Disabled Go- Karting!

Are you looking for something different to enjoy over the Half Term or looking for the ideal, accessible, gift for a racing fanatic?

Head  to Capital Karts, Britain’s longest indoor Go Karting track.  Visitors can enjoy speeds in excess of 45mph when hitting the 80metre main straight in the course.

There are Go Karts suitable for adults (16 years and above), children (8 to 15 years coming in January) and Twinstructor karts for drivers with physical disabilities.

 

 

PRICE LIST:

Individual
Twinsprint - 30 minutes (2 x 15mins) = £32.99 per person (weekdays before 4.30pm)
Twinsprint - 30 minutes (2x 15mins) = £42.99 (weekdays after 4.30pm and weekends)
Grand Prix -50 minutes (10 mins qualifying and 40 mins race)

Team Event
Le Mans Team event (2-4 drivers per kart) - 100 mins race = £99.99 per kart (weekdays)
Le Mans Team event (2-4 drivers per kart) - 100 mins race = £129.99 per kart (weekend)

Group
Exclusive track hire -
1 hour track hire (16-50 drivers) £57.60 per driver
2 hour track hire (51 - 75 drivers) £51.60 per driver
3 hour track hire (76 - 100 drivers) £47.99 per driver

Capital Karts is only 15 minutes from central London and easy to get to  via public transport by road, rail, tube and overground.

 

Food Tourism!

A new study from Caxton FX has shown that over half (52%) of those asked are influenced by the local cuisine when choosing their holiday destination - highlighting the growing rise in food tourism as a major trend for 2014.

The pre-paid currency card specialist surveyed over 1,000 travellers to find out about their holiday spending habits and discovered that 1 in 2 Brits (49%) will spend more on eating than they will on getting to and staying at their destination.
14% of people said that they spend most of their budget for a holiday experiencing tourist attractions and going on day trips, and a staggering 53% said that eating out in local restaurants was an essential part of experiencing the country.

What is ‘a must’ when you’re on holiday?

 

 

 

Cooking in a Wheelchair

Now that it is getting colder and darker earlier, are you more in the mood for cooking home-made food?
The video and below links offers fab tips you may find useful!
http://www.thekitchn.com/cooking-with-a-physical-disability-171416

Wheelchair Accessible Shopping

Have you begun thinking about Christmas and more importantly, have you started shopping? Below is a list of wheelchair accessible shopping centres I like to go to but add your favourites too.

 

BLUEWATER, KENT  MAP  

Bluewater is a two floor shopping centre containing restaurants, shops and a cinema. Built to meet the needs of disabled guests, it is completely accessible. The 800 disabled bays are all located close to entrances and there are adapted toilets throughout the centre. There are also many lifts.
Shop Mobility is available by pre-booking on 01322 427427. It provides free use of electric scooters, powered wheelchairs and manual wheelchairs for five hours.

THE GLADES, BROMLEY  MAP

The Glades is a local shopping centre in Bromley and is step-free. There are lifts to the second floor and disabled toilets on the Ground level. It has a good selection of popular stores and leads out onto the High Street, where you will find more accessible shops.
The Glades is surrounded by a number of Car Parks, where free disabled parking can be found, along with wheelchair/ scooter hire.

CROYDON, SURREY  MAP

The Whitgift Centre and Centrale are shopping centres in Croydon divided by the High Street. Both contain large department stores, as well as, independent and high street shops. There are lifts and disabled toilets in the malls and in some of the shops.
Both the shopping centre have car parks with disabled bays close to the entrances. The Whitgift Centre car park offers wheelchair hire on 0208 688 7336.

ROMFORD, ESSEX  MAP  

If you are looking for somewhere to shop but want to avoid the London crowds, Romford offers the Brewery and the Libertyjoint shopping centre.
The Brewery offers shops, bars and accessible restaurants and also has 85 disabled pay and display car spaces. Shopmobility is also available by calling 01708 722570. For entertainment, there is a 16 screen Vue cinema, which has wheelchair spaces and a 24 lane bowling alley. For children, there is Kidspace, Europe’s largest play area.
The Liberty has over 100 shops, with a mixture of mainstream, and specialist stores.  It leads out onto the High Street and Market Place where more shops and banks lie.

The shopping Mecca is step-free with lifts to go upstairs so is accessible for all. The shops are very spacious and the restaurants have disabled toilets.

CANARY WHARF SHOPPING CENTRE  MAP

Canary Wharf (London) has a small shopping centre full of mid- high priced high street stores. There are large accessible toilets, lifts and doors opened by push-buttons and the floors are smooth with easy ramps.
 
Wheelchairs are free to hire but you will need to show a current valid passport or driving license and a recent utility bill in the same name. (For more information call: 020 7418 2675.)
 
There is underground parking with three hours free on the weekend and bank holidays when you spend £10 in any shop.
The Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf arrives in the centre.

WESTFIELD, LONDON  MAP

Westfield is  a shopper’s paradise with more than 300 designer and high street shops, a variety of restaurants and a large VUE cinema.The centre is step-free with disabled toilets, wheelchair- friendly malls and lifts.

Over 5% of the parking bays at Westfield London are dedicated to disabled parking and customers can book a free wheelchair or motorised scooter. Parking is free Monday – Friday for Blue Badge holders.

 

THE BRUNSWICK  MAP

The Brunswick is a small shopping centre hidden in Bloomsbury, London. It is full of shops, restaurants, and a cinema, It has a number of wheelchair accessible entrances and is step free.

THE LOWRY OUTLET MALL, SALFORD MAP

The Lowry Outlet Mall is located in the heart of Salford Quays and is Manchester's only factory outlet mall. It is open 7 days per week and has over 80 stores, a Vue Cinema and food court.
The mall offers a mobility scheme which has a fleet of recently upgraded scooters and wheelchairs and is eligible to use by all visitors.
The mobility scheme has an annual membership, priced at £20 per year, and members will benefit from:

Free parking with every hire of a mobility scooter or wheelchair (no minimum spend applies)
Priority reservation of wheelchairs/scooter (24 hour notice required)
Individual membership card, which entitles you to free hire of wheelchairs/scooters for a 12-month period.
Special offers and exclusive discounts to use at the Lowry Outlet Mall throughout the year

Those looking to use the service on an ad hoc basis can do so at a non-membership cost of £4 per hire.

The Lowry Outlet Mall Information Desk 0161 848 1850. For more information visit www.lowryoutletmall.com or follow on Twitter @lowryoutletmall

PortAdventura Halloween!

Is Halloween a big event for you? Are you looking for somewhere accessible to have some fun?

 

PortAventura is a themed resort located between the towns of Vilaseca and Salou. It opened in 1995 as Spain’s first theme park, with the goal of offering a journey around the world in a single day.

From 28th September to 17th November, PortAventura will be taken over by zombies and ghosts, and will also welcome a new Sesame Street character: Count Von Count.

 

 

 

Those who feel like screaming can enter the legendary “Selva del miedo (Jungle of fear)”, a terrifying walk in the Polynesia area inhabited by monstrous beings, where mists and darkness obscure everything and turn the journey into a blood-chilling experience. Alternatively, visitors can brave “Horror in Penitence”, a macabre and inhospitable maze in the Far West with a gloomy and creepy atmosphere from which it is difficult to escape.

 

Halloween 2013 also brings new terror shows that are fun for all ages. The Gran Teatro Imperial is decked out to host “Rock Symphony-Mystery”, an impressive mystery tale with dancers and acrobats in a gothic atmosphere to summon the souls from the beyond. The most daring may also enjoy the terrifying menu of “Vampires: Dinner Show”, in the legendary Far West Saloon, where dancers, actors, acrobats, magicians and singers sow panic and occasional laughter among the guests. Finally, the Mexican La Cantina will host “La Gran Fiesta (The big party)”, in which a cast of dancers and Mexicans perform the country’s traditional repertoire..

 The park is wheelchair accessible.

Mobility Roadshow Takes a Break

After celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Mobility Roadshow at Telford in June, Mobility Choice, the Charity responsible for its organisation, has announced a major review of its activities. This is to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of people with mobility issues in the light of the ageing population and recent changes to benefit entitlements.

 The Charity will be launching a major consultation exercise to listen to the views of all relevant people, through its extensive database of visitors over recent years, as well as taking the views of exhibitors and other stakeholders. The results of those consultations will help Mobility Choice to plan and deliver future events and services in the most effective way.

Ann Frye, Chair of Mobility Choice, said: "it is time to take stock and review what is really needed now and for the future to ensure Mobility Choice stays focussed on the right priorities.”

 While this review is taking place, there will be no Mobility Roadshow held in 2014.

Safety Old School Style #airnzsafetyvideo

Air New Zealand has teamed up with America’s sweetheart of comedy Betty White and a cast of golden oldies for the airline’s latest in-flight safety video,

Safety Old School Style is the airline’s first safety video filmed outside of New Zealand and is set at the fictional ‘Second Wind Retirement Resort’ in the United States.