Victoria Gallery and Museum

mrsmollyc

02 Apr 2026

Quiet escape with some interesting items

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

This gallery and museum seemed to be set within a lot of university buildings and while it felt busy and bustling outside, inside it had a really calm and peaceful atmosphere. I really enjoyed looking around all the different exhibits and the museum.

Disabled Access In and Around

Good

The entrance into the building was level with the street and had no steps or ramps to get inside. It had automatic sliding doors which opened as you approached and led into the reception area and what would usually be the café area. The café was unfortunately closed when I visited but it was set in a beautiful space. To the right of the reception was a cloakroom area and some toilets. Unfortunately, the accessible toilet here was out of order, but there were others in the building that were working. The lift to get to the exhibits was to the left of the reception area. It had glass walls and as you entered on the ground floor, there was an additional set of doors on the right-hand side. Depending on the floor you were visiting, the doors either opened behind you (the same doors as the ground floor) or on the right. The lift was on the smaller side but I would have been able to fit inside with a couple more people if they were standing. The lift buttons were all tactile and there was a grab rail in the lift. Some stickers by each floor button explained what was on each floor. The door into one of the galleries on the first floor was very heavy and I struggled to get it open on my own. The exhibits themselves were really varied, lots of colour contrast between items, some seating areas, a combination of text, image and video items to engage with. There was also nice contrast between some of the rooms. Some had much older paintings, while others had more modern photography and videography to enhance the exhibit. Some of the doorways between the different exhibit areas were a bit narrow. I was able to manage in my wheelchair, but it may be too narrow for some with wider equipment. The museum was a level above the galleries and this was a much larger room without narrow doorways to navigate. The colours as you entered were very bright and contrasting. Inside, there was a wide range of items. I found that some of the positioning of the exhibits made it hard for me to see from my wheelchair and I didn’t see any alternative formats in use.

Parking & Transport

Poor

I travelled to this place by walk or wheel

About 100 metres from the main entrance is a bus stop called Mount Pleasant. This is on the same side of the road as the building and you can get the buses 6, 7, and 79 from this stop. There isn’t any public parking available nearby.

Accessible Toilets

Good

There was an out of order accessible toilet on the ground floor but there was another that was easy to get to on the first floor. The toilet door was painted red and was in a red wall, the only contrasting colour was a white sign with a wheelchair symbol on it, which was on the wall on the left-hand side of the door. The door opened outwards and had a standard door handle to open it with. Inside, the door had a horizontal grab rail to assist with closing it and the lock was operated with a large handle that twisted into an upright position. You would be able to operate this lock with a fist or elbow. There was also a coat hook on the door which was placed at a height that would be reachable for many. The toilet was placed on the left-hand side of the room and there was space for a left-side transfer. There was a sanitary bin that was placed on the edge of the transfer space that was slightly obstructing the space. There was a height-adjustable grab rail that could be lowered beside the toilet and a horizontal grab rail was placed on the wall beneath the toilet paper dispenser. The flush was a standard flush with a common handle 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. There was a surface behind the toilet that could have been used as a shelf but it was quite high so would only really be suitable for those that can stand. The sink was a very small sink with a tap in the middle. The tap was manually operated and had a simple handle that 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 and a small mirror was mounted above it. A manual soap dispenser was placed to the left of the sink and a manual hand dryer was placed on the right. The emergency red cord was hanging freely to the floor when I entered and had a Euan’s Guide Red Cord Card on it.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Good

There weren’t many staff members from what I could see. A lady at the main entrance greeted me as I entered but other than that I didn’t see or interact with any staff.