Resources and support
Tools and connections to help you
Accessibility doesn’t stop with us. Here you’ll find useful resources, external links, and contacts for organisations that provide specialist advice and support. Whether you’re looking for national accessibility standards, local community groups, or practical guides, this section connects you with the right information.
Accessible businesses benefit everyone – from customers to staff to the wider community. We offer guidance, funding opportunities, and real-life examples of organisations that have improved accessibility throughout the Chilterns region. If you’re a business owner within the landscape, explore how you can apply for funding through Defra’s Access for All programme, learn from best practice, and take practical steps to create a space that welcomes everyone.
Resources and support for visitors
Accessible places to go:
There are a number of online accessibility sites providing accessibility information on visitor attractions, cafes, pubs, hotels, shops and countryside sites.
Community groups:
It can be daunting to plan visits if you have additional access or support needs and don’t know what to expect when you get to a venue or countryside site. Luckily there are some wonderful community groups which can provide support, encouragement and the fun of going out in a group:
Bucks Vision offer monthly walks across the Aylesbury Vale. Sighted guides and transport can be provided. So if you would like to get outdoors, improve your fitness and meet like-minded people why not get in touch!
The Disabled Ramblers is a charity working to improve accessibility. They have an annual programme of 25-30 rambles suitable for mobility scooters throughout England and Wales.
The Chiltern Open Air Museum offer an accompanied walks programme, which you can see here.
Resources and support for businesses
One in four of the UK’s population is disabled which may affect where they choose to visit or stay. The word ‘disability’ relates to a wide range of conditions. Everyone’s access needs are different and what one person may consider accessible another person may not. For example, what a wheelchair user, someone who is neurodivergent and a person with hearing loss will be looking for will really vary. This is why information is crucial. 95% of disabled people look for accessibility information before choosing to visit somewhere for the first time. Three quarters of disabled people have said that they will not visit a new place if they cannot find the information they need.
There are useful resources and support for businesses, attractions and countryside sites looking to provide accessibility information for their visitors. Here is a selection:
Access Able is used by over 6.2 million people each year. Their team of access surveyors can carry out access assessments and produce an Access Guide for your venue, see here for details. It will describe each part of the visitor or customer journey from arriving at the venue, to getting in, getting around and then everything the place and space has to offer. They assess countryside sites and outdoor attractions as well as buildings, for example Woodoaks Farm features a range of indoor attractions as well as an outdoor nature trail.
The Chilterns National Landscape has Defra Access Funding until 31 March 2026 to grant fund capital projects to make the Chilterns more accessible to people of all ages and abilities and from all backgrounds.
VisitEngland’s Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for businesses has lots of useful resources for businesses which can be downloaded free of charge.
Buckinghamshire is the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. In 2022 Buckinghamshire Culture along with the National Paralympic Heritage Trust and the County’s leading museum and cultural attractions developed a project called Together We Build. A key outcome for this project was the development of a Disability Access Manifesto. This created some useful online resources to help guide businesses on their access journey, which remains a useful resource for others which you can find here.
Local businesses that are leading the way
Roald Dahl Museum
Accessible loos, hearning loops and BSL smartphone app Signly.
Waddesdon Manor
Changing Places toilet, accessible shuttle bus, sensory map,
accessibility guide and floor plans
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Off road wheelchairs (trampers), and electric mobility schooters available, sensory trail and backpacks, concessionary rates for visitors with disabilities and free entry for an essential companion.
Countryways at Road Farm
Care farming initiative
Pipsticks Walks
Walks which are planned to meet individual requirements for people with physical and sensory access needs e.g. guided walks which avoid stiles or which follow well-made paths and tracks with limited gradient.
A Foot in the Chilterns
Walks and activities for all from wheelchair users to fitness fanatics in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is easily accessible with good road and public transport links.
‘A Foot in the Chilterns’ was born out of a passion for nature and the countryside and a wish to share that passion with all people – able and less able.