Overview

This was my first major trip out since the beginning of lockdown last March having recently been in hospital I was very nervous about going out and about again. I went to Kilwinning to visit a local bridal shop to attend a family wedding. I have to say on my first trip I was pleasantly surprised everyone round about me who is wearing masks and trying to keep their distance as much as possible. The town was fairly quiet as it was later on in the afternoon. The only improvement that I could suggest is the addition of an accessible changing places toilet perhaps within the grounds of the abbey.

Transport & Parking

On this occasion I drove to Kilwinning by car with my mum and we parked in the public carpark which has plenty of accessible parking spaces just behind the High Street shops. Although the High Street is pedestrianised there is opportunity for disabled motorists to park in designated parking spaces on the main street itself

Access

There is a direct route from the High Street carpark to the High Street shops itself. You can walk through a small vennel from the car park straight onto the main street which is all pedestrianised so it's relatively safe for most people to walk about. The only thing I would say is that it can at times be a shared spaces area as some people do drive down at certain times of the day so I would one visually impaired people to perhaps ask a local shop owner about the busiest times. There are accessible parking spaces for disabled motorists on the High Street itself which are marked on the paving stones.

Toilets

There were no accessible toilets I was aware of or could see on the High Street and perhaps this would be a useful addition for the future I feel the accessible changing places toilet perhaps located within the grounds of the abbey beside the visitor centre so that it could be monitored at different times of the day.

Staff

The staff in all the shops that he visited it were very very friendly and more than willing to help to move things or bring things to me if I was unable to access them. All the shopkeepers and shop assistants were very Covid compliant and all of that hand sanitiser on entry to their shops and advised people of the rules around wearing masks. I have to admit that this made my first trip out a more positive and reassuring one for me as a disabled person.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I would definitely visit Kilwinning High Street again and hopefully next time I will be able to meet up with some friends that I haven't seen for a long time. On this occasion I didn't have my assistance dog Remus with me but I'm sure many of the shop owners would've been willing to accommodate him. I also visited Sharon's bridal boutique who was very willing to help me look for an appropriate wedding outfit.

Photos