Scope Campaign Manager, Rosemary Frazer, believes that people with disabilities should have the same opportunities as everyone else. In this blog, she shares her thoughts on why being disabled shouldn’t stop you from travelling around the world.
I read a travel guide that said ‘Prague is not suitable for wheelchair users.’ Rubbish!” I love to travel around and I prefer to do so as an independent traveller. No problem you say. There is so much information around to advise the independent traveller on the best places to go, cheapest deals, unspoilt beaches, hidden gems, great shopping opportunities etc.
The thing is, I’m a wheelchair user and whilst all that information is great, I also need to know some other details. About eight years ago my partner (who is not disabled) and I went through a phase of opening a map of Europe, sticking a pin somewhere and going to the capital city of whichever country the pin landed. We would then go online or find some books about that particular place.
All great except when you look for information for disabled travellers. Too often the information is aimed at older travellers so I could find advice on museums and historic buildings, but absolutely nothing about where cool bars or restaurants were or what access was like. The assumption seemed to be that I was an older traveller and the information was geared to those interests.
Now it just so happens that I am a bit of history geek and I love spending hours roaming around a museum, but friends will also tell you that I love a good bar and have a terrible shopping habit! I also love going off the beaten track; getting lost somewhere and discovering interesting little nooks and crannies. To me that is the whole point of travelling, doing something different. My next trip is to Lodz. It has one of the longest shopping streets in Europe… just don’t tell my husband that!
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About the Motability Scheme
The Motability Scheme exists to give customers, their families and carers greater freedom to get out and do the day-to-day things they need and want to do, by enabling them to exchange all or part of their mobility allowance for leasing a car, scooter or powered wheelchair.
If you’d like us to send you more information about the Motability Scheme, request an information pack below or find out how to join.
