Overview

We visited this museum, which is inside the Barracks that are owned by English Heritage. We couldn't get into the other museums so thought this might be the only one that was accessible. It wasn't. They had tried, a little, but they just blamed listed building status for the lack of access.

Transport & Parking

We parked in Castlegate Long Stay car park because we travelled by motorhome. It was fine for us and we made our way to the museum along a path that went under the walls. I think there was parking nearer though.

Access

To get to the museum, you have to cross a large courtyard, which is well surfaced. There is then a large kerb to get up. There is a ramp but I was in my off road chair, which was too wide for the ramp. If I'd been in my normal chair, the ramp would have been far too steep. Someone else arrived later in a powerchair and also had to find an alternative to the ramp. I got through the main entrance and there are two galleries on the ground floor. The one on the left was okay. It's a carpeted path that goes around an exhibition, which was quite nice. The path was quite narrow in places though with nothing to stop a wheel falling off, so I had to be really careful. The other gallery had two large steps. They were quick to get a ramp but again, the ramp was too narrow and I couldn't access it. They brought me an iPad to look at photos of the exhibits instead. I heard the lady telling someone that being a listed building means they can't improve access. Even if I had got onto the ground floor, there's stairs up to the next floor and no lift.

Toilets

There is an accessible toilet. It's not huge and was not particularly clean but it was adequate and better than nothing.

Staff

The staff were pleasant enough and seemed upset that the ramps weren't wide enough. It hadn't occurred to them though, that the ramps would have been far too steep for a normal chair though. I would have tipped over backwards!