Great access but house staff may need better training
4
4
Date of visit: August 2023
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: dexterity or coordination and moving around.
Overall Rating
Good
We visited whilst we were staying in Melrose, having seen the great reviews on here. I was looking forward to the visit and we did have a good day... though a couple of things went wrong, which slightly spoiled it.
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
The house, visitor centre and gardens were great for wheelchair access. We had no problems getting around. The path between the house and the visitor centre is on a slope but I found it manageable. The path from the visitor centre to the car park was similar and was extremely difficult with a puncture! The visitor centre has an exhibition on the ground floor, and the shop. Upstairs is a cafe (well worth a visit) which can be accessed by a platform lift. The house tour is either audio guide with headsets or a booklet to read. We took the booklet and found it very useful and interesting.
Parking & Transport
Excellent
We arrived by motorhome and parked in the coach park, as we are too long for standard bays. The main car park is tarmac but the coach park is unsurfaced and that resulted in me getting a puncture in one of my tyres. There is blue badge parking but it's still a short walk to the visitor centre.
Accessible Toilets
Excellent
There is an accessible toilet in the visitor centre with a sliding door, which I found quite heavy. Eventually, I gave it a big tug and it opened and trapped my hand between the handle and the door frame. It could do with a stopper or something to prevent that. My husband did the same later. I hadn't warned him, as I wanted to see if it was just me.
Staff
Average
The staff in the visitor centre were amazing! 5/5 for them. They were helpful when I realised I had a puncture and were happy for us to be late going into the house, as I had to swap chairs. The staff in the house were less welcoming. They weren't happy about my assistance dog going in. I told them their website says that assistance dogs are welcome but the man had to go and ask a colleague. She backed him up and said dogs aren't allowed. Eventually, she called up to the visitor centre to check. No apology when they realised they were wrong but at least they let us in. I think all staff should have proper training regarding access rights for assistance dogs.
