You Fail At Accessibility

Lord's is a fitness and recreation complex. It used to be the training centre for the state basketball team, too, but no longer; nonetheless, it's still popular and used extensively as a hub of sporting facilities. People play indoor soccer, netball, basketball, squash, tennis, etc - and there's also a gymnasium and swimming pool.

Unusually, for my experience of fitness centres, it's got solidly good disabled access.

Entry to the building is fine - flat, smooth entry ways, no stairs, etc - and the courts themselves, ditto. The most awkward thing I can see about wheelchair access is perhaps some awkwardness getting through the netting that separates the courts, but that's mildly awkward for the able-bodied, too - there's only so much you can do if you're trying to restrain the possibility of balls flying in every direction.

What was *seriously* awesome to realise about the setup was the gym.

The women's locker rooms (can't speak for the men's) have push doors to wide corridors between the rows of lockers. There is a short stairway, but it only leads to a small group of more lockers; access to the showers and toilet facilities (disabled included) is on the flat.

When you go into the gymnasium itself, unlike *every* other gym I've been to, the spaces around the machines are wide, and the machines are laid out in a way that means that there'll just be plenty of room for people and chairs to move around them. The free weight area is spacious, without obstructions, and was neat and tidy.

Again, there is a set of stairs - but the upper gallery area is used only for treadmills and cross-trainers, and I can't imagine how you would be wanting to use either of those if you couldn't manage the stairs.

And finally you have the staff and other users of the gym. I went in as a heavily overweight woman, moving a little awkwardly and leaning hard on a cane. The other patrons were friendly enough; even the older man who looked kind of grumpy, when he actually passed me as we were both changing machines, made a friendly comment about the weather.

The staff were friendly and helpful. All the reception-type folk were welcoming and passed no comment that wasn't directly relevant to our interactions. The personal trainer I talked to was friendly and encouraging. She asked me about my mobility and pain problems, but only for their relevance to working out exercise plans for me, making sure that we had a plan that was as comprehensive a workout as I would be able to handle, but risk no harm, unnecessary pain, or aggravation of my problems.

It's the most disability-friendly gym I've ever seen, both for access and what seems to be a really positive attitude of welcoming and encouraging anyone who seeks to improve their fitness and health. This is a gym where the stretching area is spacious, and supplied with plenty of mats and fitness balls, and the layout of the free weight area prioritises accessibility. It really looks as if someone worked out the gym's floor plan with wheelchairs in mind.