There are some great websites around with lots of details about accessible travel. Two of them are Scott Rains' Rolling Rains Report and Christian Baggs' Crip College.
Scott Rains has written many articles for Suite101.com as the Travel & Disability writer. His many articles are still available, and can be found either by searching "scott rains", or by following this link to the list of topics in the Outdoor & Adventure section.
Dr. Rains continues to write and to travel – a lot. His website, the Rolling Rains Report, has lots of first-hand information and many valuable links. To call it a rich resource for mobility would be an understatement. The subtitle of the website is "Precipitating Dialogue on Travel, Disability, and Universal Design".
Another website I like is Crip College, by Christian Bagg. Like Scott Rains, Christian Bagg became a wheelchair rider as a young man. Scott was 18, Christian 20. Christian Bagg and Scott Rains have both become activists in ways matching their natural talents. Both are advocates and leaders. Christian has a passion for making things – like: better wheelchairs. You can read about his ongoing pursuit of the perfect wheelchair on the website.
Crip College is a smaller website than Rolling Rains, but well worth a visit. There is a bulletin board where users can exchange first-hand information about their experiences.
Both websites have photos. On Christian's there are pictures and instructions on "Tricks of the Trade", for things like going up and down stairs. There's also a photo gallery of lots of people having fun.
The Rolling Rains photo gallery is hosted on Flickr in a pool with lots of members' photos. As it says in the description of the pool, "…your home town may not seem all that exotic to you but it is an unknown destination to someone else…". So true. When I was writing about getting to Windsor Castle from London the other day, I wished I had a friend in Slough who could snap a picture of the railway platforms for me.
I know there are more websites out there (I've enjoyed several and I keep exploring) with resources by locals and first-hand accounts from travellers. If you want to suggest any, please do email me. In the meantime, I will keep enjoying the excellent work that's already been done.
