Skeletal remains of what was once grand
Projecting ragged shadows on the path well-worn
A place once filled with reverence and praise
Now, just a remnant forlorn
I gaze upon the bleached stone exposed
And am saddened by its fate
So unjustly imposed
Padre
Written for:
We made a brief stop at the National Trust’s Wimpole Estate on our return journey from visiting family in Bedford. The estate is large, and since my last visit several years ago, they have built a welcome centre and reworked the parking areas. The journey from the welcome area is relatively smooth and easy to use a wheelchair on, though there are some inclines, the path seemed generally to descend to the hall and supporting buildings. The stable are has the Trust shop, a used bookstore, and a cafe. A bit further on is the main restaurant. For accessibility it should be noted that the shop area is over cobbles, and their is a slight dip before the entryway. The restaurant has a brick ramp and is easy to access. We had a small snack in the restaurant which while opening at 10 does not serve main meals until noon. The site is pretty, but we put off a visit to the main house which opens at noon. Note at present it is only accessible via 12 steps, though a stair climber is available. As we departed the gentle climb back to the welcome centre was a bit tiring, so we flagged down a Trust transport which had a wheelchair ramp. This electric vehicle is generally available, we were told. Next time we will take in more of the estate, but as rain was moving in, we called it a day.
Padre
Gothenburg, Sweden was founded 400 years ago by King Gustavus Adolphus. The old town is moated by canals and was only accessible via strong gated bridges. According to our guides the town never fell to an enemy despite being besieged on a few occasions. The architecture is interesting mixing styles including Nordic and Dutch influences. The city museum is in what was the Swedish East India Company’s old building, and the Amsterdam inspired canals are very pretty.
Tale of Two Buses
Our port call in Gothenburg involved taking a shuttle service to and from the cit centre. The first was a coach-style vehicle which was fitted with a hydraulic lift for wheelchairs. There was a reserved accessible space as well, and the driver followed every protocol: anchoring the chair-frame with straps and making sure a seat belt held me in place which was fitted to the bus deck. It was a bit time consuming but gave a sense of security.
The return journey was on a city bus style vehicle. There was a manual drop ramp into the bus which led to a designated area. As there was already a mobility scooter in the area, the driver angled me in. He told me to apply the chair breaks and then said to hang onto a strap which is intended for a standing passenger. The process was quick, but made for a little bit of an unnerving ride back to the port. Needless to say, I survived.
Gustaf’s Square and Beyond
The Gustavus Adolphus Square (Gustav Adolfs Torg) is a pleasant area in the centre of the old town. It is near to the city museum, cathedral, and local government offices and surrounds the statue of “The Lion of the North,” who was the city’s founder, and one of the great leaders of the 17th Century’s Thirty-Years War. I have long been interested in the king following my graduate work in Early Modern history, so the opportunity to visit the town and to see the statue was a bonus for me. The square provides some nice views, is near shops, and has some benches to just take it all in from.
We found the road train tour operated by Stinsen by chance at the Gustaf Adolfs’ Square. The company was operating two trains (red, and white) on the day which took us through the old town area of the city. The red train had an accessible hydraulic ramp on the rear carriage which allowed a single wheelchair to come aboard. This fit into a space at a rear-facing double seat. With that fact noted, it was therefore necessary to face the opposite directions when indicated by the commentary (right vs left, etc). The commentary was on a recorded loop in both English and Swedish. As we went around twice we noted that the commentary varied slightly between the two circuits. There are no headphones but rather a speaker system. The staff were helpful with the wheelchair boarding (again red train only) and offered some limited “hop on hop off” opportunities. Some of the travel was over cobbled roads which were a little jarring, and made photo taking a bit of a challenge, but most of the journey was pleasant. I am glad we took this touring option.
I enjoyed our short visit and hope to see the city again some day.
Padre
My wife and I took a Baltic Sea cruise on P and O Aurora at the end of July into early August. I have previously done a general overview of the trip, but I will now write using an accessibility focus. Let me first say that we didn’t on this occasion book an accessible cabin. Additionally, I will not review individual excursions in this post, but only embarkation, the ship, and disembarkation.
We arrived at Southampton Mayflower Terminal and were greeted by the staff of Cruise and Passenger Services. They gave us a blue card to put on the rear-view mirror rather than using our Blue Badge. They then photographed the vehicle and got a porter for us who took our main cases to the terminal. C&P then took the key and we made our way to embarkation. At the Mayflower Terminal we were aided by Intercruises’ staff who pushed my wheelchair onto the ship, freeing my wife to take the carry-on bag. We were taken to our muster station to check in, and then to the buffet restaurant to await the call that our cabin was ready.
Cabin D110 on Deck 8 is small but cozy. Access is a bit far from the lifts as it is the last inside cabin forward on the deck. The hallway leading to the cabin was narrow, but still useable with a wheelchair except for in the morning when the stewards’ trolleys are in the hall. It was best on those occassion to use the semi-collapsed chair as a wheeled walker until in the broader spaces near the left. The cabin, I should note, while on the same deck as several public spaces such as the Playhouse and Raffle’s Bar, was not easily accessed owing to a set of stairs which required me (as a mobility aid user) to go to the lift go down a deck, move midships and then come back up to these spaces. While I have not made an exhaustive survey of the travel options onboard, we did find that the Promenade (7) and Lido (12) decks provided access the full length of the ship.
The lifts were generally not crowded on our cruise, and waits to space only happened a couple of times. Passage on hard decks such as the Lido and Prom were very easy with the chair, though carpeted areas varied. The weave of the carpets in the hallways through cabin areas generally had a slight pull to the wheels in one direction or the other. Carpets near the shops, lounges, and lifts were easier to move about. Doors onto the weather decks were also variable with some having small lips and others relatively steep mini-ramps. All were doable but not all easily.
The theatre and cinema each had relatively long slopped ramps to the designated disability seating. There was also a space at the top centre on the audience area for wheelchairs to use during performances.
The staff and crew were all very helpful, and I was regularly asked staff if I needed assistance. This included carrying plates for me to tables, and offers to push me, especially on the areas that were ramped or through doors. Speaking of doors, most interior doors at public spaces were automatic, though one between Riviera Pool and the Lido Grill had a push button to open. As far as the crew’s helpfulness, I did find it funny that on one occasion when I was getting a cup of tea, and using the journey to get a little exercise, I only made it half way to the tea and coffee urns before two members of the crew waylaid me, one guiding me to a free table and the other going to get the tea.
On shore days, the gangways were generally on Deck 4 and were relatively short descents to the pier. The forward gangway was wider and the suggested departure spot for those with mobility issues. At one port the gangway was from Deck 5, which required a switchback ramp which was a bit steep for the chair. The stop in Cherburgh, France; and final disembarkation at Southampton were on raised passageways similar to those found to airport gates. The disembarkation at the end of the cruise was again handled by the mobility assistance team and Intercruises, and went smoothly. Those with accessibility issues met in the Masquerade Bar and we were taken back to the cruise terminal. My chair-pusher aided in collecting our luggage and saw us to the C&P car park and retrieved our car key for us.
All in all, this was a fantastic experience and I look forward to our future cruise, for which we have booked an accessible room.
Padre
Our latest National Trust visit was to Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk. The house was built in 1482, though it has gone through renovations. It is a moated house, and has links to Mary, Queen of Scots. The house is approached from the car parks through a gate near the kitchen gardens. There are several disabled parking spaces and the gate in the garden wall is suitable for wheelchair passage, though there is a slight lip. The path leading though the orchard to an inner wall into the formal gardens is made of shallow gravel with a kind of lattice work under it, which is fairly easy to navigate with a chair. Once into the formal grounds the path opens up, though continues to be of the same construction. The grounds have a formal garden, and tree lined parkland. The best feature though is the house, surrounded by its moat. The entry gate is in an impressive tower which is accessed via a brick bridge. The brickwork deck of the bridge is easy to manage with a wheelchair if you keep to the centre of the bridge avoiding the slightly dropped drain channels at the sides. Once the gatehouse is passed through there is a very pretty courtyard with entrances to the cafe, shop, and the main house.
There is a ramp into the house with a slight drop over the threshold lip once inside. The hallways are relatively narrow and if using a mobility walker or chair you may need to wait is others ahead of you have stopped to look at exhibits. The initial doorways into what are now galleries are wide, but once you get to the library area the exhibit ropes and door angles make further passage difficult. Exit is however available by retracing your path.
There are several works of art to admire and a very striking Antwerp Cabinet. I found the leather wallpaper (in very rich colours) and the decorated ceilings to be very beautiful.
A key part of the Trust’s collection is the needlepoint work don my Mary, Queen of Scots while in captivity. These unfortunately were off of display on the day for conservation work. The staff did offer us a book with photos of the embroidery to view. Their are two cafes at the property, one with quick snack and drinks near the car park, and another in the main building. We had tea and very nice baguettes for lunch. There is an accessible toilet available as well. Once again, The National Trust has done a great job of preserving England’s past, and made for an enjoyable day out.
Padre
White summits like snowcapped mounts
A stormy sea to brave
Tossed and rolled from trough to trough
On angry ocean waves
Winds contrary docking forbids
New havens the captain seeks
A refuge to find amid the watery peaks
Padre
Written while encountering a storm in the Baltic which required a re-routing from Copenhagen to Cherbourg.
My wife and I visited The National Trust’s Ickworth Estate yesterday. The site is huge and the house is as massive as it is beautiful. Disabled parking was fairly abundant near the Welcome Point and Porter’s Lodge. The walk from the parking area to the House is not very far, but loose gravel did make wheelchair travel a little difficult en route to the house, but it was doable. Access to the shop and cafe in the West Wing of the house was via a very easy to traverse switchback style ramp. Once inside the floors are very even and the doorways and shop aisles comfortable wide for wheelchair (and pram) users. The shop had the usual assortment of Trust merchandise, and the cafe had hot drinks, scones and other goodies. After making our way to the cafe and a drink we went back out into the front drive of the house and entered at the ground level of the rotunda via a steeper straight ramp. Wheelchair size is regulated by the width of the ramp (which matches the passage areas in the house itself), but if a personal mobility aid is too wide, the staff and volunteers will provide a Trust wheelchair. On our visit the lifts were out of service, which restricted access to only the ground floor (which wasn’t really an issue as the upper floors were restricted by a shortage of Trust volunteers on the day.). We viewed art (including Titian’s Unknown Man), the library, and sampled the luxury that the various Earls’ families enjoyed over the centuries. Rather than negotiating the gravel path again for our return, we took up the staff’s offer to bring an accessible shuttle to the house, which took us back to the welcome point and toilets. There are also mobility scooters available from the estate, in order to take in more of the grounds, but we didn’t use this service on this occasion. We found the house and grounds beautiful and the staff and volunteers very helpful.
Padre
Scanning the North Sea calm
Sunlight dancing on the infant waves
Cool grey with crumpled-foil silver dappled
Seabirds skimming to find dinner shoals
Breeze cool upon my face
Land’s concerns left behind
Padre
Another poem that I am using a stock photo for as mine didn’t capture the moment as well.
The Baltic Sea cruise was a good value for money, and relaxing as a whole. This was my second time on Aurora, though the ship had gone through a refit and converted to an adults only vessel since my last trip, so there were some changes in layout. Embarkation went very smoothly, and we were directed to our muster station on arrival getting the check in instantly out of the way. The small cabin was cozy, and we slept well (with the exception of a storm day). The cabin steward was efficient, though not as sociable as some I have had. We had Freedom Dining, which was in the Medina Restaurant. We found all of the serving staff friendly and attentive. My wife took several art and craft classes on board which were held in the Crow’s Nest area. The teachers were really knowledgeable and helpful. The Crow’s Nest itself had good views of the surrounding seas and was a very relaxing retreat. The Lido deck and the area around the Horizon buffet restaurant were busy, but not generally crowded. The buffet was fairly good in choice and a great grab and go breakfast option on excursion days. We took five ship arranged excursions, including one accessible tour. These were well organised, informative, and reasonable in price for what we got. Disability assistance on the gangways and on the coached was very good. The Lido Grill was limited, but the veggie burger option was good. General maintenance of the ship was good, though there were some issues with the accessible toilet doors near the Horizon on a couple of occasions. Sea and weather conditions were such that the two Danish ports on the itinerary were cancelled, and an extra sea day (through a storm) was substituted as well as a port call in Cherbourg, France. On short notice, no excursions were arranged for Cherbourg, though free shuttle busses were put on. As I have already mentioned, Cabin D110 on Deck 8 is small but cozy. Access is a bit far from the lifts as it is the last inside cabin forward on the deck. While on the same deck as several public spaces such as the Playhouse and Raffle’s Bar, it is not easily accessed owing to a set of stairs which required me (as a mobility aid user) to go to the lift go down a deck, move midships and then come back up to these spaces. Non-disabled individuals can of course use the stairs. The bed was comfortable, and the steward kept the room very clean. A single British plug point is over the desk, and while there is also a kettle, no tea or coffee were at first placed in the room. The safe was a good size and very straight forward to use. The cabin being above the stage of the Curzon Theatre did give some noise, though this was in my opinion more like low ambient music rather than an annoyance.
Padre
A disability related cruise review will follow shortly.
Sailing among the islands green
At the end of a peaceful day
O’er waves a-shimmer, sparkling
As homeward they make their way
By sea zephyrs the sails are filled
The summer excursion in warmth enjoyed
Before Autumn’s nip arrives
The holiday season to close
Padre
Inspired by watching boats returning to Helsinki
Padre's Ramblings 