29th March 2017

Slimbridge is a fantastic day out for all families.

It is home to over 30,000 wild birds.

There is lots of exploring to do and so much fun for little children.

Most of the park is wheelchair accessible, with good paths. However, some of the hides and walkways are inaccessible.

You can use an electric or manual wheelchair. The park offers manual wheelchairs to hire, at no cost.

You can hire an electric buggy, for a small charge of £5. You need to call in advance and book the buggy.

They are due to make the summer walkway accessible and some of the inaccessible hides will be getting a face- lift.

There is an outdoor theatre coming soon and also an app for your smartphone to use, whilst walking around the park.

My only bit of advice for anyone who is able bodied, bring wellies!

The staff were all extremely helpful, friendly and well mannered. Jackie took the time out of her day to answer our questions. Jackie was extremely helpful and showed a lot of support towards my project.

There are plenty of accessible parking spaces located in the car park and a accessible toilet, too.

There is a ramp leading up to the entrance of the venue.

Before entering the venue you have to disinfect your feet or wheels of your wheelchair.

There is a mat and wheel wash provided.

There is a large double automatic door leading into the venue, with a button for disabled users to press, which will open this door.

In the reception area there is a lowered section of the desk for wheelchair users.

 

Once inside you can go and collect bird food from the volunteers stand and also collect your tokens to access the Viewing Platform.

Start of the adventure.

There is a lift which will take you up to the Platform.

This is accessible for wheelchair users, it is not large enough to turn a wheelchair around in safely but there is room for a PA or family member to assist a wheelchair user.

The lift has easy to reach buttons but the light within the lift is quite dim.

The Viewing Platform gives you a 360 degree panoramic view of the Wetlands. I had no trouble viewing this using my electric wheelchair.

There is a large ramp leading from the main reception down to where the attractions start.

The Toad Hall, is a fantastic little area where you can view toads. There are toys, games and a soft play area. They also do handling sessions and talks on the toads.

Outside

Once outside you walk over a bridge taking you to try and spot all the different birds.

Along the walk you will come to a part called the Wader Shore, this has slight rough gravel so a little bumpy for the electric wheelchair.

There are flat footpaths leading all around the park which makes it really accessible for wheelchair users.

The South Lake Discovery hide is absolutely fantastic for wheelchair users, there are lots of low windows for you to be able to look outside and see all of the wild birds.

If suitable for you, they have binoculars so you can have a closer look at the birds.

This is definitely the best hide for wheelchair accessibility.

Along the walk you will come across a few gates, these are fairly easy to use by lifting the latch and pushing the gate. This is quite difficult to do if you are in a wheelchair so the help of a PA or family member will be needed.

 

We came across the Otter pool which was a nice surprise, there is great flat decking all around the pool so you can get a really good view of the otters.

There is a cave that will take you through to see the otters swimming underneath the water.

The Flamingo Lagoon has a fantastic accessible hide, which gives you a great view of the flamingos and the lagoon.

 

We decided to have a look inside the Tropical House.

You must disinfect your wheels and shoes before entering.

The floor inside is extremely bumpy and uneven but completely accessible and definitely worth a look inside.

We stopped off at the Kiosk, not far from the Chilean Flamingo’s. There are accessible toilets located by the Kiosk and tables for you to sit at to have your snack. However, you cannot fit a wheelchair under any of the benches by the Kiosk.

Not far from the Kiosk is the Kingfisher hide, we were advised that this is wheelchair accessible but we didn’t make it that far to have a look.

We then headed back towards the main reception. There is another tower called the Holden Tower, however, this is inaccessible for wheelchair users.

There are two places to eat within the venue. The Swan Café located upstairs in the main reception and the main restaurant downstairs.

In the main restaurant the seating plan is open with lots of long tables, easily accessible for wheelchair users. There are lots of open windows so the lighting is extremely good within the restaurant.

There is a little gift shop as you exit the park which is filled with lots of nice gifts and souvenirs if you wish to purchase them.

You exit the park through the gift shop which will take you straight back to the car park.

You will need to disinfect your wheels and shoes before leaving the attraction, wheel wash and disinfectant mat is provided.

Accessibility Rating