de Havilland Aircraft Museum

finnberrys

20 Mar 2024

Interesting museum for aircraft enthusiasts, with pretty good wheelchair access

4

4

Date of visit: March 2024

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

Overall Rating

Good

We visited this aircraft museum, whilst on holiday in the area. It was a pleasant day out and I enjoyed learning about the history of some of our iconic aircraft, such as the Mosquito and the Gipsy Moth. Access around the museum and grounds was mostly good, though there are some things they could improve.

Disabled Access In and Around

Good

The entrance is a bit tricky, as it is one of those double doors, where you have to open both to get through but one of them is locked (top and bottom) to the door frame. If I'd been on my own, I couldn't have got in. Once inside, access was good. Floors were level and smooth. There is one set of steps but there is a platform lift too, which worked fine. The indoor hangars have plenty of space to move about and most of the information is at a readable height. Outside is a bit mixed. There is grass and a path with bark chippings, so not easy to propel a wheelchair over, but I managed. Several of the aircraft have viewing areas. These are all up steps, so not wheelchair accessible but I don't think they could fix that without enormous expense, which might not work anyway.

Parking & Transport

Average

The museum is signposted from the main road and is fairly easy to find. It has a car park, which is quite big but only 4 blue badge spaces. The car park is a mixture of gravel and grass but the blue badge parking is on concrete and is near the entrance. When we arrived, 10 mins before the museum opened, all the blue badge spaces were taken. I think one was another visitor (also a wheelchair user), two were staff with blue badges and one was a delivery of some kind with no blue badge. Just as we got parked on gravel, and started unloading, that driver came back to his car and left. Given that we visited out of season and midweek, I would suggest that they need far more blue badge spaces... or at least to concrete a larger section of the car park.

Accessible Toilets

Good

There are two accessible toilets. The first is before you go in. That was quite small and the floor was soaking wet. There was just enough space for me and my wheelchair. The second is in the De Havilland Hangar. That is a much better toilet. It was clean and had plenty of space. The hand dryer was great and nice and warm.

Staff

Excellent

The staff were plentiful and all very helpful and friendly. They gave information and were more than happy to chat and tell stories when asked, but they didn't impose themselves on us. I think they got a nice balance.

Additional Information

I have an assistance dog who isn't a fan of cats. There is a cat that kind of lives in the shop and cafe area of the museum. Initially, I felt like that was going to be stressful but the cat was great! He wasn't remotely worried about dogs. He just wanted to be near her and because he wasn't running away, and didn't smell all excited, she just settled happily and watched him. That little puss unintentionally helped train my dog to realise that not all cats are a threat. So thanks little fella!