Start your visit to the Forth Valley area with a trip to the iconic Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only rotating boat lift. A magnificent feat of 21st Century engineering, the Wheel links the Forth and Clyde and Union canals, lifting boats 115 ft in the air so that they can continue on their journey.

The Wheel is a fantastic place for families to spend the morning. With boat trips, a visitor centre and gift shop, kids play areas, a splash zone and a range of activities including waterwalkerz, canoeing, bike hire and segway safaris there is something for everyone.

Easily accessible by car, it’s also a short taxi ride away from Falkirk High and Falkirk Grahamston stations and is served by bus routes from Falkirk Town Centre. Much of the site is on one level and is accessible for visitors with limited mobility. A number of disabled parking spaces are located directly outside the Visitor Centre, and wheelchairs and mobility scooters can be taken onboard the boat trip. Wheelchairs are also available to borrow free of charge and sensory bags are available at reception. If you are visiting in the run-up to Christmas, look out for specific ASN-friendly boat trips to see Santa.

The attraction uses the free Welcome app from Neatebox. With this app, you can contact participating venues before your trip to make them aware of any specific assistance you need. Venues receive an overview of your condition and top tips to aid their interaction with you.

There’s no charge to access the site, and essential companions or carers go free when accompanying a disabled visitor on the regular boat trips. Assistance dogs are also allowed onboard official boat trips and water bowls are provided for their refreshment outside the visitor centre. Stay for a spot of lunch at the onsite café before heading in towards Falkirk for the afternoon.

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Dylan's tips

Getting on the boat was easy, the tables in the café were the right height & I could get around the shop really easily. Toilets were slightly small but perfectly adequate.

The Mariner Leisure Centre
A short drive from the Falkirk Wheel, The Mariner Leisure Centre in Camelon has activities for all the family to enjoy. The Great Mariner Reef soft play is for children up to the age of 12 and includes a seating area and café for parents and carers to relax and watch all the fun. The family-friendly swimming pool has a splash pool area for toddlers and a lagoon shaped pool complete with wave machine for the more adventurous members of the family. The centre has undergone a recent refurbishment, which includes improvements to wheelchair access and a Changing Places toilet. Free parking is available, including disabled spaces, at entrance level.

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Forth Valley Sensory Centre
Next door to the Mariner Leisure Centre, you’ll find the Forth Valley Sensory Centre. It has a sensory garden, which is free, and has been designed as a place for those with a sensory impairment to relax and enjoy. The attraction uses the free Welcome app from Neatebox. With outdoor tables and chairs and a picnic bench, it’s a great spot to have lunch on a nice day. You can even say hello to the famous Tin Man while you are in the Sensory Garden, now an official Pokestop for Pokémon Go players. There’s also a fully accessible café and child-friendly sensory room in the centre too.

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Head into the centre of Falkirk for a spot of retail therapy and refreshments in the Howgate Shopping Centre. It’s a short drive from The Mariner Centre and there’s plenty of disabled parking on site. The centre is committed to providing an inclusive shopping experience and is the first in Scotland to be certified as autism friendly. It also works with Alzheimer Scotland, Forth Valley Sensory Centre and other organisations to make the shopping experience as stress-free as possible for people with additional needs. Open seven days a week, it’s home to a selection of coffee shops, Boots and Wilko plus brands the kids love such as JD Sports, Claire’s and New Look.

Held on the first Sunday of every month, Sensory Shopping at the Howgate provides a relaxed shopping experience for those with autism. The Howgate also runs a series of family fun events throughout the year - keep checking their website for details.

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Dylan's tips

The Howgate is fully accessible, and the website has lots of useful info. I would visit early if you want a seat in the café. Just watch out for the height restrictions in the car park and a couple of the accessible toilets are just a wee bit small but perfectly good.

The Helix Park is home to the majestic Kelpies, the largest equine sculptures in the world. Standing tall at 30 metres high and weighing an incredible 300 tonnes each, they were built as part of a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal and have quickly become a must-see attraction for any visitor to Scotland.

Opened in 2013, The Helix park is designed to be accessible to all visitors and includes a wide range of outdoor attractions for all the family. Spend the morning admiring the views and enjoying all the park has to offer. You can hire a paddle boat for a trip round the lagoon, there’s an Adventure Play Zone and Splash Zone for kids of all ages plus a section for wheelchair users, a wetland boardwalk to get you closer to local wildlife and miles of cycle routes featuring wide, smooth paths that are wheelchair and powerchair friendly. At the Kelpies, there’s a fully accessible Visitor Centre where you can enjoy refreshments overlooking the sculptures and shops that stock local gifts and souvenirs. At the other side of the park, you’ll find the Plaza Café near the play area and lagoon.

Disabled parking is available outside the entrance to the Kelpies Visitor Centre. There are also disabled spaces at the play area car park which is about 300 metres from the Plaza Café and can be accessed by smooth wide pavements. Both the Visitor Centre and Plaza Café are accessible to wheelchair and powerchair users and include disabled toilets. There are also public transport links from Falkirk town centre and Falkirk High and Grahamston stations.

The Kelpies Tours operate from the ‘Head Down’ Kelpie and are delivered on a rolling basis, so pre-booking is not required. For tour times, please check the website or call 01324 590960.

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Dylan's tips

I had a great trip to the Helix. The visitor centre is very accessible and staff were really helpful. Table heights may be a slight problem in the café, but they do have a number of booths which are perfect.

Situated in the centre of Grangemouth and a short, 15-minute drive from the Kelpies, stop off at Zetland Park for some more outdoor fun. The park has undergone significant refurbishment and features a new, fully inclusive play area as well as tennis courts, cycle tracks, an e-bike station, a beautiful sensory garden and ample space for picnics.

The new play park has a range of play equipment that is suitable for children in wheelchairs and a nearby sensory garden that is also fully accessible to wheelchair users. To use the wheelchair swing, you will need a RADAR key.

A fantastic new pump track for cyclists is now open, and for older children 16 + there is also an e-bike station for those keen to explore on two wheels. Check the Forth Bike location map here. The recently refurbished tennis courts boast an excellent surface for all players. To play on these courts, please register in advance on this Website.

Zetland park has been undergoing a major refurbishment and has received over £2m to improve the park's facilities and landscaping. Future work will improve access to the local war memorial, along with repair and conservation works to the gates and the neighbouring fountain, which dates from when the park was gifted to the community in 1882. It will also include the construction of a permanent performance space and the creation of a naturalised pond.

A Changing Places toilet can be found in Grangemouth Sports Complex which is just over 5 minutes' walk from the park.

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If the weather isn’t great, or if you fancy an indoors experience, then head up to Stirling to visit KIDZ TOWN. A 30-minute drive along the M9 from either the Kelpies or Zetland Park, this award-winning indoor play centre caters for children up to the age of  nine and beyond and those with additional support needs. 

Dedicated to fun role-play, let your children’s imaginations run wild as they dress up and play in specially themed areas spread across two ‘streets’. They can pretend to be firefighters dealing with emergencies, go shopping in Olde Town Market, fix cars in the garage and much more as they explore the immersive world of KIDZ TOWN.

The play area, café and toilets are all situated on the ground floor and  are accessible to wheelchair users. There’s a sensory room for those who need a little quiet time during their session, and exclusive ASN sessions are available to book.

Disabled parking is available on site. 

COVID Update - Pre-book your play session to avoid disappointment.

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For those with energy left at the end of a busy day, the Macrobert Arts Centre offers entertainment for all the family, including live performances and a year-round cinema programme. The centre has a great range of accessible facilities including a changing places toilet.

Located at the heart of the University of Stirling, Macrobert Arts Centre is a cultural hub for Stirling, the Forth Valley and Scotland. Take a look at the listings to see what’s on when you are in town, including relaxed and accessible performances.

The Macroberts Arts centre is also close to Bridge of Allan; a lovely small town with lots of independent retailers and a great selection of restaurants and cafés where you can stop off and have a bite to eat.

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Take a day trip on the wild side and visit one of Scotland’s most exciting family attractions. Blair Drummond Safari Park, located just outside of Stirling, is set in beautiful countryside and home to over 350 rare animals and a brilliant new dinosaur attraction.

Explore the Safari Park, and you’ll meet giraffes, tigers, penguins, meerkats and more. You’ll come face-to-face with lions, rhinos and cheeky monkeys in the drive-thru reserves; see the chimpanzees on Chimp Island from a new viewing platform; and meet over twenty life-size moving, roaring dinosaurs in the Safari Park’s latest attraction - World of Dinosaurs. There are also plenty of opportunities to learn more about the animals at the sea lion presentations, bird of prey displays and meet the keeper talks, which take place every day. Plus, there’s a fantastic kids play area with a pirate ship, giant play fort and lots of adventure play.

The Safari Park is well catered for, with a restaurant and a BBQ and picnic area, which is just as well as, with so much to see and do here, you’ll want to spend the whole day here enjoying all that the safari park has to offer.

Set on flat ground and with smooth, wide paths, most of the park is accessible by wheelchair and power chair. There is ample disabled parking and accessible toilets, including a Changing Places toilet which is located beside the main car park. Animal habitats are well-designed for wheelchair users, and the play park includes accessible play equipment. The park asks for notice if you are bringing an assistance dog with you.

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Start the day with a visit to McLaren Leisure Centre in Callander. The centre prides itself on offering fun, inclusive activites for all the family. With a focus on accessibility, there’s dedicated free disabled parking less than 50 metres from the leisure centre entrance and wide, flat paths leading to an access ramp into the building.

Located on the ground floor, the indoor pool area has a Poolpod hoist for easy entry into the water as well as a relaxing sauna and steamroom. Younger children can explore the Woodland Kingdom indoor softplay and there’s a café serving hot food and refreshments all day. For those looking for a bit more of a challenge, there’s an eight-metre-high indoor climbing wall and a wheelchair accessible fitness suite, ready for your morning workout.

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After a couple of hours at McLaren Leisure Centre, head over to Aberfoyle where you will find Go Ape located in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

A 20-minute drive from Callander, it’s a mecca for families that have thrill seekers and adventure lovers in their midst. Test your head for heights and take the Tree Top challenge, featuring a dual ropes course and one of the UK’s longest zip wires. The course is open to children aged 10 and over and takes between two and three hours to complete depending on the route you take. Once you have finished the course, the nearby visitor centre has a gift shop and a café that serves a wide range of tasty food and hot and cold drinks to help you get your energy back!

While the courses at Go Ape are challenging, they’re designed to be accessible to as many people as possible, including amputees, people with hearing or visual impairments, and those with additional support needs. Extra equipment and adjustments to levels of supervision on the course might be needed in some cases, BSL safety briefings are also available. Contact the venue in advance so that they can make the necessary arrangements to help everyone participate safely.