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The summer holidays are coming at us full speed my fellow mums and dads, how are we all feeling? I am a bit stressed about it, I won’t lie! My baby girl is due on Sunday July 14th and Leo finished school on July 18th, talk about being chucked straight in to the deep end of life with three kids. Despite my fears of spending my days having to soothe and crying baby and break up fights between the boys and the dreaded cries of ‘I’m bored!’ every ten minutes, I am really looking forward to the summer. The long summer break is the perfect time to fit in as many family days out as possible. The only thing is, when you have a little baby you often have a pram in tow too and it can be difficult to find days that are fully accessible and suitable for families with buggies, and for families including wheelchair users too. To make sure no one misses out on a fun family day this summer, I have asked my fellow parent bloggers to share their best buggy and wheelchair friendly days out around the UK , there are accessible days out in Yorkshire all the way to some of my favourites here in South Wales. I hope this post help you find a perfect and accessible place to enjoy a day of making memories with all the family this summer.
10 pram and wheelchair friendly family days out in the UK
The Deep Aquarium – Hull
‘The Deep Aquarium in Hull is very wheelchair friendly. Most of the exhibit is displayed around a shallow slope downwards and there is a lift for the initial climb. Many of the tanks are floor to ceiling so can be seen from a wheelchair or buggy’. – Nikki www.yorkshirewonders.co.uk
Yorkshire Wildlife Park – Doncaster
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park is accessible for buggies and wheelchair users. The paths around the park are wide and flat in the majority of areas throughout the park, there are wheelchairs to loan free of charge and the park is mostly flat. There are also baby change facilities in both male and female toilets and there are several disabled toilets (some of which include a hoist and large change bed). Blogger Carly at Mom of Two Little Girls has this great review of her family day out at The Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Cotswold Farm Park – Cheltenham
The Cotswold Farm Park is a beautiful park offering lots of family farm fun for all ages. Lisa, blogger at The Family Ticket, has written a really in depth review about her trip to Cotswold Farm park and it really looks wonderful for a fun day for the whole family. The farm park is also very accessible for parents with buggies and wheelchair users, the paths are wide and there are disabled toilets, baby change facilities and wheelchairs to hire.
Fairytale Farm – Oxfordshire
‘Fairytale Farm in Oxfordshire is designed to be fully wheelchair accessible as the owners have a disabled daughter who inspired them to build the place. They have a sensory garden too. It’s open to anyone and a lovely place to visit.’ – You can read Katie’s full review of Fairytale Farm over on her blog Mum of 2.5.
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre – Buckinghamshire
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is a wonderful place to visit with the whole family. Older members can get all nostalgic about when they read the books as a child and the kids will love all the interactive exhibitions and learning about the genius Roald Dahl and discovering his amazing books for the first time. I visited here a couple of years ago on a press trip, I had Alex in the pram and had no problems navigating my way around as the museum is all on one ground floor. There are baby change facilities and disabled toilets, the café and gift shop are also on the ground floor. You can read my full review of our day out at The Roald Dahl Museum and Story centre here on my blog.
Colchester Zoo – Colchester
‘Colchester Zoo is brilliant, it’s has two different routes to follow in order to access as much of the zoo as possible, and one is wheelchair/buggy friendly and avoids all the hilly areas. There are also wheelchair friendly toilets and changing rooms.’ – Abi www.somethingaboutbaby.co.uk
Plantasia – Swansea
Plantasia is here right in my hometown of Swansea and it is a great day out. We have visited a couple of times and taken the buggy and the kids were able to enjoy all of their visit and we were able to navigate the site easily. Plantasia is an interactive and fully immersive indoor tropical experience; there are animals, exotic plants and loads of interactive exhibits, the large majority of which are unrestricted for wheelchair users. The paths are wide around all the enclosures and there is a disabled toilet. You can read more about Plantasia over on their website, I highly recommend it for a family day out as it is not too pricey and can by enjoyed on a rainy day as it is indoors.
Marwell Zoo – Hampshire
Marwell Zoo is one of my favourite Zoos and is extremely buggy and wheelchair friendly. There are so many different animals to see and their enclosures can easily be viewed by children in a buggy or a wheelchair. The terrain of the zoo is easy to navigate with a pram or wheelchair as it is mostly smooth and wide. Here are disabled toilets, baby change and a Changing Places toilet. There are lots of places to stop and eat, large picnic areas outside, several take away kiosks and a café.
Flamingo Land – North Yorkshire
‘Flamingo land in North Yorkshire. Wheelchair and buggy friendly and has plenty of animals in the Zoo if the rides are not for you. Fantastic day out, with small rides for the little ones, bigger rides if that’s what you like and lots of animals & shows. With pubs, restaurants and coffee shops to. Great day out for all the family!’ – Nicola www.themerrallshome.com
Peppa Pig World (Paultons Park) – Hampshire
Peppa Pig World is the absolute perfect day out for families with young children. The park is very pram/buggy friendly and there is ample space on the paths around the park for wheelchairs, even on busy days. There are baby change facilities, toddler seats on the toilets and disabled facilities. Visitors with disabilities can ride on the majority of the rides so no one needs to miss out on all the Peppa fun! I have a review of Peppa Pig World here on my blog if you want to find out more about it.
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Do you know of any pram and wheelchair accessible days out near you? Or have you visited somewhere recently that you thought was particularly well equipped for small children and members of the family with a disability? I would love for you to share them in the comments so anyone looking for an accessible family day out can get some inspiration.