Overview

I am a neurodivergent person with EDS. I have chronic pain, fatigue, and reduced mobility. I use joint splints / supports, and was using my walking stick. I went to an acoustic gig at this venue. Despite contacting the venue in advance, I didn’t feel very confident on the accessibility, as there was very little information provided on their website, or in their email response to my enquiry. We met two other people who had disabilities when we got there. The three of us chatted, and all of us felt like our requests were treated as burdensome, and had similar experiences in terms of not getting much clarity in response to our questions. We got into the venue before the rest of the crowd, along with the people we were attending with (so six people in total) and were able to choose where we sat. This was great, and a relief as we’d not known if we would or not. I’ve tried contacting the venue by email, on Twitter and on Instagram and had no reply. It honestly wouldn’t be hard to make it a better experience, but it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to engage.

Transport & Parking

We stayed at an Air B&B nearby and walked to the venue. There’s a bus stop very close to the venue. Parking is at a premium as it’s a small town.

Access

Step free access, and a bench in the corridor once you’re inside the venue. It was a part seated event, and when I asked if I could reserve a seat, I was told no, it’s first come first serve, turn up and queue early. I didn’t see any alternative communication formats. There was no information available regarding disabled access, or assistance provided with safe storage of mobility aids during the performance.

Toilets

The experience of using the accessible toilet was pretty grim. It’s kept locked, you have to get security staff to let you in. There’s no way to secure / lock the door from inside - you’re relying on security staff to guard the closed door. When I questioned this, the security person said “it’s fine, no one’s going to come in” then to her colleagues “unless you want them to” and laughed. It’s an internal room, and the person who’d just had a laugh at my discomfort was responsible both for my privacy, and had full control of the lock on the outside.

Staff

Not very helpful, unfortunately.

Photos