Tag Archives: UK

Attractions, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Days Out: Wat Tyler Country Park, Basildon

When the weather’s looking promising and you have a whole free day, you want to make the most of it and go somewhere really enjoyable. That’s why Quingo Scooters have put together some accessible days out for an accessible mobility scooter friendly trip. This week we’re heading to Basildon, Essex, to share with you a day out that will suit all members of your group no matter what age.

Wat Tyler Country Park is set in 125 acres of striking parkland in the heart of the South of Essex. Located just outside the small town of Pitsea, it’s just 2 miles East of Basildon and 10 miles from the M25. The parkland is not just stunning, but it’s also got a lot of history behind it too from the earliest periods of time. The landscape has been created over many centuries through the mix of human community interaction with the natural environment. Used for grazing meadows, ancient hedgerows, blast mounds, tidal waterways, sea walls and field boundaries, you can certainly see evidence of these uses in the features of the landscape

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What is there to do?

  • RSPB Centre – Wat Tyler Country Park is home to the RSPB. They have a visitor centre on site which provides everything you could possibly want to know about the wildlife of Essex! The park contains a variety of habitats, with a great diversity of species. These include locally and nationally rare species, such as the green winged orchid, redshank, scarce emerald damselfly, shrill carder bee and the roesels bush cricket. Why not turn this in to a fun game to see which member of the group can spot the most!
  • The Green Centre – Opened in 2011, The Green Centre at Wat Tyler is great for the curious ones in your group! Here you’ll be able to find out more about the environmental challenges facing the modern world and learn how we can approach the little things we do every day with the environment in mind. The Green Centre is also an exemplar green building, and a showcase for exciting sustainable products and low carbon innovation.
  • Café and gift shop – Once you’ve finished exploring the park or relaxing in the sun, you can stop off at the café for some refreshments or see if anything takes your fancy at the gift shop (maybe the Himalayan salt lamp?). The café is open daily from 10am – 4.45pm and the gift shop is open daily too from 10am – 4.30pm.
  • Playground – There’s also a playground to keep any smaller members of your group entertained.

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Accessibility

Overall this is a great day out in terms of accessibility. On arrival you’ll find a good sized car park with 4 large disabled parking bays right outside the exhibition centre. The park in general is mainly flat, and the paths around the village green are paved. The wide walkways through the park are non-slip and have passing places. Most areas of the park are accessible, apart from some large areas of grass which wouldn’t be suitable for your mobility scooter.

Moving into the centres in the park, the exhibition centre has automatic doors, and also a restaurant upstairs with a good size lift up to it. There is also a café which has an accessible veranda for mobility scooters and wheelchairs. Accessible toilets are available throughout, and staff are always on hand to assist you with anything. The Green Centre and RSPB Centre are also fully accessible with ramps up to the entrance. 

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.

Accessories, Attractions, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Accessible Days Out: Parks

Quingo Scooters are always on the lookout for accessible places where you can really enjoy being on your mobility scooter. As the days start to get nicer and warmer, we love discovering places where you can enjoy the outdoors and take some time out.

Whether you want somewhere to sit and enjoy the sun whilst enjoying a refreshing ice cream, or you want somewhere where you can keep going and appreciate the scenery from all angles, we want to share some great parks for you and your mobility scooter.

York Museum Gardens

The York Museum Gardens are botanical gardens that surround the Yorkshire Museum. They stretch from the River Ouse up to the back of the York Art Gallery on one side, and from Marygate to Museum Street on the other. Famous for the fantastic collection of trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs, the gardens are the perfect place to go and relax on a warm sunny day. Here you can enjoy the peace and tranquillity that the gardens have to offer, and escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The gardens are a great spot for a picnic, and if you go on a Sunday there is a garden tour 1-2pm! The paths in the gardens are all fairly wide and aren’t too steep. The gardens are free to enjoy at your own leisure, and you only pay if you want to venture inside to the museum.

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Halden Forest Park, Exeter  

Just 15 minutes from Exeter, the 3,500 acres of woodland has a broad appeal to different age groups and is an all year round park. Halden Forest Park is perfect if you fancy a ramble around the picturesque woods.

The park has a variety of different trails. The Discovery Trail is 1.5 miles, designed with mobility scooters and wheelchairs in mind, and is fully surfaced. It has regular resting points where you can stop and enjoy the scenery for a bit, and then afterwards you can enjoy a drink in the accessible café.  There is ample parking and accessible toilets on site, and level access to most of the other facilities there.

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Clumber Park, Nottingham

If you’re looking for somewhere where part of the group can relax in the sun whilst the others explore the different activities on offer, then Clumber Park is perfect for you. Situated in the heart of the historical Sherwood Forest, its beautiful stretch of parkland, heath and woods cover more than 3,800 acres. Once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle, Clumber Park is home to some amazing wildlife, and on occasion you might be lucky enough to spot a delicate peacock.

If you don’t fancy chilling out with the ducks and other wildlife whilst you eat your picnic, you can always take a peek inside Clumber House and the iconic glasshouse in the Walled Kitchen Garden – The National Trust’s longest glasshouse.

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

The Quingo Scooter 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.

Attractions, Days Out, Holidays, Quingo Scooters

Where Are The Best Accessible Holidays in Ireland?

Now that the weather is showing signs of improving and we’re full steam ahead to summer, Quingo Scooters wanted to share with you some ideas for the perfect getaway! We’ve recently shared with you some of the best accessible holidays in Scotland and England, so naturally we’re moving across to Ireland this week.

Ireland has much to offer and many sights to appreciate. Whether you fancy a city break in the popular tourist destinations of Dublin or Belfast, or you want to escape to the hills and countryside of Irelands Ancient East – Ireland really does offer something for everyone.

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Countryside Cottages – Kerry

County Kerry is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for rugged coastline and picturesque mountains. Situated in the southwest of Ireland, Kerry offers the Killarney National Park which boasts forests, moorland and landmarks such as Torc Waterfall and Torc Mountain.

The Countryside Cottages are self-catering holiday homes, within close proximity to the heart of the town. The centre offers plenty to do for everyone – there’s many shops, restaurants and pubs. Also nearby you’ll find the Tralee Aquadome with waves, slides and rapids for the younger members of your group and a sauna, steam room and water massage for the adults. Back on site, there’s a play area for any toddlers in your group.

The wheelchair adapted cottages have widened doors and a ground floor bedroom. This includes twin beds, a roll in shower with support rails and a hoist for the bed if required. Country cottages are nationwide and you can find more information including how to book online.

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Academy Plaza Hotel – Dublin

If it’s more of a city break you’re fancying, and you love the vibrant city life, the capital is the place for you. Dublin offers picturesque historical buildings such as Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. However, it definitely doesn’t lack in modern offerings either. Temple Bar is the riverside nightlife and cultural quarter and Grafton Street is the city’s famous shopping area. Whatever you fancy doing, you’re sure in for a busy trip!

The accessible Academy Plaza Hotel will put you right in the middle of all the action, located just off O’Connell Street. Dublin’s new tram, LUAS stops within minutes of the hotel connecting to both mainline railway stations.

This stylish and contemporary hotel offers 14 accessible rooms, all complete with a roll in shower and low level lights and plugs. All of the floors of the hotel are accessible by lift, with the main entrance on one level and an accessible toilet in the lobby.

Ocean View Guest House – County Donegal

If you’re looking for some sea and sand, this is the place for you. Situated in the North West of Ireland, County Donegal borders the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for its castles, rugged coastline and mountains.

Ocean View Guest House is located in Greencastle, on the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal, and is Ireland’s most northerly point. It’s full of fine sandy beaches, though we strongly recommend you don’t use your Quingo on sand, amazing scenery and lots of history. In the immediate vicinity there is the Blue Flag beach at Stroove strand and Sweet Nellie’s beach in Greencastle. Donegal has 11 Blue Flag standard beaches in total, with some of the most spectacular scenery in Ireland.

The fully accessible ground floor deluxe rooms have their own private bathroom which is especially designed for wheelchair and mobility scooter users. Throughout there are accessible lifts and ramps and an accessible garden. There is also a private and secure off road car park available for guests.

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

The Quingo Scooter 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, 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.

Attractions, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Accessible Attractions: The Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh

Over our latest series of blog posts the Quingo Scooters team have been encouraging mobility scooter users to get out and about visiting interesting or unusual places. In our accessible attractions series, we aim to share some hidden gems; places that you wouldn’t usually visit or that you maybe thought weren’t accessible for your Quingo Scooter.

A few weeks ago on the blog we picked out some great accessible holidays in Scotland, and today we’re sharing with you somewhere you simply must visit if you’re anywhere near Edinburgh on your travels – The Royal Yacht Britannia.

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Voted Scotland’s Best Attraction by VisitScotland for ten years running, The Royal Yacht Britannia was once home to Her Majesty The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family for over 40 years. Here you can discovered what life was like on board for The Queen, on the boat that has sailed over 1,000,000 miles around the world.

The Royal Yacht Britannia is situated at the Ocean Terminal in Leith, Edinburgh. It’s around a 15 minute drive from Edinburgh city centre, and you’ll find the visitor centre on the second floor.

On arrival at the Britannia Visitor Centre in Ocean Terminal you’ll first spot a Lego replica model of the Britannia. Through the complimentary audio handset tour you’ll get to learn about the history of the Royal Yachts whilst you view displays and historical photographs of the amazing past of the Britannia. You start at the Bridge, explore the State Apartments, Crew’s Quarters and finish at the Engine Room. Before you leave make sure to enjoy all the elements of a delicious afternoon tea at the Royal Deck Tea Room. Definitely not to be missed, you can try out some tempting cakes, home-made scones, soups and sandwiches.

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What You’ll Discover

The five star attraction is a must see exhibition to visit on your mobility scooter. Here are some of the highlights of the tour:

  • State Apartments and Royal Bedrooms
  • The relaxing Sun Lounge
  • The Royal Deck Tea Room
  • Life below the decks in the Sick Bay and the Laundry
  • Sample home-made fudge in the NAAFI sweet shop
  • The on board Rolls-Royce Phantom V, that used to travel onBritannia
  • The Gleaming Engine Room
  • The Royal Racing Yacht, Bloodhound(except July and August)
  • 11 foot LEGO model of Britannia 

 Accessibility

The Royal Yacht Britannia has aimed to make the whole tour as accessible as possible for visitors, and it has definitely succeeded. It is classed as a Category 1 by VisitScotland, which is the highest level of access without assistance.

Throughout the fully accessible attraction there is a clever use of ramps and lifts to move you through the decks of the boat. On the outside of the boat there is a floating pontoon to view the tenders and sailing boat. Some great information is available on the Britannia’s access statement, which is handy to check out before you visit. On the website you’ll find all the ticket information you need too.

Share your accessible attraction with Quingo!

If you’ve been to The Royal Yacht Britannia on your Quingo or would like us to write about another place you’ve 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 do our best to feature them on our blog.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter 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.