Tag Archives: UK

Attractions, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Christmas Market Series: London

Your Quingo means going out is much more pleasurable and safe during the winter months so we thought we would find you some great ways you can use your scooter to keep active and enjoy the wintertime!

Continuing with our merry Christmas Market series, this week we’re in the capital. London is a buzzing, vibrant place at the best of times, so in the run up to Christmas you definitely can’t miss the festivities!

London is a big place with a lot of different Christmas markets, but we’ve picked the one that we think is the most famously exciting – the family favourite Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park! Winter Wonderland is open 20th November until 3rd January, 10am-10pm every day (excluding Christmas day)

 

The Market

The Christmas market at Winter Wonderland is full of arts and crafts trinkets, jewellery and decorations that make perfect presents for friends and family. Also good to explore the Angels and Yuletide market, where charming wooden chalets are overflowing with festive goods.

There are more than 200 fairy lit Bavarian style wooden chalets in the market, with something for everyone. Entrance to the market part of Winter Wonderland is free. The market is located in the famous Bavarian village, where you can tuck into bratwurst, sup a stein of German beer and watch live oompah bands perform.

Other Activities

As well as the Christmas Market there are other exciting attractions not to be missed to get you in to the Christmas spirit!

  • Magical Ice Kingdom – Described as “an awe-inspiring walk through a fantastical world of real ice and snow”. It is the largest of its kind in the UK and created especially by Winter Wonderland, young and old will be enchanted by this kingdom of ice, full of fairy-tale magic!
  • Santa Land – Something for the little ones. Explore the land of Santa, see his workshop, meet the elves or ride on the Santa Express. An enchanting experience with children’s rides, games, eateries and all the magic of Christmas!
  • Bar Ice – And something for the adults! Immersed in a truly arctic setting, enjoy the glow of the glistening ice. On arrival, you are handed a special winter cloak and gloves to keep you warm, then you’ll be served drinks in your own unique ice glass!
  • Circus Shows – Zippos Circus shows are performed in the Mega Dome, and it is the newest and biggest circus tent in the UK. It offers a warm and comfortable theatre style atmosphere, and the show itself will leave you amazed!
  • Giant Wheel – soar 60 metres into the London sky in the comfort of enclosed pods. Experience spectacular 360˚ panoramic views over Winter Wonderland and beyond!

 

Accessibility

Winter Wonderland have made the walkways and public spaces as even and wide as possible. There are ramps to the bars and cafes where possible, and there are spaces in the circus shows as mentioned above designed to accommodate mobility scooters as well as an accessible pod in the Giant Wheel.

Disabled toilet facilities are available on site, and there is Pay & Display parking available on West Carriage Drive and in car parks at either end of Serpentine Bridge. Disabled Badge Park free of charge but are subject to 4 house maximum stay Monday to Saturday. After 6.30pm the 4 hour maximum no longer applies.

Tickets

Winter Wonderland offer a 2 for 1 carer ticketing scheme, to provide disabled visitors who require full time assistance with a free ticket for a partner, accompanying friend or personal assistant for all pre-bookable attractions.

All attractions have separate tickets. To prebook these and for more information on the disabled ticket scheme visit the Winter Wonderland website.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. For more information on the Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any 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. Quingo are proud to work closely with Age UK and feature regularly in local press.

Attractions, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Christmas Market Series: Chatsworth

Your Quingo means going out is much more pleasurable and safe during the winter months so we thought we would find you some great ways you can use your scooter to keep active and enjoy the wintertime!

Quingo Scooters got our Christmas spirit off to a flying start with a first in the Christmas Market blog series, where we visited the incredible Lincoln Christmas Market!

This week we’re taking a look at Chatsworth Christmas Market, as it conveniently started this week on the 12th November. The festivities run right the way through until 29th November. On weekdays everything is open 10am-5.30pm, and on weekends 10am-6pm.

 

Chatsworth Christmas Market is free to enter, but there are parking charges of £5 per car on weekdays and £10 per car on weekends. However, this includes access to Chatsworth House and gardens. Booking is required to visit the house during Christmas to reduce queuing times, this can be done easily by booking online.

Accessibility

For the Christmas Market, special tracking is laid down to cover the ground which makes access easy and helps with steadiness. The markets are situated on a slope, but would be easily passable with a mobility scooter such as the Quingo, which has 5 wheels for stability.

Chatsworth House itself is fully accessible and has 2 lifts that can take you between the different floors. Although your Quingo won’t be allowed inside the house itself, Chatsworth offer wheelchairs and your mobility scooter is still free to roam the grounds and farmyard.

The farmyard entrance is at the top of the main car park, and there is a lift and ramp to give access to all parts.

Other parts of the grounds, such as the shops, Carriage House and Cavendish restaurants are all fully accessible on your Quingo. There is also a free buggy service that runs around the car park to the house and garden entrances and up to the stables and farmyard.

 

Highlights

There are many merry things going on during Christmas at Chatsworth, but here are some of the highlights not to be missed:

  • Live seasonal musical entertainment as you shop from brass bands to string quartets
  • Enjoy mulled cider and German beers in the Bavarian beer tent
  • Find the perfect presents for all the family from a wide range of stalls including toiletries, clothes and things for your home
  • Enjoy delicious food, with gourmet burgers, hotdogs, pancakes, churros, fudge and chocolate and treats galore
  • See the stunning ranges of items in the Chatsworth gift, interiors and garden shops, up in the Stables

Other Festive Treats

As well as the Christmas market there are some other festivities going on at Chatsworth House in the run up to Christmas! Here are some dates for your diary:

  • Festive feast: 26 & 27 November, 3, 4, 10 & 17 December 2015
  • Christmas wreath making: 2 and 3 December 2015
  • Masquerade Ball: 4, 5 and 12 December 2015
  • Floral workshop: Christmas at Chatsworth: 17 December 2015
  • Christmas gourmet evenings: 28 November and 19 December 2015

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. For more information on the Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any 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. Quingo are proud to work closely with Age UK and feature regularly in local press.

Attractions, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Christmas Market Series – Lincoln

Your Quingo means going out is much more pleasurable and safe during the winter months so we thought we would find you some great ways you can use your scooter to keep active and enjoy the wintertime.

With the run up to Christmas fast approaching, the team here at Quingo Scooters wanted to share with you some of the best Christmas markets to explore on your mobility scooter.

In the first of the series, we thought we’d start with the Lincoln Christmas Market. Lincoln is a beautiful city with a well-known traditional Christmas Market, where you will be able to enjoy cultural entertainment and discover around 200 stalls nestled within the medieval square and surrounding area. The market runs through the weekend of Thursday 3rd December until Sunday the 6th.

Lincoln Christmas Market has developed dramatically since it began with just 11 stalls. The market gives visitors and residents a truly festive experience, with a traditional, high quality event for all the family.

 

The Highlights

There are some not to be missed stalls at this year’s market:

Stoneglow: Visitors to the stoneglow tent will find homemade, reusable candles at the Stoneglow stall, as well as other unique gifts. The stall is run by David from Essex and has been trading at the market for 10 years.

Moonlighting: Moonlighting products are handmade in Shropshire. The stall features handmade lamps made using recycled material and bottles. Each light is unique and the stall is certainly a highlight of the craft tent.

Susan’s Farmhouse Fudge: This stall can be found in the Castle Square food court selling a colourful array of homemade fudge, sweets and mulled wine. It is run by Andrew and Susan and has been a staple at the market for 15 years!

John Bangay Artwork: This stall is one of the original 11 at the first Lincoln Christmas Market 31 years ago. John Bangay sells a collection of Lincolnshire prints, tea towels, coasters and cards. 

Mobility Scooter Accessibility

Lincoln Christmas Market takes place in the historic quarter of Lincoln with some parts on cobbled streets. In area such as the Castle grounds the walkways and public spaces have been made as even as possible, with ramps on to raised areas.

The Christmas Market takes places at the top of a hill, which at its steepest is a 1:7 gradient. However, a Park and Ride scheme is available for disabled visitors that drops passengers off at the top of the hill.

There are also other buses services from the town centre that will do the same. Most bus services operate from the bus station which is just opposite Lincoln train station. The Walk and Ride service operates from Silver Street up to the market.

Accessible toilet facilities are available on site including at the park and ride site at the Lincolnshire Showground, and there are medical and welfare facilities on site for all visitors.

Park and Ride

There is no parking in the vicinity of the Christmas Market, so all cars should use the dedicated Christmas Market Park and Ride service which operates from the Lincolnshire Showground on the A15 just north of Lincoln. The park and ride site is well sign posted on all approach roads and for those using a sat-nav the postcode is LN2 2NA.

There is also a dedicated service for people with disabilities, using specially adapted vehicles which also run from the showground. Pre-booked tickets are open dated, so can be used on any one day of the 2015 event and are £12 per car. You need to keep them safe and show them as you leave the car park. On the day ticket prices depend on the day and range up to £15. More information can be found on the Lincoln Christmas Market Website.

 

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. For more information on the Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any 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. Quingo are proud to work closely with Age UK and feature regularly in local press.

 

Attractions

Accessible attractions in London for you and your Quingo – Part 2

Last week the Quingo team looked at accessible hotspots in London you can visit on your Quingo. Accessibility has much improved in the capital in recent times, and with the varied amount of places to visit, we believe there’s something for all Quingo scooter users to enjoy. Continue reading Accessible attractions in London for you and your Quingo – Part 2 →