Overview

Staff made little or no effort to advise when we bought our ticket - they could have saved us a lot of trouble at the site! The route from car park to fort is via a 1:4 gravel path and a gate which whilst wide enough for a wheelchair is set at a right angle making it very difficult for a chair to negotiate - admittedly there's a driving route for disabled visitors that bypasses this but we thought we would enjoy the walk (our first mistake as the gravel gives no traction!). Access to the fort itself is diabolical - via a steep grassy, uneven slope. In the photos, that's the slope behind the sign for the museum - you can see the access gate at the top. Once in the fort you need to take care as the site slopes quite a bit in places. The grassy surface is occasionally bumpy and uneven. There's a museum by the fort. This by contrast has good access. There's an excellent film show.

Transport & Parking

Blue badge spaces nearest visitor centre. Long walk up to the fort itself but on request you can drive up if preferred. There's still a bit of a walk from the parking by the museum to the fort however there's a level path.

Access

The path from car park up to the fort is steep - 1:4 in fact (we could have driven up if we had wanted and parked by the museum). Once up there the main gate to the fort leads only to steps but there's nothing to indicate this. In fact there is an alternative gate however this is not signposted. There's nothing to direct you to anyone who can assist but my husband went to the museum (who were very helpful once we made ourselves known). Even more ridiculous is the fact that access to the disabled entrance gate was up a steep grass bank and I mean steep as well as bumpy. I wouldn't attempt it again and I'm game for most things. Manual wheelchairs wouldn't stand a chance. Once inside the fort, the grassy surface is sloping and uneven in places. It's difficult to pick an appropriate route (the man who opened the gate for us helpfully suggested an approximate route).

Toilets

Nice loo in visitor centre. Only drawback was double heavy doors to reach it!

Staff

The admissions staff told us the path up was steep (we could have driven up) but omitted to tell us the main gate to the site led to steps and there was an alternative gate! This wasn't labelled and access was up a steep grass bank - the kind guide in the museum opened it for us on request. The single star is for him and his taking the time to point us in the right direction inside the fort.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Having visited other ancient monuments there are plenty of things EH could do to make this fort more accessible - notwithstanding it is on top of a hill, is of archeological importance and in rugged country. I would suggest - include something in your leaflets about the terrain and how E h can assist disabled visitors (there's nothing right now!), put in a tarmac rather than gravel path from the car park (wheelchairs can't grip gravel!), replace the first gate with a wider one which doesn't turn a corner (it's too much of a tight squeeze), label the disabled access to the fort and instal a path to it (a steep grassy incline isn't accessible!). Finally put in signs within the site to show the recommended wheelchair route - remove some of the guesswork! Or even have some printed sheets to give to disabled visitors showing the access point and a safe route? Oh and some staff training ....

Photos