Request a copy of our recent documentary based on the Jack the Ripper walk. £4.99 to registered walkers.

 

 

Accessibility

Disabled Participants - London walking tours

Are London Walking Tours suitable for the disabled?
We endeavour to make our London walks routes as accessible as possible and most walks should be negotiated with ease by all clients.

We will do whatever we can to make your experience with us as enjoyable as possible. If needing to use a wheelchair for the purposes of attending the tour, Passengers using a wheelchair should be accompanied by a fit and able companion to assist them.

As with those confined to wheelchairs, the less able are of course welcome but should be aware that due to the structure of the walk, access to certain streets, facilities and buildings visited can be difficult. If you have difficulty in walking, we request that you take the advice of our office and pre-book your London walks. Our team will advise you which walks are in suitable locations. We therefore recommend early pre-booking of your tour so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Less able tour participants who require a wheelchair for use during the walk only must bring their own standard size collapsible wheelchair.

You must let our bookings office know in advance if you require any special arrangements, including any medical needs, on 0208 530 8443. If you have a disability or are undergoing medical treatment you must let us know when making your booking. If you haven't already done so, please do so now.

Do you provide wheelchairs onboard london walking tours?
We ask you to bring your own standard-sized wheelchair for use on a london walking tours event (clients using a wheelchair must pre-book on the designated walks).

Audio Impaired Participants
Detailed printed notes or 'fact sheets' from the tours themselves will also be handed out for selected walks upon prior request. We plan to introduce closed loop hearing systems in 2008 to assist further in the enjoyment of the walk.

Our Policy Statement
London Walking Tours is committed to providing services of the highest standard within the resources available for all existing and potential users.
Quality and equality are core values which underpin all our activities. We believe that promoting equality enriches our service delivery and ensures our services are fair and sensitive to people’s needs.

The Disability Discrimination Act (2005) places a general duty on Experience London Limited to promote disability equality and specific duties to support this aim.

Our disability equality policy sets out the company's commitment to these duties, specifically:

a) to involve disabled people in a meaningful way in the development,
monitoring and review of the disability equality policy and action plan.

b) to ensure that all clients of the company can participate, in the tour experience fully and without hindrance.

c) to comply with its statutory and legislative obligations

d) to meet the needs of and promote disability equality for its staff and third party associates.

e) to use its status and influence to encourage all its partners and service providers to support the aims of this policy

f) to make disability equality integral in the development, delivery and refinement of all other policies, initiatives and services and in the way we manage our staff.

The requirements of this policy are applicable to all staff and clients. Everyone must accept personal responsibility for implementing this policy and should be encouraged to share their views on the policy and make suggestions for its improvement.

As a small specialist company we have a unique set of challenges in delivering our Disability Equality Scheme. At the centre of our Scheme is the removal of barriers in the walking tour environment and in attitudes that prevent disabled people from achieving their full potential. Our Scheme is in line with the company's strategic priorities and with the general and specific duties of the Disability Discrimination Act.

In drawing together our Disability Equality Scheme and priorities for action we
will be using a variety of methods to gain the views of disabled clients about disability issues within the industry such as interviews and questionnaires.

The Disability Equality Policy Statement
Although we have tried to involve disabled people in the development of our Disability Equality Scheme we are aware that much more work needs to be done in order to ensure the success of further schemes. Two key areas for initial development are the involvement of people with a larger range of impairments such as visual impairment and the involvement of disabled members of staff.

Whilst we have a history of commitment to widening participation and promoting disability equality, the findings from the discussions and information gathering show a number of gaps and areas for improvement:

• The need for further training in order that staff can go beyond generalised concepts of disabilities, especially how disabilities affect fullparticipation.
• Need to further promote disability issues positively through whole industry engagement
• Review student support mechanisms and the publicity of them to ensure students know where to get the appropriate and timely support
• Provide feedback to disability service users regarding changes made as a result of their input.
• Review walking tour facilities to ensure disabled clients are not disadvantaged.
• Review walking tour route to ensure improved access for disabled people
• Review printed notes information for disabled clients.

We will develop a three-year Action Plan to deliver objectives focused round specific areas of our work. The key findings have helped us to identify priorities for action. Resources and structures are in place to make sure that we can deliver our Disability Equality Scheme and Action Plan, assess the impact of policies and practices for disability equality relevance, and monitor progress on an annual basis.

We welcome feedback on the way our Disability Equality Scheme and Action Plan are operating and on further priorities for action. This will be essential for annual reviews of progress. Let us know what you think by contacting our main London walks office or by writing to the registered office address.

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