Small but friendly gym
4
4
Date of visit: January 2026
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment, accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: changing places toilet, disabled toilet, hidden impairment, powerchair, toilet with hoist, toilets, walking aid, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Good
Arbroath Sports Centre shares grounds with Arbroath High School, which means you might want to time your visits around school hours. The centre is small as far as fitness hubs go, but it has most of the things you need for a workout. The highlight of my visit was the staff, particularly Nick, who was keen to show me around and learn how they might improve the facilities on offer.
Disabled Access In and Around
Average
There are two sets of powered doors at the entrance, activated by pressing the touchpads outside the building. As you enter, you'll be faced with the reception desk, which has a lowered counter, although I didn't see any signage for a hearing loop. The lifts are rather small, requiring me to reverse out. For this reason, it would be helpful if there was a mirror to help people exit safely. The buttons inside the lift don't have braille or raised numbers, and I found them quite hard to press. The doors throughout the venue are manual double doors, but staff were on hand to assist. In the exercise spaces, there is plenty of room to manoeuvre most mobility devices. The centre also has a pool, but there is no pool hoist, which is a shame, particularly in a smaller town.
Accessible facilities: Step-free entrance, Lift to all areas
Parking & Transport
Average
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
There are seven accessible parking spaces at the venue, but there isn't a bus service that runs directly to this location. The nearest stop is 480 metres away on Arbirlot Road, while Arbroath bus station and train station are around a mile away.
Accessible facilities: Dedicated on-site parking
Accessible Toilets
Average
The Changing Places toilet is quite compact, though it does the job. The room features a ceiling track hoist, an adjustable changing bench and a shower. There is a plastic shower chair in both the accessible changing room and the Changing Places toilet, but they were placed to the side of the toilet pan. This may have been other users of the facilities who put them there, but they are quite obstructive, so I gave feedback. The toilet pans in all cases had a contrasting toilet seat and contrasting rails on either side. The emergency cords hung freely, which is always great to see. The sinks in the toilets have small basins with a lever-style tap and grabrails on either side.
Facilities: Accessible toilet, Changing Places toilet
Staff
Excellent
I spent most of my time speaking with Nick, who was very friendly and clearly passionate about his work.
