To feel so overwhelmingly sad at the lack of ramps in UK shops and restaurants

I completely agree with you. Sadly many people don’t seem to acknowledge these issues unless they are personally affected. But we are all vulnerable to illness and disability, it does not discriminate. We need to do better; stop paying lip service and actually increase accessibility so that it becomes the norm.

I remember going to the Glasgow University disability service not that long ago, and there were a lot of very steep steps to even get into the building! No ramp of course. Utterly ridiculous, I am sick of organisations pseudo commitment to inclusivity and accessibility.

I sing and run a choir. There are so many rehearsal venues that are completely inaccessible. Makes me really cross.

And my GC go to a private school in a very old building - all I can say is thank goodness they have no disabled students! It is beyond belief.....

This is something you don't appreciate until it matters to you personally. It's outrageous.

I'm ashamed I didn't notice before my sister was in a wheelchair. We couldn't access many cafes or restaurants. If we could get in, we couldn't squeeze the wheelchair in at a table. Uneven pavements made her yelp with pain. The bus service had two seats for disabled people at the front that were usually taken by people with shopping (or just ignorant selfish bastards). The other seats were three steps up. Disabled toilets usually manky. Everything was an argument.

When she had to go into a care home, the ramp -FOR A CARE HOME! -was so steep that it took real strength to keep hold of the chair. Other relatives told me they didn't take residents out for that reason.

It was physically and mentally draining. When people were kind and accommodating we'd often burst into tears with gratitude.

It is shameful how we treat disabled people in this country. Most of what is needed is a relatively easy fix. I agree with @Namechangetheyarewatching - this is where resources should be going. Stuff the rainbow pavements and workshops and focus on equitability and inclusion.

We were very impressed with the accessible beaches in Fuengirola. Wooden boardwalk fir wheelchairs, accessible toilets, they even have special, large wheeled wheelchairs to take disabled people into the sea. Not seen anything like this in the UK. https://turismo.fuengirola.es/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/240503-PDF-Fuengirola-accesible-en-ingles.pdf

The ramps you need may take up very little space. Those with heavy power chairs need something considerably more substantial.

On the other thread that the OP has referenced, someone posted a link about HMV in the Metrocentre in Newcastle (?) and I looked it up, it was only built in the 80s. No way for people to get upstairs inside HMV to get to their bookshop section. You can go upstairs in a lift in the centre, but then you cant access that bit of HMV apparently

So although HMV wasnt opened until recently, the Metrocentre is what I would call modern but has been built in such a way that not all of the shops within it can be accessed without steps.

I mean isn’t it mostly and old vs. new thing? My Victorian house has steps to the front door, and I walk to the Victorian station with steps to the platform (and it’s not a busy enough station to put a lift in).

But once I get to a city, then it’s all fine. Lifts / ramps everywhere I want to go.

We visit several times of year and go all over the city and wider area by public transport, I can tell you tthat you were lucky that perhaps your small number of stations you visited did have working or open lifts that day, but its not the norm I can tell you. Neither is being able to get in and out of cafes and restaurants in their one toilet that you squeeze into.

Its one of the highest capital cities in the world and that also comes with a lot of hills, lots of cobbled areas, they also have a penchant for open tree bases without grates on them which take up quite a lot of pavement. My OH has fallen into them several times.

Really? I must have been very lucky and always been able to get out via lift. So sorry to hear you found it difficult and limiting.

I think some places believe they are accessible when, in fact, they're not.
DH worked for an organisation who provided work and activities for disabled people, many of whom were wheelchair users. He never relied on a pub, for example, telling him they were accessible. He would go and check it out before booking. You'd be surprised at how many premises have a step into the building which the staff member seems to have forgotten about.

My husband is now a wheelchair user.

Our lives have become so much smaller.

Some places are brilliant eg National Trust/ English Heritage places with electric scooters that we can borrow for going off road. But our lives are ruled by whether or not there's an accessible toilet at the destination.

It’s so unfair on those with accessibility needs.

Toilets being used as storage for cleaning materials so wheelchairs can’t fit in. Step free accesses being blocked off.
Huffs and puffs when someone needs access to a ramp.

America or Canada? More modern buildings and stricter rules make for better access. The flight is a whole other issue though.
I remember reading "accessibility" can be provided by a at-door service, older branches of Boots often have a sign outside. As does my local petrol station. Its a cheap workaround, but othering.

I thought the 2010 Equality act meant that shops were obliged to provide access to wheelchairs? I'm sure I remember a big push to ensure access back in 2010. It might not be possible to have a permanent ramp but temporary ramps should be available. Shocking to find that that's not the case. That is a really shit situation for your dd OP.

I have a DS with a wheelchair and find the UK terrible but better than most of Europe, possibly not Germany, and parts of Spain. In my town most shops are accessible, little ones have ramps, and there is space, there are also a lot of cycling facilities so there are dropped curbs etc. it’s not perfect but far better than most other places we have visited. London is also one of the more accessible cities. Not perfect and not awful. But at least they try. Trains and lifts in stations are an issue. They break and yet the new stations are designed with lifts not slopes which is beyond me.

I do live in a place where people have sued shops etc a lot to get it to this point and they shouldn’t have to but having been observing access for 15 years it’s better than it was 15 years ago, but not quite as good as it was 5 years ago here. Now if someone can tell me where to go on holiday which will work I’m interested. Valencia and Berlin both worked well, other places less so, especially Greece, Italy, Portugal and surprisingly Switzerland

this is disgusting it makes me feel quite ashamed.i have seen a campaign on instagram about this but I can’t recall the name.
the lack of ramps etc also make these premises a huge fire safety risk i know that from being part of a consulting committee thing when i was at uni (related field).

100% agree with you, this is what DEI should be about, not sexually and pronouns, but actual things which affect people on a day to day basis.

My colleague is a wheelchair user and is very often forgotten when it comes to accessibility. No thought goes into meetings, how will he get there, we are full time WFH, so vehicle transport, accessing the venue, lifts, toilets etc

It's as you say a very small world for people with disabilities and we should be doing more to change that. That's where money should be going!!

Would having a permanent ramp be possible in most shops? They would take up space on the pavement and be a trip hazard on potentially narrow pavements? Not playing devils advocate here, my DM was in a wheelchair that I had to push so I know the issues, but just saying’ every shop should have a ramp’ isn’t necessarily practical.

I'm hugely sympathetic. I honestly didn't realize until I had a pushchair and a mother in a wheelchair. I'd always made assumptions that London would be fairly accessible and was shocked at how many tube stations aren't accessible. I understand how hard it must be to retrofit old buildings and stations but I wasn't at all aware of the scale of the problem until I was living it.

I sincerely hope things improve. The ironic thing is that it's good for business to be able to get potential customers inside. As PPs have said, small portable ramps must be a cheap, easy solution for a lot of shops. Is there an app to be able to see which stores have them? If there isn't, someone should absolutely build one.

You are so right OP. Reading your post has made me realise how much I take things for granted.

My dad now has to use a wheelchair and we don’t go many places due to his health (mostly the hospital and the barbers!) but we find these outings hard work. I’d never even considered accessibility to somewhere like a beach.

I agree OP, as the mother of a child who will always use a wheelchair.
My personal bugbear is Liverpool Street Station- the lift is only able to carry about 3 people with a wheelchair or suitcases and serves the underground as well as the main station. How many times I could have cried waiting for it coming home from Great Ormond Street to see it repeatedly going up and down on the underground while the only fast train is about to depart.

Most parents have experienced issues of accessibility when pushing a pram/buggy - simple things like the width of doorways, even the direction of door openings etc. I suspect it all comes down to feasibility and cost, unfortunately. ☹️

Plenty of European places, outside major tourist areas, have rubbish wheelchair access too unfortunately.
But look for Blue Flag beaches. Part of the scheme is that they have to have wheelchair access to the beach. It might not be obvious, but it is there somewhere.

A lot of the buildings in our high street are very old and built before ramps were a thing.The few modern ones are flat step free. I have noticed that many of the shops have fold up ramps by the door. I understood this was the law. Have you actually asked these places if they have ramps?
It is not just wheelchairs that step free access helps. When our youngest was in a pushchair we went to a resort abroad that had an award for being wheelchair friendly. It was so easy with the push chair when crossing roads etc.