Tag Archives: London

Attractions, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Attractions: Victoria and Albert Museum

At Quingo Scooters we love sharing places with you that would be perfect for a day out, especially places you’d never think to visit or you didn’t know existed! Its great finding brand new accessible places to visit on your mobility scooter.

This week we’re back on Exhibition Road, London, where we’ve previously shared with you the Natural History Museum. On the same road you’ll find The Victoria and Albert Museum – the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. As you’ve probably guessed the museum is named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, although previously it was named The South Kensington Museum before it was changed in 1899.

Founded in 1852 when it was opened by Queen Victoria, today the museum houses over 4.5 million objects from the world of art and design spanning the centuries. You’ll find everything from paintings to prints to jewellery to costumes, the range is simply stunning and you’ll even get to see The Great Bed of Ware – one of the museum’s greatest treasures.

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Here are just a few highlights of the Victoria and Albert museum:

Botticelli Reimagined

One of the highlight’s of the exhibition is Botticelli Reimagined, which runs until July 2016. This is the largest Botticelli exhibition in Britain since 1930, capturing around 50 original works by Botticelli from collections across the world. The exhibition also explores how other artists and designers have responded to the artistic legacy of Botticelli, seen as one of the greatest artists of all time, bringing together around 150 works from them.

The Ommegang

The Ommegang is one of six paintings that record a huge procession that took place in Brussels in 1615. Also named the ‘walk around’, The Ommegang of 1615 also paid tribute to Archduchess Isabella. Rulers of the Southern Netherlands, she and her husband Albert are the main subject of the painting. The paintings are thought to have been at Isabella’s palace in Tervuren by 1619, and only four of the original six survive. Two are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the other two being in the Prado in Madrid.

Fashion

One part of the collection not to be missed in the Victoria and Albert museum is the fashion. The largest collection of apparel in the world, the intriguing fashion collection spans five centuries. Here you’ll discover 17th century gowns, 18th century ‘mantua’ dresses, 1930’s eveningwear, 1960’s daywear and post-war couture.

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Accessibility

The Victoria and Albert museum is an all-round accessible venue. There is step free access from the Cromwell Road entrance, with plenty of ramps, lifts and accessible toilets throughout the museum. Close by, around 40 metres from the accessible entrance, there are 12 blue badge parking spaces. Staff are always on hand throughout your visit to offer help and assist where needed.  When you’ve finished exploring what the museum has to offer, you can stop off at the spacious café and shop.

The museum is free entry, however certain exhibitions are charged at around the £12 mark. 

Share your accessible attraction with Quingo!

If you’ve been to visit any interesting attractions on your Quingo or would like us to write about a particular place you have visited, we’d be delighted to hear from you. You can email your stories, recommendations and pictures by filling out the contact form on our website and we’ll feature them on our blog.

About Quingo Scooters

The Quingo Scooters range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Days Out, News, Public Transport, Quingo Scooters

Uber Offer uberASSIST – Improving Accessibility

Here at Quingo Scooters we’re passionate about finding new tools and discovering how they can make travelling with your mobility scooter that little bit easier.

Back in October last year, the increasingly popular taxi company Uber launched a new feature to their London services. uberASSIST is a ‘transport option to provide additional assistance for disabled riders and others with access needs, including those who may just feel more comfortable with an extra hand when getting from A to B at the tap of a button.’

Getting around the city can be a struggle for anyone, so it’s great to know that at the tap of an app you can relax knowing that your every need is being taken care of whilst travelling around the city.

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uberASSIST

Uber created the service as they weren’t impressed with the accessibility of London’s transport network. Only 24% of London’s underground stations have step free access, and new research suggests that those who are disabled use taxis and other private hire vehicle services more than those who are not disabled.

Uber have worked with Transport for All to develop uberASSIST, making sure that it offers the same convenience, reliability and safety features of standard Uber journeys – all at affordable prices.

Uber reassure that you will have complete ease of communication, driven by a driver that has completed a disability equality course delivered by Transport for All and Inclusion London. Uber’s vehicles can accommodate most folding mobility scooters, and are hoping to add fully accessible mobility scooter vehicles to their service this year.

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How to request uberASSIST

If you live in London, and would like to try the uberASSIST service next time you require a taxi, follow these steps:

  1. Download the Uber app and create your account
  2. Add the codeASSISTUK into PROMOTIONS
  3. Move the icon on the slider to ASSIST
  4. Set your location and request your ride

Affordable accessibility

Robin Hindle Fisher, Chair of the Extra Costs Commission, said of the service: “Life costs more if you are disabled. Research shows that this adds up to an average of £550 per month. I was pleased to chair the Extra Costs Commission which set out to identify ways to drive these costs down. We heard time and time again from disabled people that they are paying far too much for private hire vehicles and taxis.

“That’s why we are pleased that Uber have taken on this challenge by launching uberASSIST to better train their drivers, increase the accessibility of their vehicles, and drive down these extra costs disabled people face.”

Share your experience with Quingo!

If you’ve tried the uberASSIST service with your Quingo, we’d be delighted to hear about your experience. You can email your stories, recommendations and pictures by filling out the contact form on our website and we’ll feature them on our blog.

About Quingo Scooters

The Quingo Scooters range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any Service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up to date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up to date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

All Quingo Personal Mobility Vehicles are provided by Forever Active, the UK’s exclusive distributor. Forever Active is a trading name of Advantage Marketing Corporation Limited (AMC).  AMC Limited is an appointed representative of First Senior Insurance Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. First Senior Insurance Services FSA Register number is 308478.

Attractions

Taking your Quingo on the London Eye

Continuing our series of posts on interesting trips out on your mobility scooter, the Quingo team this time are showcasing one of London’s top tourist destinations, the London Eye.

The London Eye

The London Eye is the world’s largest observation wheel at a staggering 135m high. It was conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects and was launched in 2000, hence its nickname; the millennium wheel. It has already won over 85 awards for national and international tourism, outstanding architectural quality and engineering achievement.

Continue reading Taking your Quingo on the London Eye →

Attractions

Visiting the Science Museum on your Quingo

The Quingo team are always encouraging users to get out and about and visit interesting or unusual places on their Quingo mobility scooters and this time we are showcasing the Science Museum in London.

The Science Museum

The Science Museum, located in London’s South Kensington, is one of the largest museums in the UK. Founded in 1857 as part of the South Kensington Museum, and became a fully independent museum in 1909. Today the Science Museum is world renowned for its historic collections, awe-inspiring galleries and inspirational exhibitions.

Continue reading Visiting the Science Museum on your Quingo →

Attractions

Taking your Quingo to the Imperial War Museum London

The Quingo team like to encourage users to get out and about and visit interesting or unusual places on their Quingo mobility scooters, so this time we are showcasing the Imperial War Museum in London.

Imperial War Museum London

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London is a dedicated war museum covering conflicts, focused on those involving Britain and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present day.  The Museum tells the stories of people’s experiences of modern war and conflict and has a number of exhibitions which are updated regularly. You can find out what exhibitions are currently on offer on the IWM website. Currently there are exhibitions on Afghanistan 2014, Women’s role in the Second World War and how British transport was used during different conflicts. Continue reading Taking your Quingo to the Imperial War Museum London →