Day out to Sealife!
4.5
4.5
Date of visit: August 2015
I have experience of challenges around: moving around
Overall Rating
Excellent
Staff at Scarborough SeaLife were friendly and very co-operative considering it was a very busy day. There are a lot of creatures to see and lots of other events, talks and activities going on round the sanctuary.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
In relation to wheelchair users, Sea Life is fully accessible, there was a stair lift so that wheelchair users can go to the restaurant and turtle area upstairs. For those with mobility problems, there wasn't any seats along the way but the restaurant area, refreshments area and at the seal area had seating. The sanctuary doesn't have a hearing loop or braille however there is an interactive rockpool area and talks about the animals throughout the day that those visually impaired may enjoy; info and facts are on the walls and tanks in every room so may benefit those with hearing problems.
Parking & Transport
Excellent
Disabled parking bays are directly next to the front entrance.
Accessible Toilets
Excellent
Site does have an accessible toilet with an alarm cord, the door opens outwards and door frame is a reasonable size, toilet is also a good size to fit a wheelchair and carer/worker in. The only problem is that there was only one accessible toilet near the gift shop at the front entrance, although it is normal to only have one, the sanctuary is big and with the large number of people there that day, it took a while to get round to the toilet. The toilet was in the gift shop next to all the other toilet doors which was quite crowded and this made it hard to come in and out of the toilet.
Staff
Excellent
Even though it was a very busy day, staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Staff that I watched during the talks showed they had a broad knowledge of the animals.
Additional Information
It is a great day out that all ages will enjoy and there is also a lot to learn about the creatures and how the sanctuary aims to rescue, breed and rehabilitate creatures around the world. An improvement would be to definitely provide seating in different areas of the sanctuary.
