About Us
Those of us who love Cornwall appreciate our beautiful beaches, tranquil countryside and unique heritage. We want everyone to be able to enjoy what Cornwall has to offer, and our mission is to empower local residents, visitors and businesses to enjoy a truly inclusive community.
We want those who have any kind of accessibility challenges to be able to access easily wonderful restaurants, attractions, accommodation and activities and to have all the information they need to plan their visit.
Do you need to find a day out which someone with autism would absolutely love? You can find it here.
Which cafes and art galleries have hearing loops? Click on the Hearing filter and you can see a list and a map.
Do you need toilets with adjustable height benches or hoist systems? We can help.
We not only want to help those who need these facilities to find them easily and have support in planning days out. Our mission is to empower local businesses and communities to understand how valuable it is to all of these to welcome those who face these challenges and their carers. We want to help organisations and venues put these measures in place so that we can all come together and enjoy this magical Duchy.
Our Story
Access Cornwall was created by the disabled community for the disabled community, quite simply because they asked for it. Viki Carpenter and Emma Grigson are founding directors and more recently we have been joined by Helen Martin. All of us have lived experience of accessibility challenges including neurodivergence and caring for family members with disabilities.
Hannah Danson (second left) and Lucy Green third from left) are also our amazing and supportive directors.
We created Access Cornwall because there was no one-stop resource where people could find clear accessibility information about activities and venues in Cornwall that the disabled community can visit with family and friends. Without this important information, many people within this community simply find it easier to stay indoors and become isolated, with a very limited lifestyle as a result.
Having been funded by the National Lottery Community fund to create our website and guides with up to date accessibility information about hundreds of beaches, cafes, activities and venues around Cornwall, it is now our mission to maintain this resource. We do this with support from the real experts, those who experience challenges such as vision and hearing impairment, mobility and learning disabilities and spectrum conditions.
We also of course wish to involve carers, family and friends and also those from the wider community who run businesses such as attractions, restaurants, hotels, cafes, activity centres, accommodation, galleries and gardens.
Our goal is to create a truly inclusive community in Cornwall, and to ensure that everyone can enjoy what our county has to offer and enjoy a genuinely welcoming experience.
At its heart Access Cornwall is about ensuring that everyone can enjoy a more enriched and inclusive life, whether they are visitors or local residents.
Thank you to our funders!
The Access Cornwall website was initially developed with support from the National Lottery Awards for All fund which enabled us to build the initial website and get our project well underway. This funding was pivotal in making our vision a reality.
The training of individuals with disabilties and health conditions to help us review venues for accessibility and build strengths, confidence and skills in our team is currently being funded by Cornwall Led Local Development with European Social Fund support.
