Prinknash | 25^th October 2017

I visited Prinknash Bird and Deer park following an article I read online regarding an incident with an autistic gentleman. Melanie Meigh announced she was going to hike carer tickets up from £3 to the full ticket price. Please take a look at the article in the link below where you will see the attitude towards the disabled community is not a pleasant one.. Read the article here

Parking

There are two accessible parking spaces in the main car park, then there is a five minute journey (as a wheelchair user) down to the visitor centre. However this is down a steep road with no foot path (there is a stepped foot path).

As I was leaving, the owner advised me that I could park my car outside the visitor centre to avoid walking up the steep roadside slope however, the gravel pathway was unavoidable.

Accessibility

The park owner advised me of the following information:

“Due to the park being over 50 years old and due to the location, accessibility is an issue and wheelchair users are unable to access the park itself. There are Tree Preservation Orders on the trees limiting the amount of concrete etc that can be laid down as it would stop water getting to the roots.

A grant was requested to put a ramp inside the park but it was considered to be too large and would also damage the natural outstanding beauty, so there are lots of steps leading down to the park itself.”

However, wheelchair users can access the visitor centre which has a balcony where you can view some of the animals but the view is pretty poor for a wheelchair user as the balcony is too high. There is also a small café at the visitor centre where they serve teas, coffees and confectionary.

Accessibility Rating

Due to the fact I was unable to view any of the animals or park I can only give this a no star rating

There is a £3 charge for a carer to assist a disabled visitor, which I haven’t come across when visiting any other attraction.

Toilets

There is a disabled toilet with enough room for someone to assist a wheelchair user. The sink, hand dryer and toilet paper dispenser were all within reach for a wheelchair user. The toilet was nice and clean and safe to use.