In October of 2021 we emailed and asked the Lagos City Council if they could work on a solution to make the drawbridge and entrance to 17th Century Fort Ponta da Bandeira in Lagos accessible to people with reduced mobility.
While the inside of the Fort had been previously modified for accessibility the drawbridge at the entrance was inaccessible.
After six months, we received a reply from Sr. Edgar Gomes from the office for museums in Lagos, he thanked us for bringing it to their attention and informed us that a ramp had been installed at the drawbridge to provide access.
Wonderful news! An access ramp is now on the drawbridge! After swimming around the Fort for years, I can finally see what's inside! We had to see if the Fort was a truly accessible monument. We went to look, and the ramp is perfect.
With this little ramp, residents and tourists who have mobility issues can visit the past. Forte Ponta da Bandeira is an important part of the history of Lagos.
Fort entrance now accessible!
This illustrates the importance of communicating any concerns to your local government this really was a problem with an easy fix, it just needed someone to ask. Well done and thank you to the Musuem Department for getting this done.
Please see our previous article titled "Fort With An Easy Fix". https://accessiblealgarve.com/fort-with-an-easy-fix
