Overview

I visited with my husband who is a wheelchair user with high expectations following a very expensive revamp which advertised the castle as being accessible. What we found was a venue clearly designed by someone who has never used a wheelchair or was even tested by someone in a wheelchair.

Transport & Parking

Two disabled parking spaces directly outside the front door - the venue can also be accessed from the Castle Mall which has extensive parking.

Access

You can see what they have tried to do, but it has been done poorly. 1. The lifts are confusing as there are several which you use for the different areas of the castle. The main lift which goes to the battlements barely worked - the call key did not work on both occasions and we were told by a member of staff that it sticks and takes over five minutes. Once at the top there is an outdoor lift to the battlements which was almost inaccessible by wheelchair due to a the grooves - it could not be done independently at all. 2. On the battlements parts of the path (which had been built with a glass barrier) was too small for wheelchair access. 3. Several of the glass doors inside the building are pull doors with no automatic opening. One was precariously close to a stair case and was quite dangerous to attempt alone. 4. There are ramped studded entrances to parts of the building downstairs which were too steep and the studs too big for a wheelchair to get over. A couple of the other ramps throughout the building were also too steep for independent access. 5. The barrier over the mezzanine designed to look over to see the keep below is made of wood and therefore allows no viewing for a wheelchair user - in other parts of the castle similar barriers are made of glass.

Toilets

Large, clean and well laid out.

Staff

Mostly good and a couple were aware of the access issues. A few just looked miserable!

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The food in the cafe and restaurant is laid out on the counter within touching distance of anyone queuing with no covers on them. Anyone coughing in the queue would be coughing over the food.

Photos