Carrie-Ann Lightley

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Carrie-Ann Lightley

Award winning disabled blogger, writer, speaker and content creator. Passionate about accessible travel, with 20 years experience in the industry.

27/05/2026

I’m so thrilled to share that I’ve been shortlisted for the TravMedia Awards 2026 as a Specialist Travel Writer of the Year finalist! ✨

Surprised / overwhelmed / grateful / very much wondering “are you sure?!” 😂

Accessible travel writing is still a niche within a niche, but it matters. Disabled travellers deserve honest, useful, thoughtful stories that go beyond glossy inspiration and actually help people make informed choices.

To have that work recognised by the travel media industry means so much. 🩷

Huge thank you to the editors, PRs, destinations, brands, disabled travellers and fellow writers who have supported, commissioned, shared and championed my work.

And an extra thank you to everyone who believes accessibility belongs in mainstream travel storytelling. ♿️✈️

Feeling very lucky today.

26/05/2026

Train travel gave me my independence 🚆

For my latest piece with The Independent, I travelled from London to Paris with to test the journey as a wheelchair user, from booking and assistance at St Pancras to boarding, the onboard experience and arrival at Gare du Nord.

There were genuine positives: a ramp waiting on the platform, calm staff support, a spacious wheelchair area, an accessible toilet I could actually use, and small details like quieter waiting areas that made the journey feel easier.

But accessible travel is not only tested when everything runs smoothly. My previous experiences with disruption on Eurostar have shown how quickly independence can disappear when communication and onward assistance break down.

This article, and the first-person video alongside it, looks at the full picture: what worked, what has improved, and why consistency still matters ♿️

Read and watch the full piece via the link in the comments. 👇

Huge thanks to The Independent , and the Eurostar team & , for helping make this piece happen.

21/05/2026

New guide, very close to home 🌊

I’ve written an accessible guide to the Cumbria Coastal Route for , sharing places to explore, stay, eat, wander and pause along one of Cumbria’s quieter stretches.

As a wheelchair user living in Cumbria, I loved writing about a coastline that often gets less attention than the central Lakes, but has so much to offer when you know where to look.

It was a real pleasure to work with the Visit Lake District team on a piece that puts access information at the heart of planning, because accessibility is never just a yes or no.

Read the full guide at the link in the comments.

Have you explored the Cumbria coast? Tell me your favourite spots below 👇

Image credits: Rachel Airey/Chris Steindorff

18/05/2026

So much of accessible travel comes down to how things are described before you even get there. Whether disabled audiences have been considered, and whether we can really see ourselves in a destination’s marketing.

And we all know how often that misses the mark.🫣

That’s exactly why I’ve started offering Inclusive Storytelling training, helping brands and destinations understand what actually matters to us. The details, the honesty, and the difference between “accessible” and actually works.

Because when it’s done well, travel feels easier, more relaxed, and more possible, for everyone.

If you’ve ever turned up somewhere and thought “this isn’t what I expected”… you’ll know why this matters.

More info in the comments if you’re curious 💭👇

Image credits: VisitScotland / Lydia Smith / Allan Myles.

11/05/2026

My first article for Motability Lifestyle magazine is now live 🌞

I’m sharing it just after returning from my second visit to Tenerife, although this trip wasn’t quite the restful break I hoped for.

A mosquito bite became infected, developed into cellulitis, and meant a visit to a local hospital. The antibiotics I was prescribed then caused an adverse reaction, so I lost half of the holiday and spent another day being checked at hospital when I got home.

Travel as a disabled person isn’t always the glossy, sunlit version we see online. Sometimes it is beautiful, sometimes it is stressful, and sometimes it is both in the same week.

But this article takes me back to the Tenerife I wanted to remember: Las Vistas beach, wide flat promenades, accessible beach facilities, slow meals by the sea, and that rare joy of being able to move around a destination with less planning, less friction and a little more freedom.

For disabled travellers looking for an accessible sunshine break, Tenerife still holds a special place in my heart ♿

You can read the article in the latest issue of Motability Lifestyle magazine, or at the link in the comments 👇

01/05/2026

Out of office on 🙌🏻

Ready for a few days in sunny Tenerife.

One of the challenges of my job as a disabled travel writer is that I’m ALWAYS travelling but I NEVER fully switch off. Definitely a first world problem, and one that I’m trying to solve with a beach, a book, and a mojito 🍸

This trip has no itinerary, no schedule, no content to capture and no notes to write. No plans at all beyond proper rest and relaxation.

See you on the other side! 👋

Video description - Carrie-Ann, a white woman with curly hair, pushing her manual wheelchair along a beach boardwalk. Text on screen reads: How your email will find me next week… 🏖️

27/04/2026

I’m a big reader, and some of the writing that draws me in the most is the kind that makes you put it down halfway through a paragraph just to sit with a sentence.

It’s where I go when I’m trying to remember why I love words.

But when you write for a living, you put your love for words at risk, because it can quietly take the joy out of working with them.

You’re always writing for something. A brief, a deadline, a word count, an editor’s expectations. And somewhere in all of that, the reason you started - the actual love of it - can get a bit lost.

The Travelling Lightley newsletter is a way for me to maintain that love for writing. ✨

It’s a space to write with no brief and no editor.

Personal updates from my travels. Reflections on what it’s really like to work in accessible travel. The stories that don’t fit a 700-word feature. The behind-the-scenes that never makes the final edit.

Less curated. More real. Entirely mine.

If you’d like to subscribe, click the link in the comments. 🩷👇

23/04/2026

Behind the scenes of a day filming with The Independent and Eurostar. 🚆

It was a 6:00 AM start at St Pancras, ready for the 7:00 AM train to Paris. I was whizzed up the ramp onto the train, settled into the wheelchair space, and then we filmed some bits and pieces about my experience so far.

I’ve had mixed experiences with Eurostar in the past, but this time it all went really smoothly and we were in Paris honestly before I knew it. Just 2 1/2 hours for this journey. The team were really helpful and efficient with the ramp assists, and then we exited Gare du Nord station into the gorgeous blue sky and sunshine of Paris. 🇫🇷

It was my first time arriving in Paris by train and although it was just a quick flying visit, I really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere of the city centre. We visited Cafe du Nord for pastries and baguettes and then I interviewed Kirsty, the customer accessibility Manager for Eurostar.

Follow me for more updates on Eurostar accessibility, coming soon. 🩷

Video description – Clips of Carrie-Ann, a white female wheelchair user. Travelling through St Pancras station, staff pushing her in her wheelchair up the ramp onto the Eurostar train. Sitting in the wheelchair space on the train and chatting to a camera man. Staff deploying the ramp in Paris and pushing Carrie-Ann down it in her wheelchair. Moving through and outside Gare du Nord station. Cuts to clips of Paris with blue sky and sunshine, a bakery counter full of treats, and Carrie-Ann outside a café chatting to Kirsty.

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https://www.carrieannlightley.com/

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