Overview

I visited this discount shopping village for the first time since before lockdown. It is owned by Clark's of Clark's Shoes; they have a factory nearby. I was saddened by the lack of customers and by the disappearance of some of the shops I liked to visit in the past. In general, the stock and bargains weren't as great as they were on my previous visits but this is the same all over Britain at this time and reflects the state of our economy rather than the shopping village itself. It's still definitely worth a look around though and I did get some bargains but nowhere near what I've managed to get in the past. I was really impressed by how much more accessible some of the shops are now; before, I couldn't access some of the shops as they were packed with clothes and rails but now things are much more spaced out, so ironically, shopping was easier for me than before. The walkways and paths between shops were always spacious and accesible and that hadn't changed.

Transport & Parking

There are local buses to the outlying towns and villages and a few car parks with lots of disabled spaces; you can also park in an ordinary space if there are no disabled parking spaces available.

Access

The village is easy to get around with level access and seating dotted about. The shops I visited are now all pretty accessible possibly due to less stock and Covid spacing; it was much easier for me to manoeuvre in my chair in shops. There are also services for other disabilities such as autism; there is a quiet room, sensory items, hidden disability lanyards which staff will recognise and a weekly quiet hour with lessened sensory stimulation. Staff have also undergone dementia awareness training and they seem to have made a real effort to be inclusive.

Toilets

There was at least two disabled toilets and I visited one of them; it was very clean, spacious, had grab rails and a red cord.

Staff

All staff I met were really helpful but a special thanks goes to the member of staff in The Body Shop who was especially helpful and went the extra mile for me.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

There were lots of hand sanitisers, very few people wore masks but I still felt safe as there not too many people around and signs were still up encouraging people to wear masks. As it was very hot, several shops has open doors which also made it safer and more accessible. I would still come back to visit and would recommend it; I feel Clarks have made a real effort to be inclusive and thanks for that; we just need a Changing Places toilet now please; the size of the venue would surely justify having one.

Photos