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| The
Gateway to Services in the UK |
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The Central Bureau forms part of the British Council and provides advice on all forms of educational visits and exchanges. It also publishes a range of guidebooks on volunteer work, working holidays, home stays and exchanges for people of all abilities.
Disability Scotland produces a directory covering holidays in the United Kingdom and abroad. Tel: 0131 229 8632
English Heritage produces a Guide for Visitors with Disabilities with details of access and facilities at properties. Available free of charge in standard, large print, Braille, and cassette versions from: English Heritage, Tel: 0207 973 3000
MENCAP’s holiday service provides advice and information on aspects of holidays, organises holidays for children and adults at home and abroad, and publishes the MENCAP Holiday Accommodation Guide . Tel: 0161 888 1200
The National Trust publishes a free booklet - Information for Visitors with Disabilities - containing details of their properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with access and other facilities for disabled visitors. It includes a list of sites where blind or disabled people can enjoy historic objects through touch. Free with self-addressed label and 2nd class stamp from The National Trust, 36, Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AS or phone: 0207 447 6743 (large print version available; sections can be Braillied on request). Necessary carers with disabled people are admitted free to NT properties.
Passport Agency has produced a guide - Applying for a Passport: A Guide for Customers with Disabilities - which explains the facilities for customers who are deaf and hard of hearing, blind and partially sighted, and those who use wheelchairs. From regional passport offices (see Addresses) or phone: 0207 271 8305
The Youth Hostel Association welcomes people with disabilities and has a number of hostels accessible to wheelchair users. Tel: 01727 845 047
RADAR produces factpacks on aspects of holidays from insurance through to hiring portable equipment; guides covering holidays and travel abroad and holidays in the British Isles
Voluntary organisations provide specialist information for holidaymakers with particular disabilities. It is well worth getting in touch with the relevant one when you make your plans. They Include: Action for Blind People/ Arthritis Care/ British Diatetic Association/ British Kidney Patient Association/ British Polio Fellowship/ British Red Cross/ Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust/ Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (Adventure Group)/ John Grooms Association/ MENCAP/ The Multiple Sclerosis Society/ RNIB/ RAD (Royal Association in Aid of Deaf People)/ Sense/ Spinal Injuries Association/ The Winged Fellowship.
Access to Paris, RADAR,
European Holidays and Travel 1998 - A guide for disabled people, RADAR
Accessible Holidays in the British Isles - A guide for disabled people, RADAR
Nothing Ventured: Disabled People travel the World by Allison Walsh, Penguin Books - personal accounts and practical hints by over 100 disabled travellers. Bookshop or mail order. Tel: 0208 899 4036
Places that Care; Leisure guide to places of interest throughout Great Britain, RADAR
Visitors’ Charter, English Tourist Board
The World Wheelchair Traveller: a comprehensive guide for disabled people to get about at home and abroad, by Susan Abbott and May Ann Tyrrell, Spinal Injuries Association,
£3.95 plus £1 postage and packing
Help with holidays and respite
care
Social services departments may assist disabled people with the cost of a holiday and may provide transport and facilities. Your social worker may also apply on behalf of families with children to the Family Holiday Association for holiday funding.
Tel: 0207 436 3304
Ability UK In addition to a holiday centre for disabled people their families and carers in Stackpole, Pembrokeshire and a leisure centre in London providing therapy, the charity offers advice on access to sports, leisure and tourist facilities for disabled people both in the UK and abroad, through its sister charity Ability International
The Family Fund can also give grants for holidays for severely disabled children.
Handicapped Aid Trust contributes to the cost of helpers of severely disabled people over the age of 17 who would otherwise not be able to afford to go on holiday abroad.
Tel/ Fax; 01253 780 011
Useful Websites
| Access Travel Holidays for disabled persons | www.access-travel.co.uk |
| Accommodation and Airlines Listing | www.everybody.co.uk |
| Caravanning4u | http://www.caravanning4u.co.uk |
| Self Catering holidays in the UK | www.jpmarketing.co.uk/holidays |
| Wheelchair Travel | www.wheelchair-travel.co.uk |
| Winged Fellowship Trust | www.wft.org.uk |
| Mobility Abroad | http://www.mobilityabroad.co.uk |
Independent Living
Spain: A company on the Costa del Sol specialising
in the Hire and Sale of all mobility and disability products.
Website: http://www.independentlivingspain.com
Phone: 0034 952 493419 Email:
independentlivingspain@hotmail.com
Orange Badge - Holiday Help in Tenerife:
This company hires, sells and
services electric scooters and chairs, manual wheelchairs and various
disability aids.
http://www.orangebadge.com/
Tele / Fax 00
34 922 79 73 55 Email: info@orangebadge.com
Winged Fellowship
provides respite for
cares and holidays for people with severe physical disabilities, at five
fully adapted centres in the UK and abroad. Free brochure and help with
funding available. Tel: 0207 833 2594
Leisure
If you want to enjoy what’s in your local area, many local editions of the phone book have a section at the beginning called ‘Arts Access’. It lists Cinemas, Theatres, Natural History attractions, Exhibitions, Museums and Galleries, Sports and Leisure Venues and Assistance Organisations, keyed in according to: entrance accessibility, special WC, induction lop/ infra red, wheelchair accessibility and loan, lift and hoist (at pool), lift, accessible bar/ restaurant, help available, disabled parking, wheelchair spaces. For other places telephone in advance.
Special interests
It is worth contacting your local authority social services department or leisure department to see what activities they provide. Many council swimming pools and sports centres have facilities and instruction for disabled people. Your library may have a list of special groups locally
To develop or follow-up particular interests or sports, there is a wide variety of groups dedicated to disabled people, many with active local branches
They cover the spectrum from angling to yoga. The next page gives a list of national organisations who co-ordinate a broad range of activities
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