Alnwick Castle

My mobility is severely impaired but I was able to enjoy a few hours looking around Alnwick Castle. I was given a free disability scooter to get around but required a degree of mobility to enter the Castle. I could park near the entrance and navigate a few stone steps before entering the building. A short walk took me to a lift that apparently QE2 had used. The lift was no more than a two (thin) person lift. I would say only one simple wheelchair would fit in. Staff were very helpful and friendly. If booking a garden tour with a disabled route, it was necessary to change mobility scooter at the entrance. There are lots of cobbles which might be difficult for someone with pain. There was a disabled toilet in the garden centre which was smelly, the cord was tied up and the toilet was bunged up with toilet paper. The toilet was not locked therefore, open to all. Alnwick Castle is trying to meet the needs of the disabled however, I struggled and I can walk short distances and climb a few stairs with help.

I've been to Alnwick several times with my husband who is a manual wheelchair user. The courtyards in the castle are mostly cobbled and uneven so he needed help but they are easier to negotiate with a powered wheelchair or scooter, even if they are quite bumpy in places. We managed to visit the inside with the help of very welcoming staff who helped us with the entrance step and led my husband to a narrow and very old lift. It is too small to accomodate even a manual wheelchair so Andrew had to transfer onto a wooden chair and the staff took his wheelchair up the stairs. But once there, the visit has no other hindrances apart from some carpeting and the rooms are really splendid.

We visited Alnwick Castle as part of a holiday. We prebooked our visit because of Covid and had researched the venue so we largely knew what to expect. This was another venue where my expectations were that I would just do what I could and enjoy the atmosphere. I knew that some of it would be challenging. I always have to choose carefully which wheelchair to use. This was a tricky one. Outside, my mountain trike would have been better but that would have been impossible inside, so I opted for my normal chair with freewheel.