Overview

Waverley station proved to be easier than expected. The thought of so many entrances, platforms and crowds of people was daunting. The experience on the ground turned out to be fairly easy and not as stressful as imagined. Some of that was because we researched as much as we could about access before hand.

Transport & Parking

Big discovery was to find which entrance works best when arriving by taxi. The main taxi rank appears to be in Market Street but we found the accessible drop off in Carlton Road to be much easier and you can also book a cab to pick up from here too. Once dropped off you have two fairly large lifts to negotiate but you can get help via a call point from the drop off point if needed. Once we left the lifts we were right alongside the platforms and it was an easy wheel across to the assistance check in point at LNER. There is also another assistance check in point on the main concourse just before you enter the booking hall.

Access

Once we’d checked in to the assistance service we went up to the First Class Lounge where we were able to enjoy a coffee and biscuits before our train was due to load. We were collected from the lounge and escorted to the train. The ramp was deployed, we wheeled onboard and were shown to the wheelchair area and adjoining seats. We settled in for an enjoyable trip to London.

Toilets

Waverley had a large accessible loo in the First Class Lounge. We also explored the main toilet facilities in the booking hall and it was great to find a Changing Places Toilet too. The design of the door entrance system was confusing for the Changing Places and when we entered the layout was disappointing. Not being able to dry your hands was annoying as they had installed the dryer in a space where you couldn’t get your wheelchair close enough.

Staff

Assistance staff were great! Some Toilet staff need disability equality training as their language, attitude and disinterest was shocking. The ‘usual’ team weren’t around as they are so much better at customer care.

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