Another venue on a Geordie industrial estate? Venue 10 was an eye-opener. Will The Grove meet expectations or miss the mark? Unlucky 13? Read on and find out!
BOOKING
Accessible booking can be made online alongside regular tickets.
The Grove’s website has an events page listing everything they’ve got going on, so you can click to choose the event you want to go to. The next page loads up with event details, such as the date, time and age restrictions, a little biography of the band or act and a YouTube video. Scroll down and click ‘Book Tickets’.
We now get sent to Fatsoma. This is not a company I’m familiar with, but it is the ticket processing company for The Grove, so just roll with it.
Again, you can see all of the event details, such as the date, time, age restrictions, and now the ticket price.
A little bit further down, you’ll see the available ticket options. You’ll be offered General Admission standing tickets and Accessibility tickets (if available). Underneath each option is an arrow marked ‘More’. If you click below the Accessibility ticket, a little box opens which says
“The venue’s accessibility platform has space for two seats and/or wheelchairs. These tickets are sold as separate tickets and accessibility companions can enter free of charge.
Once the tickets are sold out, the venue can only offer space within the main gig hall.
For further information, please email: info@thegrovenewcastle.co.uk”
When you go to ‘Get Tickets,’ the booking fees are also shown here before you commit to buying.
You will now be asked to log in to an existing account or sign up.
The next step is the checkout, so fill in your card details and complete any online banking verification processes, and you’re done!
You’ll see the confirmation page, and an email confirmation will follow. Your PDF ticket will be scanned at the door on the night of the event.
General admission tickets can also be purchased via See Tickets, but accessible tickets are not an option on that sales platform.
LOCATION AND GETTING THERE
If I say to you ‘Byker Grove’, you’ll know it as the BBC TV show with Ant and Dec starring as PJ and Duncan in the 90s (if you’re too young, ask your parents), but Byker is a district in the east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
If you’re fit and healthy, you can walk from the Millennium Bridge over the Tyne to The Grove in about 20 minutes. The walk has an overall gradient of 93 feet, roughly 28 meters.
Byker Station on the Tyne and Wear Metro system is a short distance away, and there are bus stops in the local area connecting to the broader region. Bear in mind, though, you’re around the banks of the Tyne, so the area is on a hillside, not level!
If you come by car, there are very few parking spaces dedicated to the venue, but there is space to park in front of other units. Please check local signage; some units may require 24-hour access or have different restrictions. Since it was an evening, most other businesses were closed, so there were no lorries or vans and minimal traffic.
There is street parking on adjoining streets, too!
There’s some funky wall art painted on the outside of the building, so it’s easy enough to find once you get near.
GETTING IN
The tarmac all around the outside of the venue is smooth and well-maintained.
Although The Grove is on an industrial estate, it’s been newly renovated into an entertainment venue, so you expect they will have considered access requirements when the work was done.
As you approach the door, it all looks positive. The entrance is step-free with handrails, a concrete ramp, and large outer glass doors propped open. The large inner glass doors open outwards, and then you’re into a small entrance hall with a bench on the right-hand side.
The venue’s ground floor is step-free with smooth flooring and wide doors.
FACILITIES
On the left in the entrance hall, you’ll find a food serving hatch that hosts food vendors every weekend from Friday to Sunday. There was food this Tuesday evening when we were there, too!
In front of you are glass doors leading out onto the courtyard. There is a small lip, but I happily bumped over it. The area has wooden benches, patio heaters, a large projector screen, and covered seating, plus stairs leading up to the terrace (unfortunately, it is not accessible!).
As you turn right towards the downstairs bar, the accessible toilet is tucked in a corner. With the standard grab rails and red emergency cord, it has everything you need, including a flip-top waste bin and sanitary bin.
The flip-top bin is only reachable for a wheelchair user when sitting on the toilet, and the red cord was wrapped around a grab rail multiple times, so it would be impossible to pull from the bottom.
As you enter the downstairs bar, you’ll see a large TV screen on the right-hand wall and the bar in front of you. The bar is high and doesn’t have a lowered section, but there is a gate at the far end of the bar, where I’m sure staff would be willing to assist you.
Most of the tables and seating are on a high level, but there are a couple of lower tables and benches. One was being used as the merch table, reducing the options slightly.
Drinks are served in rigid plastic reusable cups, which are much easier to hold than flimsy single-use plastics, and you’re less likely to spill them. There are no glasses allowed in The Venue room.
There is also a cocktail bar upstairs, again with no step-free access, so it is not accessible.
At the far end of the bar are two large glass doors leading into The Venue. Outside the venue door was a printed list of stage times, and a staff member checked tickets and stamped hands so you could leave and come back if you needed to use the toilet.
The doors open inwards into the venue, making it narrow to squeeze between the edge of the door and the top of the steps in a wheelchair.
Inside the venue, you are greeted by a set of 5 steps down onto the floor; however, to the left, there is an area, big enough for two chairs or two wheelchairs, stepped out slightly from the left-hand wall, which is the dedicated Access Platform.
SEATING
The Access Platform is small - big enough for two chairs side by side. If there is a large wheelchair, getting a second chair in will likely be a struggle.
If there is only one access customer, their companion can sit beside them. If there are two access customers, the companions will need to stand behind them. If you’re sitting in the bay nearest to the stage, your companion is unlikely to be able to see the stage very well from behind you.
The two access customers are seated side by side, so again, depending on chair sizes, you might not see past the other person.
The platform has a very sturdy metal railing, making the area safe. Due to its small footprint, no one will stand around or behind you.
Down on the floor of the 350-capacity room, there is some limited seating along the left-hand side. Constructed of concrete blocks and topped with slabs, it’s cold to sit on but ideal if you are ambulant disabled and can stand for the entire event. It’s also handy if your companion prefers to be on the floor in front of you.
Being five steps higher than the floor, the view of the stage is good over the top of the crowd. Being in the front of the bay, I didn’t need to lean or twist for an optimal view.
You’re obviously close to the door, so it’s easy to get out to the bar or toilet. During the show, people did stand on the stairs, but the majority of the door area was kept clear.
I did accumulate a few empty cups around my feet during the show and ended up having to try to wheel them around on my way out, but otherwise, it was all good.
GETTING BACK OUT
The room soon empties as it’s only a small venue and a small crowd.
As I always do, I waited a few minutes for the initial rush to die off. This also meant the bar area had cleared, so it was clear to wheel through to the toilet and back out to the car.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
This was a great little venue. It’s only small, but the overall atmosphere was good.
The staff were all friendly and helpful.
In some ways, the platform could be a bit wider and another foot further forward, but I appreciate that they’ve made the effort to accommodate customers with disabilities. Some people probably wouldn’t be happy with the setup, but for myself and the lady I shared the platform with, it was great.
The fact that there is some seating on the floor is good for ambulant disabled people (if they can manage the five steps down).
Being out of the city is an advantage for some, but it will be a disadvantage to others.
