by Elizabeth Bingham, author of Easy-Walking Europe and Easy-Walking North Shore (Lake Superior)
Last month I asked seasoned travelers to share their favorite tips for making travel less physically demanding. Several of them recommended Web sites that are designed for mobility-impaired travel, a topic so rich that I saved it for follow-up articles. (See the original easy-walking travel-tips article here.)
Topping the list of suggested Web sites was Curb Free with Cory Lee, where Cory Lee, who has had Spinal Muscular Atrophy since he was 2 and uses a wheelchair, shares his experiences as a disabled world traveler. With numerous awards and much national media exposure, Cory Lee is a recognized leader in mobility-impaired travel. While Curb Free With Cory Lee focuses on wheelchair travel, much of its information is helpful for anyone wanting to make their trips physically easier.
A glance at his latest posts hints at the range of his travel observations: “RVing for All: Highlights From My Wheelchair Accessible RV Trip in the Winnebago Inspire AE,” “8 Wheelchair Accessible Things to Do in Gatlinburg, Tennessee,” and “3 Fun and Accessible Activities Around the Mayan Riviera.” Remember—if a site is wheelchair accessible, it’s probably appropriate for easy-walking travel, too, so this is great information for travelers who want to limit their walking and climbing.
With hundreds of articles available, there’s a good chance Cory has covered a location or topic that is useful for you, evaluating it through the lens of accessibility. (To search for topics, go to the upper-right corner of the page, type over the word “Search” with your search topic, then hit the “Enter” key or click on the magnifying glass next to the search box.)
A quick search on “London” yielded these ten first-page results (the London connection became less obvious after the first page):
- How to Visit Theatres in London as a Wheelchair User
- 5 Day Trips From London That Are Wheelchair Accessible
- 5 of the Best Wheelchair Accessible Hotels in London, England
- Wheelchair Friendly Attractions and Tips in London, England
- Free Wheelchair Accessible Tours of London’s Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
- Wheelchair Accessible London – Rolling Amongst Royalty
- Student Cities: What Are the World’s Best Cities for Youth
- Ways to Save Money When Traveling to Europe
- 4 Things to Consider When Planning Your Wheelchair Accessible Trip to The UK
- 5 Year-Round Accessible Holiday Ideas For Adventurous Travellers
Again, bear in mind that tips and travel details for wheelchair travelers are likely to be useful for slow-walking travelers, as well. For example, from “5 Day Trips From London That Are Wheelchair Accessible,” we learn about Stonehenge:
For those who use a wheelchair, Stonehenge is accessible with ramps and smooth paths to ease movement around the site. However, there are a few caveats as new construction has changed the ramps and paths. When visitors first arrive at the parking area, there is a paved tarmac, ramps, and a grass path. The latter is fine in dry weather, but if the ground is wet it can make using a wheelchair much more difficult.
About visiting Windsor Castle, we learn in the same article:
For the most part, Windsor Castle is very wheelchair accessible. However, it should be noted that the castle is on a hill and the area is very spread out, so long distances need to be covered while visiting. Wheelchairs are available for visitors to borrow free of charge, but it is on a first come first serve basis. Mobility scooters are also allowed inside the castle for any of the Windsor castle tours.
You can glean similar specifics in the same article for visiting Paris, Leeds Castle, and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Multiply that depth of detail by hundreds of articles, and you can appreciate what a treasure trove of specifics Cory provides. In the article “Travel Tips for Wheelchair Users,” Cory offers advice that applies to anyone who needs or prefers accessible accommodation:
Never ever EVER book a vacation over the internet!
When you are booking flights and hotels, always be sure to call instead of booking online. Sure, it’s fun to browse online and the web can definitely help you make a decision as to where to stay, but somewhere saying that it is wheelchair accessible online can mean many different things. I once found a hotel online that said it was wheelchair accessible, so I called them to reserve it and I asked what was accessible about the hotel. The receptionist responded by saying “We have an elevator”. They did not have a roll in shower, wide doorways, or anything that I needed… just an elevator.
That’s the type of advice you can only get from experience, and Cory Lee has plenty of that. As you plan your trips, you may want to avail yourself of his research, even if you are fully mobile. You may even want to subscribe to his blog/newsletter or follow him on Facebook to stay current on his postings.
Easy-walking travel often comes down to knowing what you should expect at a sight, at a restaurant, at a hotel, to avoid the unpleasant surprises that can dampen the joy of a trip. Curb Free With Cory Lee provides specific, practical information and advice so travelers can plan enjoyable trips based on their mobility level, preparing themselves for what they will find. I have added the site to my resource library.