The Bure Valley Railway runs almost al year round from Aylsham to Wroxham in Norfolk and has to be a great way to see the area. When I first found this through the VisitNorfolk website I was slightly cynical in thinking that there wouldn’t be any facilities for disabled people. However, after a few clicks and a little bit of exploring I found the Disabled Access information page and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only are both of the stations accessible but also the Bure Valley Railway has 6 adapted carriages that can take up to 4 manual wheelchairs each!

More from the OpenBritain Bure Valley Railway Article.

The Argentium Project: Exploring New Avenues for Silver Design at the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG) from the 22nd September 2009 – 21st February 2010 is described as:

“A fascinating display in the metalwork gallery at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which brings together new research and creative work by Kristina Niedderer. She explores the revolutionary new silver alloy, Argentium^© through hand work and modern machine techniques. Kristina has created a range of objects combining the use of Argentium^© Sterling Silver and laser welding which test and extend traditional craft practice.”

More from the OpenBritain Argentium Project Article.

Bradford Music Week runs from the 21st – 27th September 2009 and the event will include a diverse range of music. There is also the World Mile Festival which is running as part of Bradford Music Week. This event will run over the weekend of 26th – 27th September in venues along the route of Ivegate to White Abbey Road.

More from the OpenBritain Bradford Music Week Article.

The Swansea Festival of Music and Arts runs from the 28th Spetember – 17th October at various venues across the city. “The success of last year’s 60th birthday Festival has enabled us, in difficult economic circumstances, to build a programme of quality and diversity: concerts, opera, oratorio, chamber music, jazz and gospel, together with classical and contemporary dance, musical comedy, visual arts and lectures. We hope that people of all ages and backgrounds will share the colour and imagination which the arts bring to our lives.”

More from the OpenBritain Swansea Festival of Music and Arts Article.

Trebah Garden is 26 acres of sub-tropical paradise, located in Cornwall where you can explore under canopies bursting with exotic blooms and follow vibrant tunnels of all year round colour that cascade down to a private beach on the Helford River.

“Information for visitors with disabilities

Parking We have four disabled parking spaces for badge holders near our visitor centre.

Admission Prices For registered disabled: £3.00 per person and for carers: £3.00 per person.

Motorised buggies/wheelchairs Trebah is a ravine garden and has steep sections and steps on some paths making wheelchair use difficult. However, three motorised buggies and one carer controlled buggy are available for use in the garden.

More from the OpenBritain Trebah Garden Article.

Doors Open Days is coordinated by the Scottish Civic Trust and is part of European Herritage Days along side the Scottish Archaeology Month which is organised by Archaeology Scotland. Doors Open days is the largest free annual architechtural annual event in Scotland and runs throughout September.

On the Doors Open Days website you can search for free access to hundreds of fascinating buildings throughout Scotland. Every weekend throughout the month many buildings that are normally closed to the public open up for a glimpse into their private interiors.

More from the OpenBritain Doors Open Days Article.

The Affordable Art Fair (AAF) is the place to discover and buy paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and original prints – all priced between £50 and £3,000.

With 120 carefully selected galleries from across the UK and Europe exhibiting there is contemporary art on show to suit every taste and budget.

The forthcoming Autumn Collection (22 – 25 October) in Battersea Park, London, marks AAF’s 10th anniversary.

I contacted the Affordable Art Fair to find out about facilities for people with disabilities and they responded very quickly with the following information:

“The Affordable Art Fair is located in a fully wheelchair accessible marquee, with the fair itself designed with wide aisles to make moving around the event easy for wheelchair users. We also have several wheelchairs which can be booked, for free on site, to use within the fair for those less able to walk.

We have a disabled toilet in the entrance marquee and special parking spaces at the entrance for cars displaying disabled stickers.

All of our signage is clearly laid out, using large point size to assist those with visual impairments.

A number of art fair assistants are employed and they are always on hand to give assistance to any visitors who may need it.

More from the OpenBritain Affordable Art Fair Article.

This is continuation of yesterday’s article “The Best Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals“. The festival recommendations came from the an article in the Observer and here at OpenBritain we’ve undertaken research to try to make them inclusive for all.

As I continued to research based on the Observer’s Article I found myself becoming more and more frustrated due to the lack of information for people with disabilities. The norm is that event organisers only provide information for wheelchair users and those with mobility impairments, the needs of people with other disabilities such as sensory impairments or hidden disabilities are generally ignored or maybe it’s because they are too complicated to be addressed.

Of the seventeen festivals listed in the Observer’s article only 4 of them actually give any information for people with disabilities and in most cases I had to dig around to find that. Some of the events take place at multiple venues, most notably city wide festivals such as the ones in Nottingham, York and Manchester, therefore maybe the reason or excuse for not providing information is that the organisers do not have the resources to collect the data required. However, when considering that many of these events are sponsored by or in collaboration with local councils and tourist information boards surely they have a duty to be inclusive and provide information for everyone.

Although the events from the Observer article don’t have any information for people with disabilities, a friend sent me a link to the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival (19th & 20th September) who have provided quite a lot of access information for people with disabilities. I also wrote an article on Monday regarding the Coastal Currents Arts Festival in Hastings so it would seem that at least in East Sussex event organisers are becoming more inclusive.

More from the OpenBritain Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals Article.

Whilst flitting through the net looking things to write about for the OpenBritain Blog I came across this article titled “The Best Autumn Food Festivals” by Nichola Iseard in the Observer’s Escape Magazine. Here at OpenBritain we love a good festival whether it be art, music, beer or food but we also need to know what facilities the festivals have for people with disabilites.

For this reason I’ve taken Nichola’s suggestions and dug a little deeper to try to find the information to The Best Inclusive Autumn Food Festivals:

Ludlow Food Festival
11-13 September

Information for people with disabilities:

ACCESSIBILITY

All events in Ludlow Castle and most other venues are suitable for wheelchair access. The entrance to the Castle itself has a rough cobbled surface and a wheelchair user may require assistance – readily available on the spot – for this short section. Some shops have entrance steps but again assistance is readily available. Detailed information can be found at the Festival Information Stall near the Castle entrance, or by phoning 01584 873957

Disabled toilets can be found at the car park off Castle Square, and in the Castle during the Food and Drink Fair. Disabled car park spaces (for disabled badge holders) can be found in the car park off Castle Square.One of the Park & Ride buses has a low floor access. Further information on this will be available from the stewards at the car park.

If you have special needs and require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office on 01584 873957, or email info@foodfestival.co.uk , and we will be happy to do what we can to help.

For more information about access in Ludlow generally, please contact Malcolm Marsh at South Shropshire District Council, tel 01584 813367.

More from the OpenBritain Autumn Food Festival Article.

The Coastal Currents Arts Festival was launched over a week ago on the 29th August in Hastings, Rye and Bexhill-on-Sea, but don’t panic the event continues until the 30th September so there’s still plenty of time to get there.

“Coastal Currents 2009 promises to be an exciting and accessible event for both residents and visitors to the area with a wide range of free events including film, performances, music, talks, guided walks and workshops. There are also events designed for specialists – a programme of talks and presentations by artists and curators from the South East and London while a screening of artists’ short films will feature work from emerging and well established artists.”

More from the OpenBritain Coastal Currents Article.