Britannia International Hotel Canary Wharf Accessibility Review

Taken from Tripadvisor. Image Description: A photograph of the front of Britannia International Hotel. The ramp is situated to the left of shot behind a sign that reads 'The International London'

Back with the accessibility reviews again. But this time a hotel review, specifically the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf, London. This is where I stayed in March 2022 before CW134 at Indigo at The O2 and UFC London at The O2. 

(Disclaimer: I’m aware “accessibility” means different things to different people, as I said before, these are MY views on my experience of accessibility at this venue as an electric wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for other experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!) 

Booking 

The initial booking was made with Booking.com, and I booked a standard room and made my request for an accessible room in the booking notes. The hotel then emailed me through the booking to say that they’d received my request and were able to book me in the accessible room I’d requested.

Travel 

Travel wise, I got the train from Birmingham New Street to London Euston as I usually do. Then the bus from Euston to Waterloo. Then the Jubilee line from Waterloo to Canary Wharf. From there it was just a short walk to the hotel. Many forms of transport but frankly it all went quite smoothly. 

Experience 

Once I got into the hotel, things started pretty well as I was given a PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) form to fill out when I checked in. This is essentially a form for me to set out how I will evacuate in case of a fire as a disabled person, and isn’t something I usually receive at a hotel, so it was a pleasant surprise. Once I got to the room, my initial thought was that it was a little tight on space and difficult to manoeuvre around. For example, there was a double bed, but I could only get on the bed from one side. This is because where the bed was positioned meant there wasn’t enough space to position my chair down the other side to transfer. 

It was a similar story of pluses and minuses in the accessible bathroom. Initially I was pleasantly surprised again as there seemed to be both a bath AND a wet room shower with seat in the bathroom. I find this is rare as it is usually a bath OR wet room shower bathroom and, if a hotel has both options available, you have to select which one you want. So, I think this was some step in the right direction as choice and options in accessibility are key. However, having both options did make space a little tight as I was unable to get my wheelchair fully in the bathroom and close the door without doing a 60-point turn or parking right up against the toilet. Which as you might imagine, made transferring onto said toilet difficult. 

Overall, whilst there were some pleasant accessibility surprises I wasn’t expecting from this hotel, the lack of space meant I couldn’t properly access the pleasant surprises that did exist. 

I hope this review is helpful if you’re trying to find an accessible hotel in the Canary Wharf Area. 

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Travelling from London Waterloo to Kingston Upon Thames As a Wheelchair User? Here’s How I Did It

Image Description: Blue text on a white background. Text reads 'Travelling from London Waterloo to Kingston as a Wheelchair User? Here's How I Did It

Back with another travel post this time. My experiences of travelling from London Waterloo to Kingston with Southwestern Railway. A couple of caveats to this blog post: 1. This will be an outbound only journey as I was only heading from Waterloo to Kingston for a gig at Kingston Pryzm, and then found an alternative route back into London afterwards. 2. In case you were wondering why this post doesn’t include me getting TO London, I already blogged on my experiences getting from Birmingham New Street to London Euston, so I didn’t think it was necessary to write about that again. Now onto the post. 

Outbound 

Ticket Buying & Getting on at London Waterloo 

The ticket buying and assistance booking process was the usual. I booked the tickets through Trainline and assistance through the Passenger Assistance app. It was when I turned up to the station that things got a little more unusual. When I got to Waterloo, I made myself known to the staff at the assistance point and they asked if I wanted to get an earlier train as I was quite early for my booked train. I said no to that as that meant I would arrive in Kingston waaaaay too early for my hotel check in. With that sorted I headed to grab breakfast and coffee and came back later around when my train was due in. It transpired that my train was running a little bit late. The staff member then made quite an annoyed comment to the effect of ‘THIS is why I said to get an earlier train’. This annoyed me for several reasons, partly just because it made me feel like an annoyance and a burden for wanting to get that specific train (when people generally want to get specific trains for whatever reason. But also, because A) I run to my schedule and decide what train I get for ME not what’s easiest for others and B) my train was nowhere nearby when I turned up and was offered an earlier train so the offer and my train running late can’t have been connected. 

When the train arrived, and the staff member put the ramp down, I was somewhat sceptical as it seemed a little off to me. Then I apparently slipped on the ramp somewhat (I didn’t feel like I slipped but the staff member seemed to believe so and commented that it was because I ‘hadn’t approached the ramp properly’. Believe me, I had approached properly, I’m a near full time wheelchair user who uses multiple trains a month. I know how to properly approach a ramp and would NEVER approach in a dangerous way that was going to lead to me slipping. 

Frankly the entire assistance situation felt like a ‘blame the disabled person for the issues’ exercise. 

On Train 

The actual trip itself was quite short so there was not too much to report. I positioned myself in the wheelchair space and the guard came to double check where Iwas getting off the train. I did mention my nerves about getting off the train as I am used to being left waiting and assistance not turning up with the ramp. The guard was very nice and reassured me that I would definitely be helped off at Kingston. 

Disembarking & Leaving at Kingston Upon Thames 

Thankfully, station staff at Kingston were there with the ramp when my train arrived, and the guard was able to assist me off the train (counterbalancing my chair to allay my fears about the steep ramp). Station staff then pointed me to the lift, and I was able to quickly go on my way. 

I hope this insight into wheelchair accessible travel between London Waterloo and Kingston was helpful! 

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels) 

Cage Warriors CW132 York Hall Accessibility

Image Description: Emma smiles broadly at the camera. She has messy hair and is wearing glasses and a burgundy hoodie. She is holding up a beer bottle

Yet more clearing the backlog of accessibility reviews from the past year and a bit. This one from December 2021. My first trip back to Cage Warriors for CW132 at York Hall in London. 

(Disclaimer: I’m aware “accessibility” means different things to different people, as I said before, these are MY views on my experience of accessibility at this venue as an electric wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for other experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!) 

Ticket Buying 

Event tickets were purchased by emailing Eventim through their customer service form. They then called me back (using the number I had left on the form) so I could book my access seating. The train tickets to London were booked through Trainline as usual. 

Travel 

I Initially took my usual train from Birmingham New Street to London Euston. I then took the Tube (I believe it was the Jubilee Line, exiting at Canary Wharf), and switched to the DLR to head to Pudding Mill Lane where my hotel was. From my hotel I had to take a couple buses to York Hall, but I’ll discuss those a bit more in the venue section of the post. 

Hotel 

Ah the hotel, here’s the interesting part of this blog post. I wanted to make a booking at Snoozebox Olympic Park. Partly because it was close ish to the venue and partly because it seemed like a cool place to stay. After a phone conversation they let me know that they did have accessible rooms and to just book a standard room online and add into the notes about my need for an accessible room, so that’s what I did. Seems simple, right? Oh, so very wrong, this is where things go decidedly south. About 3 days before I was booked to stay, I realised I hadn’t heard anything and sent an enquiry across. It was then that I learned there was some issue (nothing was specified) with ALL the accessible rooms and that there had been a ‘staff consensus’ (without consulting me, the disabled person) to decide I wouldn’t be able to use a standard room. Essentially, with 3 days’ notice, I was a solo female disabled traveller left without a hotel room in the capital. Needless to say, I panicked and took to all the social media to see if any friends had somewhere to stay or knew of hotels nearby with last minute availability. This minor social media ‘campaign’ reached the attention of the hotel management, and I then received a call to say the issue with the accessible rooms had been sorted as a matter of priority and I would be able to stay as originally booked. I think this shows the importance of advocating for yourself and your access requirements, because if I didn’t in this situation I think I may well have been sleeping on the streets that night.

Upon arrival at the hotel, I noticed the rooms were in cabins (the easiest way to describe them) separate from the main hotel lobby. Whilst this was a cool place to stay and did have an accessible bathroom with roll in shower, there was a little ramp to enter the accessible room which was quite steep and made it difficult to get in and out of. This meant that I didn’t feel safe entering or exiting my room without assistance in case my wheelchair tipped up. 

Experience & Seating 

In terms of the venue, I took one bus about halfway to the venue before getting off that and taking a short walk to switch buses in order to get to the bus stop closest to the venue. From there I rolled up to the standard entrance to the venue, which had a significant flight of steps. From here, staff took me round to a separate side entrance. This also had steps but there was a stairlift (honestly quite an old looking one) which took me up the stairs and I was able to go from there to my seat. To say I’d actually had to go upstairs to get to it, my seat was actually on the ground floor level of the the venue. Accessible seating entailed simply removing a seat from the back row of this ground floor seating in order for me to park my chair in. Whilst I like this approach to access seating as it means I get to be part of the crowd, it does have one major issue as my view is almost completely blocked if those in from of me stand, such as at an exciting finish to a fight. Once the fights were over, I found a member of staff who was able to open a gate and help me down in the stair lift so I could head home. 

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels) 

Cage Warriors Manchester (135, 136, 146) Accessibility Review: Cross Country Trains, Premier Inn Trafford Centre West & Bowlers Exhibition Centre

Photo Credit Gurder (for right hand side image). Image Description: 3 images of Emma's view at Bowlers Exhibition Centre for 3 different events. The images show the view from (from left to right): Section E1, Section E2 and Section B4. In the left and centre images the view is an empty Cage Warriors cage, and in the right hand side image Paddy Pimblett carries Liam Gittins on his shoulders in the cage.

Back with another accessibility review! Technically a 3 in 1 type review as we have trains, hotel and venue all in the same review. As you can see from the title, I’ll be discussing 3 Cage Warriors events from last year, but I used the same train operators and hotel each time, and all three events were held at the same venue. Right, there’s the background, now on with the review! 

(Disclaimer: I’m aware “accessibility” means different things to different people, as I said before, these are MY views on my experience of accessibility at this venue as an electric wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for other experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!) 

Cross Country Trains (Birmingham New Street to Manchester Piccadilly) 

Ticket Buying & Getting On at Birmingham New Street 

As usual. I booked the tickets on Trainline and the assistance via the Passenger Assistance app. On the day of travel, I arrived at the assistance lounge in New Street station around 20 minutes before my train as instructed and staff took me to my train from there and helped me to board with the ramp. 

On Train 

Onboard the Cross Country trains, I’ve always found that the wheelchair spaces are difficult to navigate into because the spaces themselves only just about fit my wheelchair and the table in the space cannot be moved so it’s not like you can lift it up and move it out of the way whilst you park up and then fold it back out again. The corridor is also quite tight so trying to get into and out of the carriage whilst other passengers are boarding, or disembarking is tricky. I have, however, found it reassuring that guards on Cross Country always make sure to check where I am disembarking the train. It’s comforting as a disabled person to know that a staff member is aware you are onboard, as I often have anxiety about getting left on the train. 

Disembarking & Leaving at Manchester Piccadilly 

Thankfully, staff at Manchester Picadilly were ready with the ramp as soon as my train pulled in. They were then able to assist me down the (very steep ramp and staff advised me which bus I needed to take to my destination. 

Premier Inn Trafford Centre West 

Booking 

This was quite a simple process thankfully as I just booked an accessible room directly via the Premier Inn website. I could also choose between a room with a lowered bath or a wet room on the site when booking a room. I chose the wet room as that’s the most accessible option for me. 

Travel 

I took the bus from Manchester city centre to the Trafford Centre bus station. I will admit that the first time I visited I found this particular Premier Inn (There are 3 with the ‘Trafford Centre’ name) difficult to locate. Partly because it was late and partly because you have to cross a road or two to get there from the bus station, so it wasn’t immediately visible from the bus station. Once I found the hotel, I had to roll through the car park to get in as the other path didn’t have a drop kerb. 

Experience 

The hotel itself was actually quite accessible. I was given a ground floor room which is what I prefer as that means I don’t have to battle with evacuation chairs and evacuation protocols in case of a fire. The room itself was very spacious and easy enough to manoeuvre around. I must also add that staff were very helpful in assisting me at the buffet breakfast. Hotel buffet breakfasts are something I struggle at when I travel solo as they’re often quite difficult to reach from a wheelchair. 

Bowlers Exhibition Centre (BEC Arena) 

Ticket Buying 

As usual with Cage Warriors events in these kinds of venues, I booked the accessible seats for all 3 events over the phone with Eventim. 

Travel 

Even though I picked one of the closest hotels to the venue, travel was still a little complicated. I managed to get a bus part of the way there and then the rest of it was a 30-minute walk through what I believe was an industrial estate. Check out the ‘Experience’ section for what the post event travel was like because it was…interesting. 

Experience & Seating 

Once I got to the venue, there was a ramp up to the entry door where our tickets were checked. From there it was through a corridor (including past the accessible toilet, more on that later) before entering the area where there was a food counter, merch and some benches/seating. From there I was led down a ramp into the arena and to my seat. The accessible seating was another case of simply removing a plastic seat so I could park my wheelchair. I had pretty good seats for all 3 events. The 135 and 136 events in April were on consecutive days, and my seats for those were essentially one seat apart from each other across the aisle in section E1 and E2. My seats for the November event (146) were in section B4 (again, good seats). I would say the main difference between seating in E section and B section is that B is the opposite side of the arena to the bar and accessible toilet. They do close off part of the arena (so you can’t cross from B section to the bar/toilets) when walkouts for each fight happen. So, I would factor that in if you want to make a bar or bathroom run between fights (or use the information to your advantage so you can end up right on barrier for a particular walkout, you choose). I had some issues with my view of the cage being blocked when people stood up or stood in front of me if they got particularly invested in a fight. Thankfully, in the April events I was on the back row of the section and there was plenty of room behind the seats, so I just backed up and used my chair riser to see over everyone. Staff and fellow fans were also very good at spotting when my view was blocked and offering me empty seats where I would have a better view. 

Now for more on that accessible toilet in the entrance corridor. I believe it’s on the radar key system. But the radar key door doesn’t open straight into the actual bathroom as there’s an entry way and then an open doorway (without a door) into the actual bathroom. So, REMEMBER to lock that first door. The other problem with locating the accessible bathroom in that entrance corridor is that it was sometimes difficult to get to the bathroom through the flow of traffic entering and leaving the show. 

As I mentioned earlier in the ‘Travel’ section, leaving the event is where things got interesting. For the April events, the buses back to the Trafford Centre had stopped running and I didn’t know where the nearest tram stop was (and frankly didn’t fancy figuring that out at gone 11pm at night, alone in a strange city). However, having seen a few taxis parked up, I thought I’d try my luck. Any wheelchair users reading this probably already know that was a false hope. I had one driver tell me that the ramp was broken (AFTER having a full 5-minute conversation with me about where I wanted to go whilst they could see I was sat in my wheelchair. The second taxi then IMMEDIATLEY said they didn’t have a ramp and frankly the immediacy of the response (before I’d even finished my sentence) made me sceptical about whether that was true. With two refusals behind me, I called it quits and decided to make the 45-minute walk back to the hotel. Alone, in the dark, through an industrial estate. Not the safest idea but frankly it was the only option I had. 

With that experience in mind, for the November event I didn’t even try using the taxis that parked outside and skipped straight to the 45-minute walk. Thankfully, I had a friend with me this time but it’s still a sketchy walk and generally not fun to walk 45 minutes in November weather in the UK. 

Overall whilst the trains and hotel were great with no complaints and the venue seemed quite accessible. The lack of late night, accessible post event travel options make the situation a little difficult and sketchy, particularly if you’re disabled and travel solo as I often do (and did for the first two events here). 

I hope this review was insightful and helps if you’re planning to visit Bowlers Exhibition Centre. 

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels 

Cage Warriors 138 Colchester Charter Hall Accessibility Review

Image Description: A selfie of Alex and I before the start of the show! With a crowd of seats behind us!

After a quiet 2022, I am back. Warning: These first few posts of the year will likely be out of order and just clearing the backlog of 2022 reviews, because ya gal saw A LOT of venues and shows across this fine country in 2022. This post is also a collaboration with my friend Alex at The VI Critic. Be sure to click the link to check out his content including HIS side of this access review from the viewpoint of someone with a visual impairment. So, here’s my take on the accessibility of Colchester Charter Hall from Cage Warriors 138 back in May 2022. 

(Disclaimer: I’m aware “accessibility” means different things to different people, as I said before, these are MY views on my experience of accessibility at this venue as an electric wheelchair user, I obviously can’t speak for other experiences but feel free to add your experiences in the comments!) 

Ticket Buying 

The ticket buying experience for this one was a bit of a mission. I initially went straight to Eventim as I know they usually handle Cage Warriors access seating. They advised me to speak to the venue. Having spoken to the venue, they said tickets were nothing to do with them. I was then able to speak with the events manager who was able to open up access seating after some kind of site/team meeting (this was AFTER tickets originally went on sale as far as I remember). THEN it was back to Eventim to book the newly available access seating, and only then were Alex and I able to get the tickets we needed. 

Travel 

The journey to Colchester was a 2 parter (or 3 if you include the tube). First was a trip from Birmingham New Street to London Euston with Avanti. Once I’d made it TO London it was time to make it ACROSS London to Liverpool Street for the train out to Colchester. This is where things got a little tricky. I headed to Euston Square to catch what I thought would be a simple single train to Liverpool Street, however, it transpired that Euston Square was only accessible from one direction (westbound I believe). Which meant I had to make a more convoluted trip to actually make it to Liverpool Street. This also had the knock-on effect of meaning I missed the initial train to Colchester that I was meant to catch. Luckily, I was just able to catch the next Greater Anglia train. These Greater Anglia trains on the Colchester route are actually one of the first that I’ve seen in the UK with full step free access to the train via a ramp IN the train which extends out. However, I found that at Colchester, even with the ramp extension, there was still a slight gap and drop when I disembarked the train which still made me somewhat nervous to disembark alone. 

Hotel 

For this particular trip I stayed at the Premier Inn Cowdray Avenue in Colchester. I found this to be a bit of an odd one as it’s one of the few hotels I’ve stayed in which didn’t have a lift to the upper floor at all. But I was able to secure a room on the ground floor. The other odd point here was that I was given an actual physical key to open the door rather than a key card. Whilst I find this more difficult as someone with fine motor control issues, Alex mentioned that a physical key might have plus points over a key card for those with a visual impairment, which is one way I myself didn’t think of in which our access needs could differ. One plus point for this hotel compared to others was the plethora of plug points. This is something I often have an issue with as someone who travels with a lot of tech AND a wheelchair that needs charging. There are rarely enough plugs in the right places to charge everything I need, but that wasn’t a problem at this hotel. I would also like to point out that the staff were very helpful in making sure I had everything I need to be comfortable during my stay. The only issue I had here was the bathroom as this had a sliding door which was very heavy and got stuck on the carpet. 

Experience & Seating 

The first thing I noticed en route to the venue was the poor-quality pavement between my hotel and said venue. Obviously not the venue’s fault but something to bear in mind, I guess. Once we got to the venue there was somewhat of a queue to get in and a full security check. Then we had our tickets checked and headed into our seats. We were in Row C of Block 2. Whilst this was technically at the back of floor seating, it was a pretty fantastic view for Alex’s first CW event. We were right next to walkout (which means you can spot us on broadcast if you watch back) and Alex even had a gumshield land in his lap! The only issue was it being a little bit of an awkward angle to look at the big screens (something I like to do to see the intricacies of submission attempts that I can’t quite see properly looking at the cage). It was a brilliant event and Alex even asked if he could come to the London event in July (held at Indigo at the O2 which I have already previously reviewed) as soon as we left the event! Being in the back row of the floor also meant leaving the event was quite easy and there wasn’t too much of a crowd to work through. 

Travel Home 

When it came time to travel home, the travel back into London was a little different than the journey OUT of London. I followed the signs from my hotel to the train station to find that the signs had sent me to the wrong side of the station for wheelchair access to the platform. Thankfully, the staff walked me back out and around the station in the rain so I could access the correct platform. I then hopped on the train to Liverpool Street. From there I had to take the Metropolitan line all the way to Aldgate, stay on that train and wait for it to reverse back so I could get off at Euston Square (see my earlier note about Euston Square only being accessible in one direction). From there it was a quick walk to Euston where I caught the train back to Birmingham. 

I hope this accessibility review of trains, a Premier Inn and Colchester Charter Hall was informative. Be sure to check out Alex’s side of the collaboration and keep an eye on my Cage Warriors blog posts for more of my reviews having spent 2022 following the promotion all over the place.  

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels) 

Travelling from Birmingham New Street to Northallerton as a Wheelchair User? Here’s How I Did It

Image Description: Photo on the left of Emma raising her arms in triumph having completed her mammoth trip. Blue text on the right reads "Travelling from Birmingham New Street to Northallerton as a Wheelchair User? Here's How I Did It "

Back in October, I headed up to Northallerton to visit editor extraordinaire Nikki. This meant 4 trains and 3 different train companies (CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and London Northeastern Railway). Here’s how the trip went for me as an electric wheelchair user. 

Outbound 

Ticket Buying & Getting On at Birmingham New Street 

Ticket wise, I purchased my tickets through Trainline as per usual. When it came to the assistance booking, I initially tried to book via the Passenger Assistance app, but the trains it was finding weren’t the trains I had booked (it kept trying to give me my connecting train at the wrong station) so I had to book assistance over the phone anyway. I ended up booking the assistance specifically through TransPennine Express as they were the only ones with phone lines open after I finished work. I must say they were very nice and helpful and were quickly able to get my assistance booked for the correct trains. When it came to travel day, I finished up at work and then headed straight to New Street. Once there, I made myself known to assistance staff and then waited in the assistance lounge. When it came time to head to my train, we discovered that the first lift we tried down to the platform wasn’t working. This meant we had to head all the way across the station to the other lift which leads to those platforms. This did leave me a little nervous that I’d be cutting it fine for my train (despite arriving 20 minutes beforehand as I was told to. 

On Train 

It was a bit of a mission to get into my seat as CrossCountry trains (which I was on) are quite small and skinny and thus quite difficult to manoeuvre in. Once I was seated, I fully realised that I’d actually been placed in the first-class wheelchair space (The assistance staff did make me aware when I was being walked to the train but I didn’t fully believe them because I only had a standard ticket).  But I wasn’t going to complain because first class meant a free sandwich and free coffee, and anyone who knows me knows that the way to my heart is caffeine. A trespasser on the line just ahead of our train at Sheffield meant that my already tight 13-minute change was reduced to 3 minutes, so I was obviously VERY concerned about missing my connection. 

Disembarking at York and Changing Trains 

Thankfully, due to some excellent communication between my train staff and the staff at York, and the fact the other train was only across the platform, I was able to make my tight connection. Once we finally pulled into York, I negotiated the very steep ramp (with the help of 2 staff members), dashed across the platform to where the ramp was already set up on the other train and then made it onto my train. 

On Train 

As I said I only just made the train, I also realised that I was alone in the carriage, which was nice after the stress of the connection. Other than that, it was only a 20-minute train so there was nothing much to report. 

Disembarking & Leaving at Northallerton 

When we arrived at Northallerton it was the train staff who disembarked me off of the train with the ramp and Nikki collected me from the platform. She then helped me negotiate the very steep ramp out of the station (driving backwards to help with my spatial awareness, so I didn’t feel like I was going to tip out of my chair). 

Return 

Getting On at Northallerton 

When it was sadly time for me to head home, Nikki and I arrived at the station more than 20 minutes before my train, as I had been told. The station staff member was then very helpful in explaining the works that were going on to install lifts to both platforms (currently serviced by steep ramps). I believe one lift was supposed be installed in December and one will be installed for Easter.* The station staff member also called ahead to staff on the train to find out where in the train they were stationed. I thought this was somewhat weird, why would he need to contact train staff? I then realised later that it was because the train staff would have to put me on the train as the station staff member wasn’t yet trained to use this ramp (don’t ask me how you can be considered fully trained enough to do the job and yet not be trained to help all disabled passengers onto all trains, I was as baffled as you are). This change of who was boarding me onto the train also meant I had to be boarded onto a different carriage than my assistance was booked on, in order for the train staff to be there to assist me. 

On Train 

There was nothing to report on the actual train journey as it was only 20 minutes. 

Disembarking at York and Changing Trains 

On arrival at York, it became apparent that the station staff hadn’t been informed about me being moved carriages and so were waiting at the wrong carriage. As train staff weren’t allowed to disembark me using the onboard ramp (again, don’t ask me why) I couldn’t immediately disembark at York. Thankfully station staff figured out the miscommunication just in time before train staff ‘broke the rules’ and disembarked me using the onboard ramp’. In terms of switching trains at York, I was able to grab dinner and a coffee and take a bathroom break (in the radar key disabled toilet at the station) before meeting station staff back on the same platform to board the Birmingham bound train. 

On Train 

The Birmingham train was a London Northeastern Railway (LNER) train and I was in the standard class wheelchair space. Other than that, there was nothing really to report as it was a fairly standard journey. 

Disembarking & Leaving at Birmingham New Street 

On arrival at New Street, station staff were already waiting on the platform to disembark me. I did have to request several times for the staff member to provide me some assistance navigating the very steep ramp, but I put that down to speaking through masks in a very busy train/station. Once I was disembarked, I made my way along the platform and up in the lift to the concourse. I then called Nikki to ‘walk me home’ (it was dark and I’m a disabled woman travelling alone, safety first) and left the station. 

I hope this insight into travelling between Birmingham New Street and Northallerton, via York, as an electric wheelchair user was helpful. 

*I have found out that, since I took this trip, both lifts at Northallerton station have now been installed (with one currently in working order and the other due to be working in just a few weeks). This also means that the super steep ramp from my arrival at Northallerton is gone, with a much more manageable ramp out to the car park (albeit a ramp that makes the journey out of the station about 5 minutes longer).

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels) 

Birmingham Travel: New Street to Sutton Coldfield as a Wheelchair User Under National Lockdown? Here’s How I Did It

Recently I had to take a few trips to Sutton Coldfield for some course training (whilst we were still under national lockdown) , so I thought I’d let you know what the experience was like (travelling from Birmingham New Street) as a wheelchair user. I had to take this trip a total of 6 times (3 outbound and 3 return) but this post is just about the first outbound and return trip.

Outbound

Ticket Buying, Assistance Booking & Getting On at Birmingham New Street

When it came to booking the assistance, it was pretty much the standard process, I just called West Midlands Railway and booked the assistance over the phone. I did not have to give my wheelchair dimensions this time as I had already given them for a previous assistance booking and they were stored in the system. The ticket situation is where things get a little more complicated. Initially I thought since both stations were in the free travel blue zone on my disabled travel pass that I would be able to travel for, you know, free. However, it turns out that free travel thing is only for after  9.30am and my train was at 8.25am. Cue a dash to grab a last minute ticket on Trainline the night before my trip. I did wonder if I could buy the ticket and manage not to use it. On arrival at New Street, the staff let me through the barriers with just my pass despite it being before 9:30am.I then made my way to the assistance lounge and made myself know to the staff so I could get my train. I WAS able to get a partial refund on the ticket I bought on Trainline since I never actually used or registered it anywhere on my trip.

On Train

The on train experience was pretty simple as it was only a 15 or 20 minute trip so there wasn’t really time for anything spectacular to happen.

Disembarking & Leaving at Sutton Coldfield

On arrival at Sutton Coldfield, station staff were already there on the platform which meant I was able to get straight off the train. The staff then showed me a simpler route to my location which went via a separate exit to the main one. This did involve taking one lift up to the concourse level and then another lift down to the other platform before going out of the separate exit.

Return

Getting On at Sutton Coldfield

When getting on at Sutton Coldfield for the return trip, I used the same assistance booking without a  ticket (just using my travel pass) as it was after 9:30am. When it came to actually getting on the train, I ended up getting an earlier train than my booked assistance, so I informed the security staff that I needed assistance and they went and informed the station staff on my behalf as I couldn’t actually find any of the assistance staff.

On Train

Again, the on train experience was only 15 or 20 minutes so there wasn’t time for anything  dramatic to happen.

Disembarking & Leaving at Birmingham New Street

On arrival at Birmingham New Street, staff were already on the platform to greet me (as I find they usually are at New Street) which meant I was able to get straight off the train and head out of the  station.

I hope that this post provides some insight into what it’s like travelling between these 2 stations as a wheelchair user whilst under national lockdown.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Birmingham Travel: Snow Hill to Hall Green as a Wheelchair User Under National Lockdown? Here’s How I Did It

Recently I had to take another essential lockdown train journey, this time from Birmingham Snow Hill to Hall Green for a job-related visit, so I thought I’d give you an insight into the process again since the stations were different.

Outbound

Ticket Buying & Getting On at Birmingham Snow Hill

This was a right palaver if I’m honest. Well actually, buying the ticket was because, as with my previous lockdown train travel blog post, the 2 stations I was travelling between are on the West Midlands network. This means that, with my West Midlands Disabled Travel Pass, travel between those stations is free. The assistance booking is where things got complicated. I initially phoned West Midlands Railway passenger assistance line (as it was them I was travelling with) and they requested my wheelchair dimensions prior to making the booking. This was not information I wanted to give since I did not understand why it was necessary and had not been asked for this information the recent previous time I’d travelled with West Midlands Railway.

So I decided to try and book my assistance through Cross Country Trains instead, but they were asking for the same information. In the end I just gave in and located and passed on the dimensions so I could get my assistance booked.

Further discussions informed me that asking for the dimensions is a nationwide policy that was introduced around 18 months ago (which makes sense as it’s around that time that other train companies I used started asking for the information). However, I was also told that you should be asked for the dimensions once and then it goes onto the system, so hopefully that’s me done having to give the dimensions.

BUT the dimensions saga wasn’t even the end of my issues! I originally wanted to travel from Birmingham Moor Street to Hall Green, but the lifts at Moor Street are currently out of order, which makes the platforms inaccessible to me. So I had to make decision to walk up to Snow Hill (from where my train goes THROUGH Moor Street) and make the journey that way. Other than these accessibility issues and the additional request for dimensions, the process of booking assistance was broadly the same. On the day of my trip, I arrived and made myself known to a staff member who said that another staff member would meet me on the platform. I should also say that I arrived at 11am for a train that departed at 11:07 and was still put on the train with time to spare, so this request that those who need assistance turn up 20 minutes early for their train definitely seems excessive and somewhat unnecessary.

On Train

The actual journey was only around 15 minutes so there wasn’t time for anything too dramatic to dramatic to happen. One thing I would say is that on this train the wheelchair space involves parking against a flip down seat, which is difficult to do when the seat won’t stay flipped up, because you have to try and park whilst holding the seat up at the same time!

Disembarking & Leaving at Hall Green

When the train arrived at Hall Green, there was no sign of station staff. Then, despite multiple yells for help, the doors closed and the train began moving away with me still onboard. This meant I had to press the emergency button and stop the train in order to get off. I was then informed that staff had recently switched over and incoming staff were not informed I was on that train or required assistance, even though I booked assistance ahead of time as per the system. Once I FINALLY got off the train, it was a simple case of heading up the ramp and out of the station.

Return

Getting On at Hall Green

For the return journey I was using the same “ticket” (my disabled travel pass) and had intended to travel on the same assistance booking. However, my appointment finished early which meant I could catch a significantly earlier train. I informed staff that I wished to catch an earlier train and from there it was a fairly simple process, as they just cancelled my later assistance booking and put me on the next train back to Snow Hill

On Train

Once again, the actual journey was only about 15 minutes so nothing dramatic happened. The flip down seat in the wheelchair space actually stayed flipped up this time, which made it much easier to park.

Disembarking & Leaving at Birmingham Snow Hill

On arrival at Snow Hill, a staff member was waiting on the platform with a ramp which meant I could simply go down the ramp and get straight off the train. I then decided to make a bathroom stop before leaving the station but realised I didn’t have my radar key so I asked staff if I could borrow their key. It turned out the toilet on my platform had issues with the lock and someone had shut the door (staff usually left it open) which meant the lock had jammed. Thankfully, staff managed to get the door open with a pair of scissors in the lock. They were very helpful and saved me having to make a trip to the other disabled toilet on a platform (yes I know I shouldn’t have to be thankful  about being able to use the bathroom like everyone else, but I really appreciated their working to fix the issue rather than fobbing me off with an excuse.)

I hope this post has provided some insight into what it’s like travelling between Birmingham Snow Hill and Hall Green with West Midlands Railways as a wheelchair user under national lockdown.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Travelling from Birmingham New Street to Erdington as a Wheelchair User Under National Lockdown? Here’s How I Did It

Recently, I had to travel on the trains during the national lockdown which we are currently under here in England. I travelled from Birmingham New Street to Erdington (a smaller station within Birmingham) with West Midlands Railway for an essential job interview. I thought it would be useful to let you know what it’s like travelling on the trains as a wheelchair user during lockdown, so here’s the lowdown on lockdown train travel!

Outbound

Ticket Buying & Getting On at Birmingham New Street

In terms of tickets, I was already set up as I now have a free disabled travel pass. This allows those who have it to travel for free on trains and trams within the West Midlands network within certain times. The assistance booking process was the same as it usually is outside of lockdowns, I simply rang the phone line for that particular train company and requested my assistance at the specific date and time. They did have to make me a new account on their booking system though (even though I have booked a LOT of train assistance in my time) so I  guess that shows that not all the booking systems are connected. When it came to actually catching the train, I arrived at New Street at least 20 minutes before departure )as instructed when I booked assistance), presented my travel pass at the entry gate and was let through by a staff member. I then made my way to the assistance lounge and made myself known to the staff. When it came time to get the train is when the difference in assistance due to COVID restrictions became more obvious as it was only me allowed in the lift and not the member of staff. Once we got to the platform, the member of assistance staff made a comment that the guard (who would have to disembark me from the train as Erdington is a smaller station with fewer staff) was not going to be happy about having to use the onboard manual boarding ramp. Whilst I’m sure that was just supposed to be an innocuous comment, it made me feel like I was being seen as an inconvenience for having to travel. BELIEVE ME if I didn’t have to travel in the current circumstances I wouldn’t be doing so, but the fact of the matter is I had to travel for work just like anyone else. Add to that the fact that helping disabled passengers is part of the role on the railways and well, if you can’t already tell, that comment bothered me quite a lot.

On Train

Onboard the train was the usual ‘board and back up into the wheelchair space’ situation. It was only a 15-minute trip so there wasn’t really time for anything dramatic to happen.

Disembarking & Leaving at Erdington

In the entire 15 minute or so ride to Erdington, the guard had not been to speak to me or check where I was on the train so I wasn’t sure what the process would be when we arrived. On arrival at  the station there was no ramp or guard to be seen and generally no sign of any assistance arriving. To add to my anxiety, I found out that I could only barely reach the ‘open door’ button if I was forgotten and the train door did close. Knowing that and with previous experience, I reverted to my usual of yelling for assistance from the train door. When that didn’t seem to do anything I headed away from the door and back into the carriage to press the assistance button located next to the wheelchair space. When the guard did arrive to disembark me, he made a point of saying “you don’t have to press that (referring to the assistance button) you just have to WAIT” . This really bothered me again as no other passengers have to wait to disembark a train, that is only necessary because the railways are not entirely accessible and I require assistance. I was also worried about how long I’d be expected to wait as I’ve been forgotten on trains before so I know that ‘just waiting’ is rarely the solution.

Return

Getting On at Erdington

When it came to making the return journey, I was using the same ‘ticket’ (my travel pass) and  assistance booking as before so that was no issue. I arrived way earlier than the train I had booked assistance for as my interview ended earlier than expected. I then made my way into the ticket office to make myself known to the staff. However, I found that the office door was only able to be opened on one side and that side was not big enough for my chair to get through. That meant that a  fellow passenger had to help and unlock the other door to allow me through, close contact which obviously isn’t ideal in the current circumstances. Getting my train was a much simpler process thankfully, I simply said which train I had booked assistance on and asked if could get on earlier train since I had arrived early. The staff member in the office (whose name I think was Richard? shout out to him anyway whatever his name may have been) sorted it with no fuss. He simply rang New Street to let them know what train I was originally booked on and that I would actually be getting the next train back to New Street, and then put me straight on the next available train.

On Train

Again I was only on the train for about 15 mins so there was no onboard drama.

Disembarking & Leaving at Birmingham New Street

On arrival at New Street, there was a staff member waiting on the platform with a ramp. That meant there was none of the disembarking hassle I’d had on the outbound journey, so I was able to get  straight off the train and head home, just like everyone else.

I hope this gives some insight into what it’s like travelling on the trains as a wheelchair user during a national lockdown.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

An (EXTRA) 40 Year Wait For Step Free Rail Access?!

Recently I was LIVE on BBC Radio 4 (national radio here in the UK) discussing accessibility on trains and the impact a fully accessible rail system would have on me, specifically on my employment prospects. This interview was quite short but got me thinking about the issues I experience as a wheelchair user trying to access trains. With that in mind, I thought I would discuss those issues, and some of the ways things are SUPPOSED to be improving, in this blog post. I know those of you who’ve been following for a while will have seen me discuss these issues in blog posts about specific journeys before in the “Travelling” section of the blog, but I thought it would be useful to have these issues compiled into one post.

Firstly, it’s probably best to put this (lack of) accessibility into context, which means STAT TIME! According to a report by Leonard Cheshire,  42% of train stations in England lack step free access. Obviously that’s close to half, which is a frankly ridiculous number. According to the same report, the Government is set to miss its target to make all stations step free by 2030, by 40 years and thus not have the programme complete until 2070. In 2070 I will be 74, which is absurd to think about, I’m only 24 now for pity’s sake! I REFUSE to wait until I am 74 to access the entire rail system in my home country. The worst thing is this is made to seem like it’s not an issue. 40 years is a pretty big deadline miss and there seems to have been very little outrage or coverage, other than from disabled people themselves and charities or groups like Leonard Cheshire.

So, what kind of impact does this inaccessibility have on me? Well, the Leonard Cheshire report focused on the impact on employment, so I guess I’ll focus there too. I’ve had to turn down jobs because I can only use public transport to commute to a job and the closest station to this particular location was inaccessible. Travelling by train to the nearest accessible station and then walking/ using the bus from there then  made the commute undoable. Besides the obvious impact of literally having to reject jobs, there’s also so much extra work and stress that goes into job hunting as a disabled person who needs to commute via rail. First, I have to work out which is the nearest station to that location, then I have to work out if I can actually use that station. THEN I have to ask myself I actually trust the accessibility information, because the accessibility information and the actual accessibility experience can sometimes not match up.

Beyond that, I have to account for the fact that, even where there is accessibility, it’s often only partial accessibility or via certain routes. For example, the station where I used to live in Chippenham is considered accessible, but the accessible entrance side is up a giant hill which, as you can imagine, could be an even bigger accessibility hurdle for those in manual wheelchairs who have to self-propel or be pushed, and those with a variety of other access needs. There is also a requirement (apparently it’s a suggestion but it’s certainly made to seem more like a requirement to me) to prebook travel assistance 24 hours in advance. That means I have no room for spontaneity, no room for late running meetings and all that stuff that’s pretty standard in a job and a life in general.

And inaccessibility doesn’t end once I’m in the station. Even once inside, I don’t have equal access. I have to wait in a particular office for someone to walk me to the platform and put the ramp out, which means I am not independent when accessing the train. I also have to be at the station 20 or 30 minutes before my train in order to be sure of assistance. It’s pretty bold to assume I don’t have things that ‘I’d rather be doing that just sat in a train station waiting room for 20 or 30 minutes for what should be a 5-minute task, are we assuming here that disabled people don’t have lives and other things to do? SOME train companies have trains now with ramps that extend out from the train, but that’s only on SOME train routes with  SOME companies. Independent access to trains shouldn’t be a lottery depending on where you live and which company runs your train lines. Then once I’m on the train there’s the stress of whether someone will be there to disembark me or if I will be abandoned on the train, yelling for assistance and hoping it doesn’t set off again with me still onboard.

There is also the issue of inaccessibility on trains themselves.  There was legislation passed which stated that all trains were to be  accessible by 1^st January 2020, but at least 8 companies missed this deadline. Again, accessibility shouldn’t be a lottery depending on where you live and who runs your trains.

I also want to end by saying that, whilst the Leonard Cheshire report focused on the impact a fully accessible rail system could have on employment, It would have a wider impact too. This isn’t solely about employment, because disabled people (and people in general) are not just workers, we have social lives which would be greatly improved by a fully accessible rail system too.

Please support the effort for a fully accessible (or at least fully step free) UK rail system before that ridiculous 2070 predicted deadline.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)