DisabledGo - Access in UK
The DisabledGo organization and website aim to empower people with disabilities
The DisabledGo info website has a very useful searchable database describing 14 accessibility points for a wide number of places in England and elsewhere in the UK.
DisabledGo info describes itself as an ambitious project. The website provides searchable information about the accessibility of a wide variety of places in Britain. The philosophy is to empower people with disabilities by producing and sharing information upon which reasonable decisions can be made. "Tell me if there's a flight of stairs and I'll decide whether to go", useful information like that.
The DisabledGo rating system is descriptive, with 14 symbols used to indicate accessibility. This is an example of a search page showing the symbols. Every search you do takes you by way of the symbols page. The symbols include wheelchair access, stairs, toilets (regular and wheelchair accessible), changing facilities (e.g. for clothing stores, not as in changing a baby's diaper), Braille and large print, hearing assistance, and whether the staff at the venue have had disability training.
This system was developed by the people who use it. It isn't just for tourists, in fact, travel is just one of the many categories of listings.
For example, you can search "Richmond Upon Thames" for "Retail & Shopping - Clothing & Accessories - Clothes Shops-Ladieswear" and find that there are two wheelchair accessible shops, both allow guide dogs, and one has a wheelchair accessible toilet. There are no shops in this category with adaptive change rooms, though.
There are many municipalities covered in this guide, and a search of its listings would be quite helpful in trip planning.
To find tourist attractions takes a little bit of imagination sometimes. York Minster is first and foremost a church, for example, so it was found under "York - Services & Travel - Public Buildings & Services - Places of Worship".
The DisabledGo guide is not primarily a tourist guide. It's a guide for locals. That's a good thing. A guide which serves local residents is bound to be under pressure to provide constantly useful, accurate information.
If you have used the guide, why not start a Discussion of this article to share what you know?
All on-line references were current at the time this article was originally published on Suite101.com.
