Updated Accessibility Guide Helps Disabled Visitors Navigate Guildford

Published on: 30 Oct, 2026
Updated on: 30 Oct, 2026

By Cristina Lia Trujillo

A guide showing how easy Guildford’s shops and services are to get into and around, compiled by a wheelchair user, has been updated to help disabled visitors plan their trips into town.

An updated guide to how accessible Guildford town centre’s shops and services are is now available, as Purple Tuesday, the international day that encourages organisations to improve access and customer service for disabled people, is marked today (Tuesday, November 3).

Version 2 of the Guildford Accessibility Guide has been produced by Experience Guildford with Andrew Crawte, a member of the Guildford Access Group and a wheelchair user, who has visited businesses across the town to assess them.

Copies are available at Shopmobility and at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC), and the guide can also be read online on the Experience Guildford website.

According to Purple Tuesday, one in five potential UK consumers is disabled, and 75 per cent of disabled people and their families have walked away from a UK business because of poor accessibility or customer service.

Guildford accessibility guide at Shopmobility in a mobility scooter basket.

Andrew, who has previously helped to produce guides for Godalming and Farncombe, approached the Guildford Access Group to ask whether he could update the guide for Guildford. The group put him in touch with Experience Guildford.

He looks at access for people with hearing and sight impairments, “but mostly for physical disabilities, for wheelchair users, like me”.

“I always check if they’ve got ramps and if they’ve got lifts, and also low-down counters and accessible toilets,” he said.

Andrew said another important thing for shops and services in town was making sure counters were not too high, and that staff could pass items down to customers if they were too high to reach.

“We’re a small space, so it can be a challenge to fit everything in whilst also ensuring all customers can navigate the shop floor freely,” said Becky Craggs of Lush Guildford. “This is why it was so beneficial to have a visit from Andrew, who could share practical feedback from his own experience.”

Andrew Crawte, Emma White, Jacob and Che from Lush in Lush with the accessibility guide.

Andrew’s first visit found that most of the store was accessible, but a large table in the middle made it difficult to reach the back of the shop floor, especially at busier times.

After the first guide was published, the store took the findings to Lush’s head office, which sourced a narrower table. When Andrew returned to assess the changes, the shop received a green rating across the board.

“A year on, we’ve made further improvements by removing the central table altogether and replacing it with a much smaller, round display unit,” Becky said.

“Lush’s ethos is ‘all are welcome, always’, and this is exactly why it’s so important for businesses to consider accessibility. If we want to welcome all visitors, we must be open to feedback and make changes where necessary.”

Andrew said of the changes: “When I came in before, one of your colleagues said that you would be doing the alterations and that you would be altering the access. And it seems like, for me, you’ve done that, and it seems like you’ve done a very good job.”

For the team at Experience Guildford, the project is personal. Emma White’s mother has multiple sclerosis (MS), as does Amanda Masters, Experience Guildford’s CEO.

Emma said: “For me, accessibility is about more than just practical considerations; it’s about making sure people feel comfortable, included and able to experience Guildford in their own way.

“I know that even small changes can make a real difference to someone’s visit, and it’s lovely to have a guide that helps local businesses understand how they can make that difference.”

The new, more accessible shop floor in Lush.

Jacob, one of Experience Guildford’s town rangers, said people close to him live with reduced mobility, so he is always looking for ways to improve access.

“A lot of things that people don’t think about,” he said. “Have you put your wheelie bins out on the kerb? Is that going to block someone with a buggy, wheelchair or mobility scooter?

“Guildford should be open and accessible to all, and the businesses that we’ve been visiting for this guide are no exception.”

The launch follows Experience Guildford taking over the management of Guildford Shopmobility, which has run for around 30 years. The service closed in June after Age UK Surrey, which ran it, faced funding problems. It reopened with a one-off grant from Guildford Borough Council and Experience Guildford in charge.

Shopmobility lends manual and powered wheelchairs and scooters to anyone, of any age, who has difficulty getting around the town centre, and users can park free of charge.

Emma said she hoped the guide would “continue to inspire more businesses to think about accessibility and work together to make Guildford a welcoming place for everyone”.

Printed copies of the guide are available at Shopmobility, on Level 3 of Bedford Road car park next to the Friary Shopping Centre, which is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm, and at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC). The guide can also be read online here.