Overview

Hever Castle is completely inaccessible to scooter users, and with a manual wheelchair you're only allowed into the first courtyard. So zero stars for that, but luckily the gardens are nice enough to be worth a visit in their own right.

Transport & Parking

There are no buses to Hever Castle and the nearest station is a mile away, but road access is good and there's ample blue badge parking close to the main buildings (show your badge when you buy your tickets at the entrance and they'll open the gate to let you down the drive).

Access

There isn't any wheelchair access to the castle. In the grounds, though, the access is good, with well-maintained tarmac paths to most of the attractions (formal gardens, topiary, maze, boating lake, nice cafes etc). There's also reasonably level grass to cross to the viewing area for the summer jousting shows - which are included with your ticket.

Toilets

Had to wait a bit for a baby-changing family to come out of the accessible loo at the Moat Restaurant, but it was quite clean and spacious inside.

Staff

The few staff members we came into contact with were fine, although the young servers at the restaurant seemed a bit overwhelmed. It was good that the woman selling tickets at the entrance explained that I should only pay for the gardens because the castle is inaccessible.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I was a disappointed that I couldn't go inside the castle, but the grounds were lovely, and I appreciated the good paths that allowed me to accompany my young son to the excellent (able-bodied) children's attractions such as the wooden climbing castle and the water maze. I don't think there would be much there for children who were wheelchair-users, except the jousting show that runs on summer weekends - that's fun for everyone and is included in the entry ticket to the gardens.

Photos