South West
IN AND AROUND BRISTOL WITH A WHEELCHAIR
The New Bridge at Bristol Waterfront
Bristol is a diverse city full of culture and heritage, it has a good shopping centre and interesting visitor attractions. Disabled parking in the city is good, there is all day parking in disabled parking bays, on dotted yellow lines and within street parking places. Disabled parking is free in the municipal car parks and the NCP parks at Temple Place and Berkeley Place. Two hours is the maximum time allowed on single or double yellow lines. The picture above shows the redevelopment of the old warehouse and wharf area, it is now a great place to visit with street cafes, pubs and restaurants. Access for wheelchairs is good and on a sunny day is a pleasant area to walk around.
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Across the bridge in Princes Wharf is the Bristol Industrial Museum, the exhibits are based on Bristol's industrial past. They include Bristol made transport and aircraft as well as the Port of Bristol's trading history. Admission is free and disabled access is good, please telephone 0117 925 1470 in advance of your visit (wheelchair numbers are limited because of fire regulations). There are disabled toilet facilities on site.
Explore-At-Bristol
Situated in Millennium Square down by the waterfront is the At-Bristol visitor attraction called
Explore-At-Bristol... which offers an amazing world of hands-on discovery.
With action-packed exhibits, live shows and a planetarium, Explore really is one of the UK's most exciting interactive science centres. Put your mind and body to the test, get into a spin on a human gyroscope, have a game of virtual volleyball and experience the wonky side of life in the leaning lounge. Explore involves people of all ages in an incredible journey through the workings of the world around us. Plus there is always something new to discover with Explore's programme of special exhibitions - from animation to flight, illusions and sport! The chrome-plated, futuristic sphere in Millennium Square is the Planetarium, where you can sit back and take a trip to the stars beneath an immersive domed screen in our new seasonal star show. . There is a family restaurant on site, the Firehouse Rotisserie and a disabled toilet. Disabled parking spaces are available in Millennium Square. 'At-Bristol' has recently won a top award for disabled access.
The Replica of John Cabot's ship The Matthew
In the great western dockyard is the Maritime Heritage Centre which houses an exhibition called Extreme Iron, this explains about Brunel's steam ship the SS Great Britain. The ship is in dry dock outside the centre, and there is now access to the ship and the dock. Some of the cabins have narrow doorways and there is a smaller wheelchair on site to borrow if your own cannot access them. Also outside is the replica of The Matthew that Cabot sailed in when he discovered Newfoundland. If you enjoy nautical history the centre is worth a visit and admission is free for disabled visitors. There is a disabled toilet and tearoom on site.
The Quire at Bristol Cathedral
Bristol cathedral only came into being in 1542 after the abbey of St.Augustine which stood on the site and was founded in 1140, was dissolved and then demolished. Ramps are available on request to access the quire. During World War Two the north nave windows were destroyed and they were replaced in 1951 with ones commemorating the civilian forces who worked so hard in the city in wartime. There is not disabled access to all parts of the cathedral at the moment but there are plans to make this possible. There is disabled access to the refectory from a courtyard at the rear of the cathedral.
African Exhibits at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
This museum is located at Temple Meads in part of Brunel's famous station. Access is via a lift at street level, once inside there is level access to all of the exhibits. It is a fascinating insight into the history of the empire and the emergence of the modern commonwealth. It has a tearoom on the ground floor and an excellent disabled toilet.
A view showing University Buildings and the Museum and Art Gallery
The museum and art gallery is situated in Queens Road there is access at the front of the building via a wheelchair lift. There is on-street parking in nearby Elmdale Road. The majority of the museum is accessible but you need to ask a member of staff to operate the lift between floors. There is a cafe serving light lunches as well as snacks and a disabled toilet. The staff were very informative and helpful.
Bristol Zoo Gardens
The Zoo is situated at Clifton near the downs and there is a reduced admission fee for both the wheelchair user and companion. There is excellent wheelchair access to most areas. The gardens are superb and the seal and penguin enclosure was particularly accessible and interesting. There is a restaurant on site and disabled toilet facilities as well as a shop. There are several disabled parking spaces at the front entrance. There is plenty to see and do so allow plenty of time for your visit.
There are two Travelodges, four Travel Inns and two Express by Holiday Inns. I stayed at the Express by Holiday Inn at Bristol North (because the one in the city centre did not have a ground floor disabled room). It had a wheel-in shower, sufficient wheelchair access in the room and continental breakfast was included in the price. There is a pub/restaurant adjacent to the hotel which was accessible and served good meals, although I could not use the outside tables as the seats were attached to the table.
Bristol has a lot to offer as a holiday destination and there are plenty of attractions within the city so once there you will not need to travel very far if you do not want to. There is an information sheet for disabled visitors issued by the Bristol tourism and conference bureau, available from the tourist information centre that you might find useful.