Overview

I have lived in Leeds for the past four years, heard of the Temple Newsam but have never been till this lovely afternoon when I decided to organise a family day out to visit this historic place. It was easy to locate the place as I used the navigator to guide me. The Temple Newsam is located to the east of the leeds city, just south to Halton Moor. The house and estate is owned by the Leeds City Council but is opened to the general public. The landscape is lovely to see, very greeny and large woodland very fresh and relaxing for a sunny afternoon and to have a picnic with the family. Temple Newsam has a large parking space with reasonable pay and display charge for the day to the public and disable parking as well as scooters . There is however free parking by the roadside if your visit will be brief and may not need a day ticket. I loved the place because it is accessible to all; children, adult, the elderly, and people with special needs as there are ramps for wheel chair users at the entrance to all sites and disabled parking right in front of the house. The estate has a farm with breed animals and old machinery but unfortunately we couldn't visit the farm as they were about to close. The parkland is extensive to wonder round. The house is quite impressive even though we did not manage to go round, we decided will visit again. There is a cafe' area with a lovely place to sit for customers but also a large area outside with benches for visitors who come with their own food. There is also toilet facilities with disabled access. No matter how your schedule is, Temple Newsam should be added to your must visit list and you will definitely become a regular visitor .

Transport & Parking

I drove to the Temple Newsam and it is easy to locate the place with the help of a navigator. However if travelling by bus: the number 10 bus runs directly to Temple Newsam house from the Leeds City Coach Station. Meanwhile first buses website can be visited for more information or call 08456045460. The nearest place if travelling by train is Cross Gates which is 1.5miles away. Metroline can be contacted for more up-to-date travel information or call (0113) 2457676 or visit www.wymetro.com. Temple Newsam has venue for weddings and other special occasions for hire, there is also a farm land with animals and old machinery good for children to experience the country side, the Tudor-Jacobean house is very impressive accompanied by a guide who shows visitors around the house telling the story around it. There is also the Walled Garden and a Stable Courtyard. There are a number of car parks available for visitors and adequate designated disabled parking bays. However there is limited disabled access spaces at the walled garden and disabled parking at the stable courtyard are very limited with preference given to people who have pre-booked electric scooters.

Access

There are adequate disabled access at the estate with ramps almost to all the sites. There are only a few stairs at the site. There is ramped access to the shop and automatic doors. The entrance to the tea room is level with clear open space. There is also a lift that provides access to all floors for wheelchair users, however, electric wheelchairs are not allowed in the house and pushchairs cannot be pushed around the house. Meanwhile all of the grounds, gardens and walled gardens are fully accessible. Push wheelchair users might struggle on some of the areas like the Home Farm and the Stables courtyard. Many trails and walks are accessible but steep in parts. Note that Electric wheelchairs must be left outside the tea rooms and Estate Office. A manual wheelchair is however available at the entrance of the house to borrow during visit. Unfortunately wheelchair users are not offered assistance around the house. The Estate Office can be contacted on (011)33367560 to book manual wheelchair and terrain mobility scooters to use outdoors. Entry to the Temple Newsam is free for carers.

Toilets

There are ramps at the entrance to the toilets in the House and also at the grounds with grab rails. The disabled toilets are spacious with changing place, emergency alarm. It also has a rise and fall sink, bed and hoist.

Staff

The staff were very vice and welcoming, Even though we did not have the chance to go round the house, the staff at the other sites such as the gift shop in the Stable Courtyard and Courtyard Tea rooms, were nice and accommodating. They were ready to answer questions and offer assistance when needed.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Temple Newsam is a place I will visit again and again. The site host different activities at different times . It is a place you will never get tired of visiting. Even though access to some of the sites are limited to wheelchair users, the environment is very relaxing and the landscape is amazing to visualize. There are also other more interesting impressive places to see and enjoy for wheelchair users. I will recommend this place to anyone planning to go on site seeing, especially disabled people as provision is made if visit is booked in advance.

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