“I would like to add my review here, partly due to the two questions in the FAQ below.
2,3) Pushchair friendly/Wheelchair friendly? Windermere Lake Cruises say they are....
... but in fact they are wheelchair HOSTILE.
This is what happened November 2022 when we booked for a family of seven, including a child with severe Downs syndrome.
We booked a return boat trip from Bowness to Lakeside, seven of us and a dog.
One of the party is a disabled child also with special learning difficulties.
We arrived at the boat with the child in a pushchair, and were told we could only board if he stayed out of the pushchair for the whole journey.
We took the child out of the pushchair, but he did not understand what was happening and became so distressed we had to put him back in.
There was no room for negotiation, even if we promised to put the brakes on the wheels or hold it for the duration of the trip.
His father said they would have to abandon the boat trip and take the car to meet us at Lakeside.
It was too late in the year for the steam train to be an option.
I got a quick ticket partial refund, and we had to split up - five on the boat and two in the car.
It took the pleasure out of the trip, which otherwise would have been very good.
Surely no company should treat a disabled child in this way.”
