Liverpool Cathedral

mrsmollyc

10 Apr 2026

Magnificent architecture and peaceful atmosphere

4

4

Date of visit: November 2025

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair

Overall Rating

Good

Liverpool Cathedral was an incredibly stunning cathedral to visit. A bonus was that they were in the process of decorating it for Christmas when I visited which was fun to see. I really enjoyed visiting and would recommend others to go and have a visit. It was a lovely atmosphere inside and there was a lovely gift shop and café as well.

Disabled Access In and Around

Good

There was a small accessible entrance which was around the corner from the main entrance. I did find it a little bit difficult to find this entrance as I think I originally approached the cathedral from the back of it. Once I reached the main entrance, there were then signs for the accessible entrance. The main entrance has a lot of stairs to navigate. The accessible entrance has a small lift which takes you up to the main level. As you come out of the lift, there is a wooden door which is opened with a button on the side. After that door you are in the main area of the cathedral. There was an area before you got too far in where there were a couple of volunteers who greeted me and answered any questions I had. They were also happy to talk to people about the cathedral and seemed really knowledgeable about it. Because there weren’t any services or events happening, there was lots of space to explore the cathedral without navigating chairs or pews or other people. It felt really peaceful and open. The lights were all quite dim, not so much that it was hard to see but enough that it created a really peaceful atmosphere. There was a gift shop in the middle of the cathedral which had lots of things available to buy. There was an upstairs area and there was a small platform lift to get up there if you weren’t able to use the stairs. The lights were brighter in the area around the shop so that it was really easy to see all the items on display. Just along from the shop there was also a café. They also had much brighter lighting inside the café, but there were also some tables and chairs inside the cathedral space, almost like a café would have outdoor seating, but some of it was in the cathedral, rather than the brighter café area. The floors were all incredibly smooth and I found it really easy to navigate as a wheelchair user. I noticed that in some areas, the signage also had Braille on it, but this didn’t seem to be the case for all of the signage. The signage with Braille appeared much newer, so I had wondered if they were currently updating their signage to make it more accessible. There was another lift by the accessible toilet. This lift seemed to provide access to some office areas and possible rooms for hire.

Accessible facilities: Lift to some areas, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free entrance, Step-free access to most areas

Parking & Transport

Excellent

I travelled to this place by walk or wheel

There was some parking available for visitors and there was also a small car park by the accessible entrance which just had accessible parking spaces. There were at least 8 accessible parking spaces from what I saw on the day. Around 650 metres from the main entrance of the cathedral there is a bus stop on either side of Great George Street. From these stops you can get the buses 82 and 82A. The cathedral is roughly 1 kilometre from Liverpool Central Metro Station which has step-free access from the street to the train. This station is on the Wirral and Northern lines.

Accessible facilities: Drop-off or pick up point, Dedicated on-site parking

Accessible Toilets

Good

There was a corridor with toilets, including an accessible toilet, not far from the entrances. The accessible toilet was quite small. The accessible toilet door opened outwards and wasn’t too heavy. It had a small vertical grab rail on the outside to pull the door open with. On the inside was another small grab rail and a small knob which twisted to lock the door. The design of the knob meant you would need to be able to grip the knob with your fingers to be able to twist it locked. There was also a small coat hook at a fairly low height. The toilet was on the left-hand side of the room as you entered. There was a very small amount of space for a left-side transfer but it was quite a narrow space because the toilet itself was quite small. There was a height-adjustable grab rail that could be lowered next to the toilet and another horizontal grab rail on the other side, below the toilet paper dispenser. The flush was a circular button and it was mounted on the wall behind the toilet. It was placed on the opposite side to the transfer area so you had to reach across the toilet to use it. In front of the toilet was a small sink with a single tap in the centre. The tap was manually operated and had a small handle which seemed like it could be operated with a fist or elbow. The tap twisted to control both the temperature and flow of the water. There was a vertical grab rail on either side of the sink. A manual soap dispenser was above the sink and a small mirror was above that, this was much too high for me to be able to use. Opposite the sink was an automatic hand dryer. To the right of the sink a larger mirror was mounted on the wall which could be used from a seated position. On the wall opposite the toilet was a baby-changing table. A red cord hung freely to the floor next to the hand dryer.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Excellent

I mainly interacted with volunteers here. They were incredibly friendly and helpful. They greeted everyone as they came in and were happy to answer any questions people had.