Royal Botanic Garden

moirat

04 Jan 2021

Christmas at the Botanics

5

5

Date of visit: January 2021

I am a carer or friend of a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment, dexterity or coordination, moving around and understanding.

Overall Rating

Excellent

A beautiful, magical outdoor trail of light and sound. Lifted the spirit during a very challenging time!

Disabled Access In and Around

Excellent

No steps - the trail was all on a wide, smooth surfaced path with social distancing enforced. There is a dedicated email address for queries from powerchair and wheelchair users. The paths were well gritted too. Lighting is low in some places for environmental reasons and visitors are encouraged to bring a torch but we didn’t need to use it. Sound volumes are restricted to specific light shows away from areas of wildlife in the gardens. Signage was very clear and staff were easy to identify, friendly and helpful. There was a large, clear map of the event at each entrance and a QR code that could be downloaded to your phone or tablet with information about the sound and art installations.

Parking & Transport

Excellent

We parked and the directions for where to park (and where not to) on the tickets were very clear. There was also very good information on taxi drop off points and disabled parking.

Accessible Toilets

Good

There were accessible toilets at each entrance although we did not use the toilets.

Staff

Excellent

The staff were excellent, friendly and ensured everyone had a good safe time. They were very sensitive to ensuring social distancing was adhered to. Santa was still on particularly good form - counting down the days until next Christmas!

Additional Information

The event had been organised to ensure it was covid secure and information about the measures was provided beforehand and at the event. Measures included hand sanitising, enforcing social distancing, the rule of 6 in place at the time and reducing dwell times at the various light shows to avoid crowding. People not exempt from wearing face coverings wore masks, even though the event was outdoors. It felt very safe to attend.