Disabled Access Just Got Better: disabled access website Euan’s Guide teams up with BSL widget Signly

Imagine you’re planning a day out. You want to know if the café around the corner has step-free access, or if the museum has accessible toilets. Now imagine all that helpful info is online - but it’s only in text, and you use British Sign Language (BSL) as your first language.

That’s the reality for many Deaf people in the UK. But thanks to a new partnership between Euan’s Guide and Signly, that’s starting to change.

Euan’s Guide, the disabled access charity known for its honest, crowd-sourced reviews, has always been about sharing knowledge and making life easier for disabled people. It was founded in 2013 by the late Euan MacDonald MBE, a powerchair user who wanted to help others find accessible places without the guesswork.

Now, with the help of Signly, EuansGuide.com is even more welcoming. Signly is a smart, award-winning widget that brings websites to life for BSL users by showing sign language right next to the text. It’s like having a BSL interpreter built into the page.

This means visitors to EuansGuide.com can now watch signed versions of the site’s content, including reviews written by and for disabled people. Whether you’re checking out a hotel in Edinburgh or a park in Cardiff, you’ll be able to access that info in BSL.

It’s more than just a new feature. It’s a step towards real digital inclusion, and the need for this is huge - according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID):

• 1 in 3 adults in the UK are Deaf, have hearing loss, or live with tinnitus.
• That’s over 18 million people.
• Hearing loss affects over half the UK’s 55+ population.
• Around 2 million adults can’t hear most everyday conversations.

Matt Kirby, Professional Standards Lead, Signly, explains how it feels when businesses don’t consider their deaf customers, and the difference it can make when they do. “Many of our deaf team have faced less-than-ideal experiences. I once stayed at a hotel where the vibrating fire alarm under my pillow went off every hour. When I raised it with reception, they just said, ‘Oh, the battery’s dead - sorry.’ That kind of thing sticks with you. To see venues proudly welcoming sign language users - and to be able to find them easily on Euan’s Guide - is real progress.”

For many, written English isn’t their first or preferred language. BSL is. And that’s why this partnership matters.

One Euan’s Guide user, Elspeth Morrison, highlights the barriers many face when trying to learn BSL. After losing her hearing, Elspeth turned to Deaf Action for support, taking advantage of free classes funded by the Scottish Government. However, the high cost of progressing to Level 1 BSL and beyond has proven prohibitive.

Elspeth said, “If you don’t learn in childhood, it becomes an expensive business. How are things ever going to be fully accessible for deaf people when no one else can afford to learn their language? It’s yet another isolating barrier,” they shared.

She also praised her tutor at Deaf Action, describing Ann as “an inspiring and gifted teacher” who taught not only language, but also deaf culture, history, and everyday life in the Deaf community.

In addition to raising awareness of educational barriers, Elspeth celebrated the support of disabled-led resources like Euan’s Guide, for its disabled access reviews written by disabled people for disabled people.

“It’s great that our voices make a difference, and that Euan’s Guide helps so many disabled people find accessibility information from other folk who know exactly what 'accessible' means.”

The importance of reliable access information has been made clear again for Elspeth during a frustrating discussion with a holiday company, which insisted a hotel was accessible due to having two lifts — lifts that only operated between reception and the restaurant, not to the guest rooms located two floors above.

“Every time I’m about to book a holiday, I check out the hotel and area on Euan’s Guide, and I’ve received some really helpful info and tips. I always tell the holiday company booking staff about Euan’s Guide — many have expressed great interest because either they or a close family member is disabled. It’s a great resource.”

Katie McConnell, an artistic access consultant, reviewer and facilitator, agrees. She explains the importance of access and inclusion: “SSE (Sign Supported English) and BSL (British Sign Language) are two totally separate entities and it's really important to acknowledge that. As a neurodivergent person with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), I regularly use the former to communicate during non-verbal episodes such as panic attacks and it does wonders for my confidence! It means I can still express myself, share important information, and be independent. My partner is hard of hearing and cannot pick up one voice amongst many in a loud environment. For this, we are learning BSL which has its own syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. 

“Services like Signly mean that those who are not fluent in spoken English, or whose first language is BSL can have equitable access to written text. There is a common misconception that these offer the same content but it's imperative that we remember the array of differences. As someone who has to consciously adjust to the facial expressions and body language that go along with BSL, it is clear to see how natively Deaf people may struggle to understand context or intention without them. 

“Signly is the perfect solution to this and I'm excited to see the partnership with Euan's Guide - a blog I have written on for years! The work they do already improves the lives of so many disabled people and this will open those doors for an even wider demographic.”

This collaboration between Euan’s Guide and Signly has been made possible thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund and a Colleague Grant from Nationwide Building Society supporting Euan’s Guide’s work to make disabled access information more inclusive and accessible.