Ice Rink | 15th November 2017

I was lucky enough to be invited to the VIP launch event for Gloucester Quays festive ice rink.

The temporary ice rink is located in the docks between 16^th November-2^nd January, there is also a Victorian and enchanted German market running between 16^th November and 24^th December.

This is a great activity for families and they are also very accommodating for people with disabilities.

Parking

There are plenty of accessible parking spaces located in the Quays car park where you can park for free for up to four hours with a blue badge. It is about a five minute journey in a wheelchair from the car park down to the ice rink.

Accessibility

My experience on the ice rink was great as a wheelchair user, you are able to use a manual wheelchair on the ice but electric wheelchairs are not permitted. If you don’t have a manual wheelchair you can hire one free of charge from Gloucester Quays.

The ice rink is a decent size and is quite safe to skate around on in a wheelchair. If you are not a confident skater they can offer supportive shoes which can be worn over the top of your own shoes instead of skates.

There is a ramp leading up to the rink entrance with easy access to the ice and there is also a spacious fitting room where you can swap your shoes for skates. There is a small step getting onto the ice this is easy to navigate with a manual wheelchair.

Customer Service

I was invited by Hazel to attend the launch night she was very friendly and helpful and answered all of my questions. Another staff member kindly pushed me around on the ice for a little while.

Toilets

There are some temporary portable toilets with an accessible toilet however, the facilities in the toilet weren’t great and it was very small. There are also the toilets inside the Gloucester Quays shopping centre which have excellent disabled facilities. Read my full review here

Accessibility Rating