New guide to getting a new car

Where can we get advice on buying a car for my disabled husband?

There are a number of factors to consider, not least whether you buy a new car outright, obtain one via hire purchase, or through the Motability Scheme by simply exchanging the Higher Rate Mobility Allowance, if your husband has one, for a car.
   A new 40-page publication called Get Motoring has just been published by disability rights organisation RADAR with support from Motability Operations. It looks at fi nding and fi nancing a car and also charts and compares the different methods.
   Additional features include the Blue Badge scheme, adaptations, VAT exemption and other costs associated with getting on the road, including depreciation if you buy your own car.
   The guide has been written by journalist Helen Smith, who told Mobility

Launch of the new guide: Pictured, left to right, are: Mike Betts, chief executive of Motability Operations; Phil Friend, chairman of RADAR; Clive Frusher, editor of Mobility Today magazine; Helen Smith, author of the Get Motoring guide.

Today magazine: ‘I remember thinking I’d never drive again after losing my hands and legs to meningococcal septicaemia but once I was assessed it was just a matter of adaptations. And because I already had a driving licence I just needed a letter from my

doctor to the DVLA saying I was fit to drive.’
Wheelchair user Phil Friend, chairman of RADAR, said: ‘We believe that Get Motoring is an essential tool for any disabled person looking to increase their freedom.’
Mobility Today magazine readers can

obtain a free copy of the publication from RADAR by calling them on 020 7250 3222. Alternatively, you can download it from their website at www.radar.org.uk

Bed and breakfast website

Do you know of any bed and breakfast accommodation suitable for disabled travellers?

Provided you have internet access, try this site
A variety of accommodation is shown on the website, which has a county by county guide. Scroll down to the county of your choice, hit the button, and up comes brief details. You can then get further, detailed information from the individual sites.
It’s not awash with accommodation, but you are likely to find somewhere that suits your needs.

Top pub is disabled-friendly

Where can I find information about accessible pubs with good food?

good number of pub guides and books are available but none, to the best of our knowledge, provides the information you are seeking. Perhaps readers of Mobility Today can let us know of good, accessible pubs serving food in their locality. We would be pleased to publish a list.
One of the latest guides brought to our attention is the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs 2007. The 600-plus pages are well laid out, with good photography and detail,

including travel directions, sample menus and beers on sale.
Winner of the Michelin Pub of the Year award is The Bell at Skenfrith, in Monmouthshire. The guide says: ‘The daily-changing menu specialises in seasonality and freshness and provides diners with an appetising and balanced selection of dishes - from the rustic to the more adventurous - but all prepared with care and a refreshingly unfussy approach’.
Jenny Hutchings, from The Bell, tells us that all of the restaurant, bar areas and toilets are disabled-friendly.

The Michelin Guide

The Bell can be found 11 miles west of Ross-on-Wye by the A49 on the B4521.
More details at www.skenfrith.co.uk or by telephoning 01600 750235.