Being spontaneous is great for your mental health; it’s exciting, makes you feel confident and opens you up to new opportunities. But for many people with a disability or chronic illness, making spur-of-the-moment decisions is difficult. Day trips, minibreaks and holidays need so much research and planning that they can take weeks, or even months, to organise.  

My husband, Dan, and I are familiar with these challenges; Dan has Friedreich’s Ataxia, so he’s a wheelchair user, and I have Psoriatic Arthritis, meaning my mobility can be reduced during a flare-up. 

When looking to go somewhere, we have to consider a lot, including: 

• Is the entrance wheelchair accessible? 

• Are there steps anywhere throughout the venue? 

• Are there wheelchair accessible toilets? 

• Are there any steep slopes? 

• In any outdoor areas of the venue, are there paths suitable for wheelchairs? Is the ground tarmac, gravel, grass, uneven stones/cobbles or slabs? 

• Is there Blue Badge parking on-site or nearby? If not, is there a train station nearby with easy access to the platforms? 

Despite the level of planning we need to do for trips away, Dan and I recently made a rare, spontaneous decision… we bought tickets to a gig at Eden Project in Cornwall, 240 miles from home! 

Being able to say ‘YES’! 

A few months ago, a mailing list email landed in my inbox… Biffy Clyro would be playing at Eden Project! My favourite band, playing at such a unique venue… that sounded pretty special and unmissable to me!  

But, tickets were going on sale in just a few hours… Somehow, I’d missed any previous emails about it. In such a short amount of time, there was no way we’d be able to work out if it was feasible for us to go. Is Eden Project accessible? All of it? Some of it? What about the specific part where the gig would be? Could we access and explore enough of Eden Project for it to be worth going? Where would we stay?  

Then, something popped into my head: ‘I wonder if there’s an AccessAble guide for Eden Project?’ I tapped it into the search bar of the AccessAble website, and, in answer to our dilemma, several Detailed Access Guides popped up! Thanks to the guides, within five minutes, we’d decided we wanted to go! We were lucky enough to get tickets that afternoon, so we excitedly started planning a mini-break to Cornwall for July! 

Eating and Sleeping

The day before the Eden Sessions gig, we travelled down to Cornwall from the West Midlands and stayed at a Premier Inn in Newquay. We often stay in Premier Inns, as you know what you’re getting, and we’re familiar with their accessible rooms. But this time, we got something we weren’t expecting… a room with a sea view!  

The next day, we enjoyed lunch at Pizza Express on the beautiful seafront. Fuelled for the afternoon and evening ahead, we drove to St Austell to check into our second Premier Inn of the trip. Soon after, we hopped back in the car and, within fifteen minutes, were at Eden Project.  

When we arrived, the staff were directing cars and helping people get to where they needed to. It was very smooth, and we didn’t get stuck in any queues at all. Although many Brits tend to love a queue, that usually doesn’t include when in a car, so we were pleased to drive straight to the blue badge parking area, a minute’s walk from the main entrance.  

The Eden Project

The main entrance is through the Visitor Centre, which has a café and shop, and information about the site and your visit. Something that stood out during our visit was the helpfulness of the staff and the thought that had gone into making the site as accessible as possible. In the Visitor Centre, there was an accessibility information area. Here, the lovely, friendly staff gave us our accessible platform access wristbands, a map of the site, and information to help us during our visit.  

With a few hours to go before the gig, we were ready to start exploring. We stepped out of the Visitor Centre and were greeted by an impressive view of the two massive biomes, the surrounding outdoor gardens, and the stage. Of course, the thing we were most excited about seeing was inside the biomes, so we made our way down the winding slopes towards them.  

We started with the Mediterranean biome… WOW! It was like being teleported straight to an Italian village. The warm air was filled with the aroma of sweet herbs and flowers, and everywhere we looked, there were strikingly colourful plants. As we meandered through the biome, there were treats at every turn; from a lizard scurrying across the path in front of us, to ancient olive trees, and a Mediterranean restaurant… There were so many unexpected gems to discover. 

Next was the Rainforest biome, which also didn’t disappoint. The biome has an accessible canopy walkway, a waterfall, and over 1000 varieties of plants. It was breathtaking! Unfortunately, we underestimated how much time we would want to spend exploring before the gig; if we go to one there again, we’ll arrive earlier so that we can take our time a bit more.  

The gig!

 After some food and drink, we decided to go and find the Accessible Viewing Platform ready for the gig. The view was brilliant, there was an accessible toilet especially for that area, and the staff couldn’t have been any more friendly or helpful. We settled into our spot, took in the view and got ready for the gig. It is the most impressive venue we’ve been to for a gig. Biffy Clyro were incredible, as always, and the setting elevated the whole evening and made it my favourite time I’ve seen them.  

Despite being in a vast crater left by an old clay mine, Eden Project is surprisingly accessible. Naturally, there are some steep slopes, so Dan was grateful to have brought his electric attachment for his wheelchair. The Eden Project do offer an all-terrain ‘Tramper’ mobility scooter for hire. The Tramper copes well with the steepest slopes, but there is only one available, so they strongly advise booking in advance to hire it. 

Eden Project turned out to be one of the best days out that Dan and I have had. We can’t wait to go back! And hopefully, the experience (and use of AccessAble guides) will give us the confidence to be more spontaneous in the future!