Inverness Castle

Firstly the physical accessibility of the castle was great, reserved disabled parking the day before, met by staff who were very helpful. The lift to the roof was broken. My problems are with the content of the 'experience' in the South Tower. I have sensory processing disorder. The rooms were quite small and busy, I felt claustrophobic. There were lots of lights, projected video which moved across walls etc. Even with loop earplugs in, I felt overwhelmed and nauseous. I had to leave the second 'video' after 1 minute. To their credit, the staff got me some water. I would be careful if visiting with light /noise/movement sensitive people.

This was our second visit to the Saltire Bistro following recent castle renovations and it was absolutely brilliant. I've given it an 'excellent' rating as although it wasn't completely perfect, the outstanding areas more than made up for that. I didn't visit the Castle Experience itself but I will do that soon and report back. So much thought has gone into making this historic venue accessible and it shows. The venue is spacious and light and the welcome from staff is sincere; they thanked me for visiting as I left and these tiny touches make all the difference to the experience. The views over the town and the River Ness are incredible with windows and viewpoints strategically placed for good wheelchair viewing both inside the venue and outside. We had coffees, herbal teas and lavender Kombucha; all were great. I had medical needs I needed to attend to (ventilator needs); the staff are also discreet and helpful here too and struck exactly the right balance.

Fabulous, fully accessible experience. The exterior was a lovely introduction to the castle - with great views of Inverness from the garden and esplanade. Clearly a lot of thought has been put into the whole Inverness Castle ‘experience’, for everyone. There is a lift to the rooftop terrace, and then a wee platform lift. The views from there are fantastic. We were there at the beginning of sunset and that made it more magical. Inside the experience ‘rooms’ were wonderful - very much about getting a sense of Highland culture and not just about facts. Lovely welcoming and informed staff. The bistro/cafe area was very well laid out and was in the same area as the fully accessible toilets, including a lovely Changing Places toilet. The shop was also in this area but we ran out of time to visit, next time:) The information boards around the place are well done and accessible too. In the castle on entry you are given a device with information about each room in the experience and you tap that to a symbol in each room to hear the story of that room/area. It really is well done. Suitable for all ages. There are also BSL signed videos. This is somewhere that will draw people back again and again I believe. Certainly we will, whether for the views, the interiors, the bistro or to linger in the gardens and enjoy a picnic…. They also have a fish and chip truck in the esplanade. We didn’t try that but I could see it would be very popular. Truly something for everyone. A real asset for locals and visitors alike.