I had my first experience of getting a wheelchair round London yesterday. My sister was visiting and we fancied going to see a show and a few other things. She doesn’t get down to London much so we thought we’d try and get around as much as we could. Only problem is that she’s in a wheelchair and for any of you who have ever been to London you’ll start to figure out that the prospect of getting one around is pretty daunting. Anyway, turns out it wasn’t actually that bad.
The Getting Round London Guide is pretty much all you need. It covers buses, tubes, taxis and everything really so kudos to Transport for London for putting that together. But it does make slightly disappointing reading when you realise how inaccessible the tube is. I guess you’ve got to expect that since the whole system was built ages ago. The new Jubilee line looks like it’s pretty good. We did decide to walk everywhere though, just to keep me fit and so that Jess could see some bits of London.
So the list of good bits…
- The Apollo Victoria Theatre…for being brilliant about rearranging seats so that we could get in. The guys on the wheelchairs ramps were awesome, very matter of fact about the whole thing and not to sympathetic. The girl who took care of us was great too, I really wish I could remember her name. Not only that but Wicked was, well, wicked.
- Madame Tussauds…again for being brilliant in helping us get round the attraction with minimum fuss. We actually got in free because they realise it’s not the easiest place to get around but to be honest I wouldn’t have minded paying. The lifts are a little small but that’s the only complaint. Ley, the lass who helped us get between floors was excellent too.
- The staff in UNo. Very good over the phone when I was booking. Explained what access was like and apologised about the lack of disabled toilet facilities. On the day a little bit over attentive but I can’t really fault them too much for that. We did get free champagne from them since we looked like a “nice couple”. I didn’t have the heart to tell the waiter we were brother and sister. Great food too although I should have checked the bill since I ended up leaving a fairly hefty tip on top of the one they’d already put on the bill!
- The taxi driver who gave us a lift from Victoria station to St Pancras. Couldn’t fault the guy. TBH, the fact that all black cabs in London are wheelchair accessible is a god send.
- All the shops with no steps into them, especially EAT on Regent Street where we stopped for lunch. Something you never think about when you’re walking around but a lot of the coffee shops in London have a single step up and a door that opens outwards. Nightmare with a wheelchair.
And the bad bits…
- The Tube…it’s going to take a while for the tube to be a viable option for wheelchair users but they’re getting there.
- Pedestrians. I don’t know what it is but if something is below shoulder height it seems as though people’s peripheral perception goes out of the window. Lot’s of people backing into you or tripping over the foot rests. One guy really annoyed me when he flicked his fag ash away, right into Jess’ face. I think I was more annoyed than she was though.
- Building works or roadworks that encroach onto the pavement. Absolute bugger to get round. Actually, the state of the paths and walkways in central London leave a lot to be desired. Even the littlest of dips or steps can cause problems.
- Too much help. I know I shouldn’t complain because people are only being nice but a person in a wheelchair is just another person.
Overall it was a pretty awesome day but it needed a lot of planning. In my naivety I kind of figured everywhere would be set up for disabled access and it wouldn’t even be an issue. It’s a real shame but there’s a real sense of segregation when you have a wheelchair. Everything is a little bit more trouble, not much, but enough. While I congratulate what people have been doing over the recent years there’s still a way to go before wheelchairs users can be completely integrated into the environment.
