Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

finnberrys

07 Jul 2021

Mixture of good and bad accessibility

4

4

Date of visit: June 2021

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: dexterity or coordination and moving around.

Overall Rating

Good

Overall this was a fantastic day out but I went with realistic expectations. Not everything is accessible but they have made a good attempt at most areas. The accessible bus was an absolute God-send and they prioritised this over other vehicles when coming out of lockdown.

Disabled Access In and Around

Average

Entry into the venue was good. The general queue took us down a ramp and everything was level entry. In the grounds, there is a mixture of surfaces, including concrete, gravel, cobbles and grass. I took my Freewheel, knowing that this would help with the uneven surfaces. The estate is vast! The road and pavement go round in a circle, taking in all of the areas, which are pretty well signposted. The paths down to some areas are quite steep, so some wheelchair users may need assistance both up and down. The day we went was quite hot and I was concerned about my assistance dog with the heat but there are plenty of shaded areas as you go between areas. The furthest place from the entrance is the village/town. It took us a good 20 to 30 minutes to get there. Many of the shops and all the houses have steps in and so I couldn't access everything. The cafe was accessible though, up a good ramp from the top of the park and it was well laid out with plenty of space. There were a lot of things I could access but also quite a lot I couldn't but I had expected this and was quite happy just to do what I could. The road back to the entrance would have been a long trek uphill and it was a really hot day, so we were glad of the accessible bus. We used it twice. The first time, we asked a member of staff and they radioed for it, but the second time, we just waited for it to come round on its regular circuit. The lift on the back was great. I dread these kind of things as it often means being manhandled or moved around. This was really easy for me to wheel on and off though and the staff were fantastic. It goes quite slowly around the site, so if you've got good control, you can opt not to be tied down and just sit with family/friends.

Parking & Transport

Excellent

We came by motorhome and on arrival were told we could park in either the accessible car park or the coach park. We opted for the coach park, which had a path running down to the main entrance. It was a fair distance but that wasn't an issue for me. It was more difficult when coaches parked too far back and blocked the path.

Accessible Toilets

Excellent

Toilets in all areas and a small changing places at the main entrance. Toilets were clean and easy to access.

Staff

Excellent

Staff were friendly and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble.