Overview

A flawlessly beautiful experience of a stunning cathedral, with all areas accessible to wheelchair users, thanks to a vast proliferation of excellent ramps and two platform lifts. Step-free access here has been thought through very thoroughly and implemented with superb skill. Winchester Cathedral could learn a lot from the team at St Albans Cathedral.

Transport & Parking

I arrived in St Albans on the excellent Thameslink service from London. The railway station, St Albans City, is about a mile from the cathedral. This station is easy for wheelchair users to use and has mainly friendly and helpful staff, though the lady I spoke to via intercom when I was at the gateline was brusque and rude and needs to be thoroughly retrained in customer service.

Access

For wheelchair users the best way to enter the cathedral is via the visitors' centre/shop, which is a modern extension on the south side of the cathedral, approached via Sumpter Yard. Starting from the shop, you can visit all parts of the cathedral, because there are ramps of many different types absolutely everywhere - a hugely impressive and thorough adaptation of a very old and potentially intractable building. Top marks to the cathedral authorities for these top-quality adaptations. See my photos of some of the ramps - below.. If you enter the cathedral at its west end, you are at first confronted by a set of steps leading up to the nave. This looks very discouraging until you realise there is a good modern platform lift on the right-hand side which will take you up to the nave. This is less convenient and I would not recommend wheelchair users enter via the west end.

Toilets

There is an excellent modern accessible toilet in the new extension on the south side of the cathedral. One star lost because the waste bin was very full, very neglected and smelt strongly of poo, which was nauseating.

Staff

All other staff I met were charming, friendly and helpful. Ann, on the till in the shop, was especially friendly and charming. Top marks all round.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I was awestruck by the beauty and magnificence of this ancient cathedral. The central section is Norman, and the oldest parts of the building (c. 1077) were built using recycled ancient Roman bricks, so the fabric of the building is actually much older than building itself, which I find very intriguing. There are several medieval wall-paintings in the nave. Amazing survivals. It's interesting to compare a Victorian photo of the medieval West End of the cathedral with its current form. See my photo below.

Photos

Video