Allegedly accessible
2
2
Date of visit: December 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment and moving around.
Overall Rating
Poor
I visited the St. Enoch Winter Wonderland on a Monday afternoon when it was not fully dark yet and it was not too busy. I had looked at the website in advance where it said the market was “fully accessible”. As many of us will know, that is not a very helpful assessment and I generally found the FAQs to be lacking. Getting around the market in my powerchair was easy enough, but many of the stalls were not easily accessible from a seated position or for anyone needing step-free access. The market had food and drink stalls as well as some stalls selling souvenirs. Other attractions were the “Solar Wheel” at the back of the square and the carousels for children on either side of it and a bar tent in the middle of the square. As you would expect, there was Christmas music playing in every stall and there was a live band in the bar tent. There was a large inflatable snowglobe where you could take pictures, but it did not have step-free access. The only attraction I engaged with was the Solar Wheel, which had a wheelchair accessible capsule. I enjoyed my time on the big wheel, but the experience of getting in and out of the cabin was quite stressful and it damaged my powerchair. The website advertises the Christmas market having accessible toilets, but the staff were not aware of the accessible toilets and a supervisor needed to be called in to provide information. I had trouble locating the toilet even after talking to several members of staff, only to find them inadequate. Someone, at some point of putting together the Winter Wonderland, had the thought that accessibility was something they needed to keep in mind. What I am wondering after visiting, though, is what they thought accessibility actually meant. Just because you can somehow get me and my wheelchair into a space – with lots of waiting, scarily steep inclines and rough handling that ultimately damaged my wheelchair – does not mean that the space is accessible. And that does not even take into consideration people with larger chairs, different mobility impairments or those whose disability is not related to mobility at all! The most widely used symbol for disability might be a person in a wheelchair, but I need everyone to understand that this only represents a small portion of disabled people. We are many, we are diverse and we deserve to have a good time when we go out, just like everybody else.
Disabled Access In and Around
Poor
The market is on St Enoch Square and its main entrance is from Argyle Street where you can admire the sausage stall shaped like a wooden Christmas pyramid. There is a crossing with traffic lights and tactile markings. There was not a lot of traffic at the time, but it can get very busy. The floor of the square is large stone paving which is pretty smooth and even. The cable covers on the floor are consistent and quite well ramped, so it was easy to get around in my wheelchair. Many of the stalls at the market have counters that are very high up or are on non-ramped platforms. The bar is in a tent in the middle of the square with an incredibly high counter but with a sign that says table service is available if needed. The seating is all picnic tables and there is not a lot of seating outside of the bar area. There is no quiet space at the event. There is very loud live music at the bar and every stall has its own music playing, which makes it quite loud with overlapping sounds. Since they are a big part of creating a festive atmosphere, everything is decorated with lights and there are a good few that are moving and flashing. The main attraction at the market is the Solar Wheel, which is advertised as accessible but I would say that is only narrowly applicable. There was no ramp to even get up to the ticket booth when I first arrived, however they put one up after I came and left it there after me. I asked whether my carer could come on for free, which I thought then was confirmed, but I ended up being charged (and refused a refund) for an adult and a child. I could not see the amount on the card machine when I paid as it was too high up. To get into the capsules of the Solar Wheel, you need to go around the right side up a slight slope that doubles back on itself and then another ramp will be put out to get you up to the level of the capsules. To then get into the capsule, there are either two steps or an incredibly steep ramp. One of the benches has to be removed from the capsule to make space for a wheelchair. My powerchair (not very large, as it is foldable) just about fit in and there was no space to move it or transfer once I was in, which meant I was stuck looking out towards the opposite side away from the market and Buchanan Street. There would be space for no more than two more people on the bench. After a few goes around, the ride ended and I then had to go backwards down that scary ramp! Then I was told to go backwards down the second ramp as well, which was very hard to line up and the person who handled all the ramps applied a lot of force to get my chair on and off and ended up damaging the chair. There was a gap in communication with the person as they did not really have any English. (I also tried German since the operators were German, but no luck there either…)
Accessible facilities: Step-free entrance, Step-free access to most areas
Parking & Transport
Average
I travelled to this place by personal vehicle
St Enoch subway station has an exit right onto the square. It is one of the two subway stations with a lift, so if you are coming from the Govan subway, which is the second station with a lift, you are in luck. The nearest bus stop is on Howard Street (1, 1A, 1C, 1E, 2, 7, 7A, 60, 60A, 61, 75, X4), at the southern side of the square, which does not have an entrance to the Winter Wonderland. I drove there and parked south of the square on Howard Street towards the St Enoch car park. There is street parking on Howard Street, but even at the time it was busy and the bays were quite small. There were no disabled bays on the street. To get to the St Enoch Square from Howard Street you have to cross a driveway with bad paving and no lowered curbs and it was not easy to get across. There is a crossing with lowered curbs and tactile markings right opposite the square, though. There is no back entrance to the market, however there are several gaps between the stalls which allow you to enter from the sides.
Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking
Accessible Toilets
Bad
The market is advertised as having accessible toilets, but it took me a long time and much back and forth to find them as there was no signage. There were portapotties on the other side of the tent, which are accessible through the tent, however they were not accessible portapotties. I asked staff about accessible toilets, but they had no information and had to ask a supervisor. The supervisor said that they were at the end “next to the big wheel behind the kiddie ride” and provided no further assistance or clarity in direction. There were two kiddie rides on either side of the wheel and I maneuvered behind the wrong one first before finding my way to the right one. Finding the accessible toilet was quite the disappointment, as it was just a slightly larger portapotty with a level threshold that did not have sufficient handrails or transfer space or simply space to fit a larger chair nevermind a carer. There was no red emergency cord either.
Staff
Poor
The staff was not very well trained or informed and were not able to provide the assistance I asked for. In giving directions for the accessible toilets, the supervisor did not give directions that were specific enough. The staff at the ticket booth for the Solar Wheel could not care less and there were difficulties in communication with the staff operating the ramps at the wheel.
