Brits are exploring their 2025 holidays, with an 186% rise in searches for the term in the last quarter. A survey conducted by easyJet also shows Brits plan to take three holidays this year and want to visit two new countries.
Despite many of us looking forward to our holidays, new research conducted by Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks has highlighted the need for change in British travel. A survey of the company's 33,000 disabled followers showed that 95% feel there is not enough support for them when travelling and 99% feel anxious when flying because of their disability.
One respondent revealed, “I was checking in my walker on my last flight and I was asked by staff ‘are you completely disabled’” and another respondent asked “Considering our vast population, where is the staff training?!”
Other results from the survey showed that two in three (67%) do not travel due to a lack of accessibility, support and care, with two in five (40%) feeling that a taxi is the safest form of travel.
Over three in five (61%) have also experienced delays when travelling as a direct result of their disability, and half (50%) have had to wait longer than an hour for support and assistance during different stages of their travel plans. This has resulted in 88% not feeling confident enough to travel alone and 34% sadly never doing so.
Amelia Peckham, co-founder of Yorkshire business Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks revealed: “All too often it is too difficult, stressful and not accessible to travel which results in the only real and safe option being a taxi - what you then gain in ease, you lose in money, with our results showing 51% feel it is more expensive to travel with a disability.
“There is a cost to travelling with a disability, always. Normally, it’s in time, but that invariably results in a cost implication, too.
“The key to fixing these issues once and for all is to include disabled people in the conversation about how to improve, so measures are implemented that are derived from first-hand experience, we then know the impact would be huge.”
During a girls' holiday in Scotland in October 2005, Amelia was involved in a quad bike accident at 19 years old, where she was thrown into the air after hitting a pothole. The resulting spinal injury, which her doctor likened to a meringue being smashed with a hammer, left her bedridden for months and permanently reliant on mobility aids.
“Before the accident, travelling was a huge part of my life,” Amelia shared. “I loved travelling and made it a priority. It was also my sole purpose for earning money! Six months after my accident, I was due to go to Thailand. I decided to go with my family, changing hotels and flights to ensure they were ‘accessible’ but sadly it was a disaster. My health was not great, and the level of care and accessibility I needed were drastically far from what was available, which left me unable and unwilling to travel again for two years.
“After my accident, travel was by far the most terrifying concept. I worried about whether I’d be able to stand or walk for too long, and the long queues cause inexplicable pain that takes days in bed to recover from. Then, there’s not knowing whether there will be parking, delays, seating, accessible bathrooms and more. Travel was something I actively avoided.”
Over time, Amelia has found ways to become more confident. Doing the same trips more than once has allowed her to become familiar with things such as staff, set ups and timings, however, this isn’t always the case.
Unfortunately, negative experiences are still frequent, and despite Amelia travelling by train to London most months, she explains how there is still a 50:50 chance it will go smoothly.
Amelia continued: “Sometimes the staff are great, help me with bags, finding my seat, the loo and more but other times it is completely different.
"Last week, I was left in front of a line of gawping staff to lug a suitcase half the size of me onto the train with a stick to find there was no seating. Followed by then getting to York for a connecting train to London, only to find the platform was a decent walk and two unbelievably slow lifts away.
“I made it by the skin of my teeth, but as a result of the time it took, I was in a total adrenaline-fuelled mess by the time I clambered onto the first carriage as it was about to leave. Even worse, I then found out my seat was at the far end of the train, and so I had to walk seven carriages down the aisle on a packed train with my suitcase and stick in hand.
“Safe to say it wasn’t fun, and meant I then lost a day in bed recovering in agony afterwards.”