Ryde is a Victorian town and many of the buildings in town are Grade II listed and therefore very old and with varying degrees of accessibility for wheelchairs users. But Ryde has plenty of restaurants and cafes in town, and many are accessible.
Here's some useful accessibility information for the venues hosting entertainment for the festival.
Easy wheelchair access as there are no steps to the entrance. Once inside, the bar and seating area are on one level. It is a small building, and has no room for dedicated disabled toilets. There are no steps to the ladies, but the gents has 4 steps.
Toilets are accessed is via Department’s side entrance, reachable through the Co-op car park or the Cross Street alleyway. As well as ladies and gents toilets, there are disabled facilities, plus baby changing. Open Tuesday – Saturday 09:00 – 18:00.
The daytime festival site is located on Ryde's seafront just west of the pier. This park is mostly flat with grassed areas, tarmac paths and some public benches. This is where the outdoor stage and daytime activities take place.
An accessible toilet is provided for the duration of the daytime festival on Saturday and Sunday.
The Royal Victoria Arcade on Union Street is an original Victorian shopping arcade. There are three wide steps which lead from the street into the flat, level ground-floor areas, allowing passage into the arcade's independent shops and cafe. Some of the shops have narrow doorways.
This ground-floor area is where some of our market vendors and pop-up entertainers are located.
The subterranean Museum of Ryde, underneath the arcade, is accessed via steps. However a stairlift has been installed to reach the lower-level cellar exhibits, but this may not accommodate all types of larger or motorised wheelchairs.
There are no toilets located in the arcade.
Access to the Isle of Wight Bus and Coach Museum is suitable for wheelchair and pushchair users. Visitors in wheelchairs are welcome; please ask the museum staff for any special requirements. The museum will always provide all possible assistance whenever required.
Externally, the areas outside the Museum are concrete, with gentle slopes that continue to the Museum entrance. Full access is available to the main display areas, which again are constructed from concrete and are predominently level, with gengle slopes and ramps.
Disabled and Baby Changing Toilet facilities are available within the Museum building.
As a grade II listed Victorian property, the hotel is unfortunately unable to make all areas fully accessible. However, the hotel has allocated a selection of rooms on the first floor, accessible by lift, as level access only.
To enter the hotel, all guests will need to be able to climb a few exterior steps. There are 6 wide steps from the street into the entrance lobby and reception of the hotel. Members of the hotel team are available to offer assistance where needed, with lifting mobility aids, or help in any other way. Ramp access is at the rear of the hotel, in via the Function Room.
A disabled toilet is located on the first floor, accessed by lift from reception.
The Function Room - where Friday and Saturday's evening entertainment takes place - is on the ground floor and level with the hotel's entrance lobby. The Brasserie Restaurant and Harry’s Bar are also accessible via one step, with a further few steps down to access the toilets in this area.
If you are booking to stay for the weekend, please make the hotel team aware at booking of any accessibility needs that your party may have, so they can best advise and help make your stay enjoyable.
