The English countryside conjures images of fresh green hills, quaint cobbled streets, historical castles and thatched buildings. While these things do not sound all too accessible to those with limited mobility, heritage sites in the UK have undergone many changes, meaning that most sites in the UK are accessible to a much wider range of peoples. Over the years, British Tours has kept up to date with accessibility on sites, and we can help our clients in letting them know about Countryside tours for people with reduced mobility
A popular tour for our clients is our Windsor Castle, Eton and Hampton Court Palace tour. Access to the State Apartments and Semi-State Rooms at Windsor can be had through use of the lifts or the ramps. There are a few steps to enter St George’s Chapel, or for wheelchair users, a ramp can be accessed upon request. Inside the chapel, all the steps have accompanying ramps. There are a few rooms that are not accessible for wheelchairs, like the Dolls’ House room in the Castle, but generally the site has good accessibility. The duration of the tour spent in Eton is a panoramic tour of the village so you will be able to see this from the comfort of your car, while your private driver-guide talks you through the history of the college and village. Hampton Court Palace is nearly fully accessible, with only the renaissance gallery inaccessible for wheelchair users. The rest of the Palace and the Gardens are fully accessible. These improvements at each site mean that you will be able to see the highlights of each site with your private tour guide, including the grave of Henry VIII of England at Windsor, and the famous maze at Hampton Court Palace, without feeling that you are missing out.
Our Stonehenge, Salisbury and Winchester tour is another great option for our clients, not only as it introduces parties to two of England’s beautiful cathedrals, but visits Stonehenge, the iconic landmark known throughout the world for its mystery and varied theories for its construction. Since 2012 the site has benefited from a refurbished visitor centre, which has made the site fully accessible for those with mobility problems. The journey between the visitor centre and the site is through step free and wheelchair friendly shuttle buses, and the path around the stones is through a tarmac path, which means that there are no bumps in the earth, or muddy fields for wheelchair users. Similarly Salisbury good access, and with the exception of the above ground areas of the Cathedral, such as some of the smaller chapels, the rest of the Cathedral is wheelchair friendly. Winchester is very much the same in terms of its access. Apart from its tower and crypt, the rest of the Cathedral is fully accessible, with ramps and lifts to enter the nave and upper ground floor. Winchester is also the final resting place of the famous English Novelist Jane Austen, who is buried in the nave!
In addition to the example tours on our website, we create custom tours for clients on a regular basis. If you have a particular site that you’d like to visit, please do get in touch so we help you plan your vacation time in the UK.