10th May 2022
Accessible & Inclusive Places General News MT Adventures
How to prepare for a festival as a wheelchair user
Thinking of attending a festival but not sure how to plan for the event if you use a wheelchair? Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered… Here, at Mountain Trike, our all-terrain wheelchairs are designed for accessing the outdoors, and we've outlined some top tips to help you navigate and plan for a festival.
Outdoor festivals are back! Whether you’re a music rocker, foodie fan, or prefer something a little more cultured or family-focused, there is pretty much a festival for everyone.
And with one of the country’s largest celebratory events in decades taking place this June (2022), the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, perhaps you’re arranging your own mini-festival.
However, for some, especially if you’re disabled, the thought of attending a festival will fill you with fear. The uneven terrain, the toilet facilities, the crowds, the changing weather and the inevitable mud can all be a nightmare.
But it doesn’t have to be. Festival organisers have got a lot better at ensuring their events are disability-friendly – after all, everyone has the right to enjoy all the fun of the festival and it should be accessible for all.
Despite this, you’re probably going to need to do some extra preparations…
Accessible festival checklist
The size of the festival and how established it is will often determine the amenities available for disabled people and wheelchair users.
Below is a checklist of recommendations to look for when seeking the most disability and wheelchair friendly festivals to attend:
It is good to see that some of the mainstream festivals, such as Glastonbury, Latitude, Bestival, Isle of Wight offer these amenities and that many smaller festival organisers are now starting to provide more of these.
We’d recommend checking directly with the organiser to see what amenities are available for accessing the festival. Organiser websites should provide this information, but, as we all know, descriptions of accessible services aren’t always universal.
If you can see photos of the amenities, that will give you a better idea of how suitable they are for you. If you have any doubt, get in contact with the organisers.
Don’t forget to read our article on how to transport your all-terrain wheelchair or trike to help you prepare for the festival.
Getting over rough ground
The terrain and muddy fields at festivals tend to be pretty impractical if you’re using a standard wheelchair or mobility aids.
Obviously, the weather in the UK is very unpredictable – we’ve all seen those awful mud scenes. But thick mud can be as problematic as rutty and extremely dry ground caused by very hot weather.
Look out for festivals with hard paths, often created with compacted ground and mesh plastic, offering a more stable surface.
However, they don’t usually run to everywhere you want to go, so ideally get a map or plan ahead of time that shows where they cover so that you can plan ahead.
Keep in mind though, that even if they run across a lot of the festival, they’re still not ideal if you use a manual wheelchair or some mobility aids, so you might want to think about upgrading.
Some festival organisers provide mobility equipment, such as Glastonbury and Goodwood. But as yet, we aren’t aware of any organisers who have fleets of all-terrain wheelchairs available for public use.
Our Mountain Trike all-terrain wheelchair products make it a much more practical choice of wheelchair for festivals – after all, the Mountain Trike was designed for accessing the outdoors and travelling over uneven ground.
Here are some of the product benefits Mountain Trike customers love:
Despite potholes and bumpy rides, Mountain Trikes absolutely handles the terrain and provides a safe and comfy ride. Plus, they’re rugged and look cool!
If you want to try before you buy, we also hire our Mountain Trikes so you can check how well it will work for you.
Packing the right equipment
Packing is fundamental to having an enjoyable festival experience, so we’ve outlined a few items to help with your packing list:
As well as packing all your festival essentials, we’d recommend taking a few items for your Mountain Trike wheelchair:
Enjoy the festival season and don't forget to tag and share your experiences and pictures with us!
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