to help, go to the lodge at the gates and they will show you what to do: they open the gates so you can drive in and park and they bring the scooter to you. (Presumably you could also leave your car in the car park which has blue Badge spaces).

The paths are lovely and smooth and the setting is magnificent. We would have explored further if the weather had been better as the grounds are extensive. Following the main path, you eventually come to the lake at the Studley Royal end – I was looking forward to going along by the lake but at the lodge house here they said you can’t take the scooters along there as they aren’t insured.

Smooth paths at Fountains Abbey
Smooth paths at Fountains Abbey

You can go through the gates and visit the tea-rooms just outside them which also have outside seating. There are various accessible loos in the grounds but I’m not sure if any are big enough to take the scooter so that could be slightly problematic.

They are really fabulous scooters – substantial without being too huge and really easy to use (this is compared to the ones at Roundhay Park).

To book or enquire ring: 01765 608888.

I definitely fancy going back in warmer weather!

Rowntree Park, York

Rowntree Park lake
~ Alison ~ 4 Comments

Rowntree Park is always lovely but particularly so in Autumn and just fabulous right now! In Spring it has daffodils and ducklings; there is a ‘reading-café’ which is accessible, a children’s play area and tennis club and you can access the river walkways with their viewing points and the Millennium footbridge over the River Ouse. Parking is reached via Terry Avenue.

Rowntree Park lake
Rowntree Park lake

The paths are smooth so the whole place is eminently scootable as are the paths by the river. Look out for the flood levels on the dove cote (itself a memorial to Rowntree’s workers who died in WW1) – the one from 2000 is way above your head!

Rowntree Park
Rowntree Park

The drawback is that the park does flood so is sometimes closed while levels recede and the place dries out a bit. Also the large amount of geese (or rather their droppings) do mean you can’t just sit anywhere on the grass but there are plenty of benches.

For more information see the council’s page on the park: https://www.york.gov.uk/directory_record/376/rowntree_park and DisabledGo has their usual rather unuser-friendly entry on the café: http://www.disabledgo.com/access-guide/city-of-york-council/rowntree-park-reading-cafe-2

These places are also great to visit in Autumn! Fountains Abbey  Roundhay Park, Leeds

Magnificent autumn colours!

glorious colurs at Roundhay Parko
~ Alison ~ 2 Comments

The autumn colours seem to be particularly fabulous this year and our determination to get out and see them took us to Roundhay Park.

glorious colurs at Roundhay Parko
Glorious colurs at Roundhay Park

We had borrowed scooters here before but they have changed where you collect them – now it is from the shop at Tropical World. They take your details and show you how the scooter works. There is a slight snag though if you were visiting on your own – how would you get into Tropical World to collect your scooter? At Temple Newsham, for example, they bring the scooter to your car. I suppose not everywhere can do that but it’s something to bear in mind – you need to be able to get to the collection point or have someone with you who can collect the scooter for you.

Huge scooters at Roundhay Park!
Huge scooters at Roundhay Park!

Anyway, once on the scooter (and they are very high – more so than last time, it was a struggle to get on!) we visited the Alhambra Gardens over the road then headed for the park proper and the colours were absolutely magnificent! So glad we went!

The scooters cope with uneven terrain really well but go rather fast when you’re heading downhill and I found it a little awkward keeping the lever in the ‘on’ position but we were out for a good hour and a half, so it can’t have been that bad! According to the council website you need a Radar key for the toilets and beware when looking up the number to ring for booking – the one on the park’s own website is wrong, it’s the one on the council website that is right: 0113 2370754. There is a café at Tropical World and at The Mansion and another by the Waterloo Lake. The booking process was easy once I had the right number, staff were pleasant, the park is wonderful and I thoroughly recommend a visit!

Waterloo Lake, Roundhay Park
Waterloo Lake, Roundhay Park

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/Pages/Roundhay-Park.aspx

Other great places for Autumn colours are Fountains Abbey and Rowntree Park, York.

Wheel-users’ heaven!

Achensee
~ Alison ~ Leave a comment

We’ve just come back from a holiday in Austria and I have discovered that Lake Achensee is wheel-users’ heaven! There is a mainly smooth pathway around most of the lake which was being used by cyclists, rollerbladers, people using segways, people with buggies and wheelchairs and me with my scooter! We didn’t see other scooter-users while we were away, which perhaps explains the interested (even admiring!) looks my scooter got. A business opportunity there for someone! The views around the lake are spectacularly beautiful and there are plenty of cafés with accessible terraces – more information on the area to follow!

Achensee
Achensee

Temple Newsam, Leeds

Park and gardens Temple Newsam
~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

There is loads to visit here including the house, the rare breeds farm and the grounds with their lake, hothouses and in spring, spectacular rhododendrons. The grounds are free although there is a charge for the house and farm.  The house was built in the C16th and was the birthplace of Lord Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots’ husband. The farm nearly always seems to have cute baby animals and the buildings and displays are interesting too. The grounds are really extensive and a lot of it can be explored in the all-terrain scooters you can borrow – they are the most solid scooters I have used. The first time we went the ground was really soggy but it was no trouble (there are perfectly good tarmac paths but they were blocked in places as they were setting up for an event). The only thing to watch is that they are the sort of scooters that go faster downhill and also there are a few places, around the farm for example, where the cobbles are a bit rough.  You park in the carpark nearest the house and the scooters are usually ready for you by the hut, but they will bring them over to the car and show you how to use them. This was the first place I ever used a scooter and was so glad a friend persuaded me as there is no way I could have visited the grounds otherwise and I hadn’t seen them for years! There is really good information at this link about all the access issues. The number to ring to book is 0113 336 7560 – ring Mon-Thur, it doesn’t seem to be staffed on Fridays.

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Temple-Newsam.aspx

Thorp Perrow Arboretum

~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

This is a gorgeous place to visit at any time of year, full of mature trees, beautiful shrubs and loads of daffodils and bluebells in Spring. There are national collections of various plants, a birds of prey centre,  a lake,  a tearoom, accessible loos and ample parking. You can hire mobility scooters sturdy enough to cope with the terrain which can be a bit boggy at times. They charge £1 and you must prebook by ringing 01677 427203. We found staff to be really pleasant and helpful. There was no problem about taking the scooter out to the car.

http://www.thorpperrow.com/index.html

Thorp Perrow Arboretum
Thorp Perrow Arboretum

Golden Acre Park, Leeds

~ Alison ~ 1 Comment

Visited this gorgeous place recently and enjoyed the lush plants and the wonderful wildfowl on the lake. There is also a café and plenty of parking. The main carpark is joined to the park by a tunnel under the road but if you are borrowing a mobility scooter you can park in the bays in the park itself by the café. The scooters are free of charge and very sturdy although not the most convenient to operate but the paths are easy enough to negotiate. Ring 0113 2613064 to book a scooter.  Great visit!  http://www.leeds.gov.uk/leisure/Pages/Golden-Acre-Park.aspx