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We’ve been asked by a few people, why we don’t go to theme parks. As a family, we used to enjoy going to theme parks, even though I am a self-confessed wimp!
The last time we went to a theme park was in 2015, and we went to Alton Towers in Staffordshire. We had a bad experience there and as a result we have never returned to Alton Towers since then, or been to any other theme park.
We talk about the experience in the video below.
We are a family of three. George has ASD, EDS and dyspraxia. John is totally blind and partially deaf. Sue is our driver and trip organiser. These are the tales of our adventures. All opinions are our own.
Friday, 30 November 2018
Friday, 23 November 2018
World of Wedgwood
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We visited the World of Wedgwood in Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent. It’s an interesting place to visit as it displays various items made by Wedgwood over the years. There’s artefacts on display from the mid 1700s, when Josiah Wedgwood opened his first factory, through to the present day.
Obviously, the items that are 100s of years old cannot be touched, so John was relying on description for those. However, on Josiah Wedgwood’s desk there was a photocopy of one of his writing books, so you could look through that, almost as though you were turning the pages of the actual book that Wedgwood wrote in. There are also different drawers you can look through to see Wedgwood’s different experiments with colour.
Looking at more recent items, it’s interesting to see how styles and fashions have changed over the years. With ware made for the 1960s market being very different than that made for the 1980s market!
At the end of the tour there is a dragon, very cleverly constructed from plates, bowls, cups and saucers, with forks for claws and eyelashes.
Accessibility is good and there is a loop system for hearing impaired people.
Video is below.
We visited the World of Wedgwood in Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent. It’s an interesting place to visit as it displays various items made by Wedgwood over the years. There’s artefacts on display from the mid 1700s, when Josiah Wedgwood opened his first factory, through to the present day.
Obviously, the items that are 100s of years old cannot be touched, so John was relying on description for those. However, on Josiah Wedgwood’s desk there was a photocopy of one of his writing books, so you could look through that, almost as though you were turning the pages of the actual book that Wedgwood wrote in. There are also different drawers you can look through to see Wedgwood’s different experiments with colour.
Looking at more recent items, it’s interesting to see how styles and fashions have changed over the years. With ware made for the 1960s market being very different than that made for the 1980s market!
At the end of the tour there is a dragon, very cleverly constructed from plates, bowls, cups and saucers, with forks for claws and eyelashes.
Accessibility is good and there is a loop system for hearing impaired people.
Video is below.
Friday, 16 November 2018
Gladstone Pottery Museum
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On this trip we went to Gladstone Pottery Museum. This is a preserved Victorian pot bank (pottery factory) in Stoke-on-Trent.
As the museum is Victorian, this means that there are cobblestones, so it is a bit bumpy if you’re a wheelchair user. Parts of the museum are also Grade II listed, so may be inaccessible in some parts because of this. Having said that, a large part of the museum is accessible and it’s worth a visit.
The staff there are extremely helpful and knowledgeable, as most of them have spent many years working in the pottery industry. We found that staff were keen to impart both their knowledge of various jobs within the pottery industry and to give practical demonstrations.
This was a great trip for John as staff there gave him many opportunities for a hands-on experience, so he could fully participate in what was going on too. The staff were willing to let him touch things that had just been made too, so he could feel what had been made and feel the clay.
We were really impressed with how much we learned and how much we were all able to participate and experience this Victorian pot bank.
We’ve been advised that Christmas time is a good time to visit too, so we are planning a return visit then.
The video of our visit is below.
Friday, 9 November 2018
Thinktank, Birmingham
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On this visit we went to the Thinktank in Birmingham. This is a very interactive, hands on science museum, where there is plenty for everyone to do. John got the opportunity to practise his Braille skills but, alas, not his singing skills!
Some of the exhibits are memorable to us because they made us laugh - for example when we pressed the button for the final stage of the digestive system! You’ll have to watch the video to see what happened there 🙂
Unfortunately, when we visited the planetarium was closed, which was a shame because we’d have really liked to have seen that. However, apart from that, we all had a great time. Accessibility is excellent and we all had the opportunity to engage with the interactive exhibits.
If any members of your party need a quiet space to go to, while you are there, there is a quiet room available for them.
Parking is available at Millenium Point. This is in a multi-storey car park of the type that you take a ticket on entry and pay on your way out. If you have a disabled parking badge, you can show this to a car park attendant and they will activate your ticket for you, so you are not paying for parking. Carers go in for free, at the Thinktank, and there is a concessionary price for disabled people.
We think that it’s definitely worth a visit. Check out our video below.
On this visit we went to the Thinktank in Birmingham. This is a very interactive, hands on science museum, where there is plenty for everyone to do. John got the opportunity to practise his Braille skills but, alas, not his singing skills!
Some of the exhibits are memorable to us because they made us laugh - for example when we pressed the button for the final stage of the digestive system! You’ll have to watch the video to see what happened there 🙂
Unfortunately, when we visited the planetarium was closed, which was a shame because we’d have really liked to have seen that. However, apart from that, we all had a great time. Accessibility is excellent and we all had the opportunity to engage with the interactive exhibits.
If any members of your party need a quiet space to go to, while you are there, there is a quiet room available for them.
Parking is available at Millenium Point. This is in a multi-storey car park of the type that you take a ticket on entry and pay on your way out. If you have a disabled parking badge, you can show this to a car park attendant and they will activate your ticket for you, so you are not paying for parking. Carers go in for free, at the Thinktank, and there is a concessionary price for disabled people.
We think that it’s definitely worth a visit. Check out our video below.
Friday, 2 November 2018
Trentham Monkey Forest
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We visited Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire. Its opening times are seasonal, so check before you visit that it is open. The Monkey Forest is part of the Trentham Estate and is an area where the monkeys are allowed to roam freely, so you could have a monkey stroll across the path in front of you at any moment!
Dogs are not allowed at the Monkey Forest and this does include assistance dogs. Also, some of the paths in the Monkey Forest are quite steep, so maybe inaccessible for some wheelchairs. I remember visiting when George had a manual wheelchair and I honestly thought that I was going to need oxygen by the time I’d pushed him and his chair up one of the steep paths! An alternative route is signposted, however this involves going along a path where people are exiting the part of the forest that is accessed by the steepest path. This means that you do have to watch out for people walking towards you, if you go along the alternative route.
It’s a nice place to visit for a few hours and it’s great seeing the monkeys roam freely in the forest.
To make a whole day of visiting, the Trentham Estate also has gardens you can visit (for an additional charge) and a shopping village, that has some interesting shops, and not the standard soulless chain stores.
Our video of our day at the Monkey Forest is below.
We visited Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire. Its opening times are seasonal, so check before you visit that it is open. The Monkey Forest is part of the Trentham Estate and is an area where the monkeys are allowed to roam freely, so you could have a monkey stroll across the path in front of you at any moment!
Dogs are not allowed at the Monkey Forest and this does include assistance dogs. Also, some of the paths in the Monkey Forest are quite steep, so maybe inaccessible for some wheelchairs. I remember visiting when George had a manual wheelchair and I honestly thought that I was going to need oxygen by the time I’d pushed him and his chair up one of the steep paths! An alternative route is signposted, however this involves going along a path where people are exiting the part of the forest that is accessed by the steepest path. This means that you do have to watch out for people walking towards you, if you go along the alternative route.
It’s a nice place to visit for a few hours and it’s great seeing the monkeys roam freely in the forest.
To make a whole day of visiting, the Trentham Estate also has gardens you can visit (for an additional charge) and a shopping village, that has some interesting shops, and not the standard soulless chain stores.
Our video of our day at the Monkey Forest is below.
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