London Duck Tours



London Duck Tours are NOT accessible!

They are however a great day out if you can manage steps. I carried Dude on and off the Duck and staff kept his wheelchair safe for us. They boarded us before everybody else and brought the wheelchair to the Duck when we got off.

This was a once only trip for Dude as he is getting too big and heavy to lift. The Duck can be quite bumpy at times especially getting in and out of the water (Thames) so I had to hang on tight to him to stop him falling off.

He did have a fantastic time and the staff are really friendly and funny.

London Duck Tours can be easily reached by public transport. We took the tube to Westminster and walked over Westminster Bridge. The pick up and drop off points for the Duck is on Chicheley Street which can be found just behind the London Eye.

If you are leaving a wheelchair whilst you are on the duck the staff will keep it safe for you and if it rains they will take it to their office, returning it to the drop off point when you are due to arrive back.

There is 5 steps to climb to get onto the Duck. The Duck's are old WWII amphibious vehicles so they were not designed with disability in mind. You can find out about the history of the Duck here.

This is the answer on the London Duck Tours website to the question

Are you wheelchair accessible?

''The tour is not suitable for those with impaired mobility and our vintage vehicles are not equipped for wheelchairs.   However, if passengers are able to manage the 5 steps onto the Duck, we are more than happy to keep wheelchairs in our office or at our departure point, but this is at the owner’s risk.''

Although the London Duck Tours are not accessible, the tour itself and the staff are great.

Imperial War Mueum

We discovered the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in October half term.

The Dude has decided he likes the big guns since my brother has joined the Army.

When ever I get an idea of a place to go with the Dude, the first thing I always do is check to see if they have a website. Then I find the accessibility information. I found this information here for the Imperial War Museum.

I then check to see if I can get to the place easily. It was pretty easy for us to get to IWM. We took the Tube to Westminster, crossed Westminster Bridge and then followed the signs. There are buses that go to IWM also. Travel information for IWM.

The front of IWM has lots of steps but there is a ramped side entrance through the park. This brings you to the bottom of the 1940's house. There are toilets to your left as you come in at this entrance and a cloakroom where you can leave your stuff in numbered skips.

The 1940's house is only accessible on the ground floor. The children's exhibition can get very crowded and is quite narrow so its best to go at quiet times. There are 2 lifts going to all floors but they are small and you can be waiting quite a while at times.

There were areas we did not go to as the Dude is still only small. The Trench and Blitz experience and some of the exhibits were not suitable so I'm unable to tell you if these were OK for wheelchairs. The main area's are fine though.

There are benches by the lifts on some of the floors but these are the only places to rest other than in the cafe. The toilets are spacious and have drop down bars. There are no hoist or full size changing benches here.

The IWM has now become one of Dudes favourite places to visit in London. It is free to visit. It can take a long time to get round so give your self a few hours.

HMS Belfast (London)

Apologies for not keeping up with the blog. Have been finding it very hard to concentrate long enough to write a post.

Anyway....

So in October we took another trip to London. I wanted to do some new stuff. Since the Dude had been bugging me to go on the 'big pirate ship' I thought I would check out HMS Belfast's web page to see if it was accessible. I had noticed on a previous trip to the ship (without Dude) that there was a lift down from the gangway to Quarterdeck.

I found this page on the website.
So I braved it and took him.

We wasn't disappointed! We had a great time. Spending just over an hour on the ship. I found the staff very very friendly and helpful. One going out of his way to tell Dude about the planes they used to have, the guns (Dude's favourite part), the big cranes that they used to have and the boats.

You can get wheelchairs on Quarterdeck, inside and outside though the rooms are not accessible as there are big lips (to be expected really as it is a real war ship) there's plenty to see and you get given the option of taking an Audio Guild round with you. Pressing the numbers you see on the wall to get information about that area of the ship.
There is a ramp (and I think there is a lift also) to the Deck, Boat deck and Walrus Cafe (named after the plane that used to be on the ship. Where the cafe is now was the Walrus's hanger)

Although you cant get to the very top there is lots still to see. The passageway through Quarterdeck houses

• The Laundry
• The Ship's Chapel
• The Bakery
• Galley and associated prep areas
• Petty Officers' Mess
• Sick Bay
• Dental Surgery
• Arctic Mess Decks

You can see in all these rooms but can not get a wheelchair into the majority.

Walking to the end of the deck you can see the big guns at the front of the ship.

Although it isn't the most accessible of places, they have tried considering it is a real war ship. All the staff are friendly and helpful. The Audio Guild is a great help and with free entry for disabled and one carer its a great place to visit.