Weston Park Museum
4
4
Date of visit: September 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
I wasn’t able to stay very long at the Weston Park Museum and so I only saw a small part of it. It seems like a very large museum with lots of different types of exhibits. The main entrance has two sets of stairs up to it but there is another entrance on the side of the building that provides step-free access. This entrance also brings you to the entrance of the café, Ambulo, and the museum shop. It is also quite close to the Changing Places toilet as well. The museum had very smooth flooring, making it easy for me to navigate on wheels. The exhibits that I saw all had wide entrances with no lips to get into them. One exhibit had doors at the start but there was a button to be able to get the doors to open automatically. The displays were well-spaced, meaning there was plenty of room between displays to maneuver. There was a good amount of seating throughout the areas I saw. Near the start of the exhibits there was always a spot that had fold-out stools, a magnifying glass and a torch. There were also large-print versions of the labels available in folders. Some of the exhibits used video and audio, but I didn’t see any Braille, BSL, hearing loops or any other alternative formats being used within the exhibits. The signage for the toilets had Braille as well as symbols and text. There were also smaller accessible toilets and a Changing Places toilet not far from the step-free entrance and exit.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
The step-free entrance to the museum was located on the side of the building which was closest to the main road. There was another entrance which had two sets of stairs leading up to it which could be accessed from inside Weston Park. The ramp from the park up to the step-free entrance was quite long as there was a significant height difference from the park pathway and the entrance. They had made the ramp quite long to allow for a shallower incline and there was a flat section about halfway. There was a barrier with a grab rail at the top on one side of the ramp. Both entrances had automatic sliding doors which opened on approach. Inside the floor was very smooth tiling or wood panelling depending on the area. Inside the step-free entrance there was a small welcome desk with a member of staff there, there were some sculptures, a mosaic bench, and an interactive weather exhibit for children. Straight ahead was also the museum shop and to the right was the café. Just before the entrance to the café there were toilets, including a small accessible toilet. Next to the welcome desk was also a small lift which clearly went to some other areas of the building, although I didn't use it. Past the welcome desk you start to come to the exhibit areas. The entrance to some exhibits were very wide archways which had no lips, gaps or doors to navigate. At the top of each archway were large text signs with the name of the exhibit. One exhibit had doors at the entrance with a button to open the doors. The exhibit areas had a station with fold-out stools, magnifying glasses and torches, which you could borrow if you needed to. There were also large-print versions of the labels in folders. I found the exhibit areas well lit, fairly peaceful, and I found I could see and read most things from my seated position. Unfortunately, I didn’t see many alternative formats in use. There was the odd video exhibit which had video and headsets to listen to but other than that I didn’t see any Braille, BSL, hearing loops or any other formats being offered. The signs to navigate the museum used large, clear text, and where appropriate, symbols. Some of the signs outside the toilets had Braille to say what each toilet was. Throughout the museum and each exhibit there was a decent amount of seating. There were also fold-out stools that you could borrow as well.
Accessible facilities: Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas, Lift to all areas
Parking & Transport
Good
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
The museum does not have any parking of their own, and they recommend using public transport to travel to the museum where possible due to how busy the surrounding area can get. For those wishing to drive, the closest car park is the Q-Park car park on Durham Road. They have 561 parking bays including 32 accessible bays. There is a height limit of 2 metres. Those parking here can get a 25% discount from the museum, but this doesn’t apply to pre-booked spaces. The University of Sheffield tram stop is 750 metres from the museum. From this stop, you can get tram services on the Blue and Yellow lines. The Blue line provides trams from Malin Bridge to Halfway. The Yellow line provides trams from Middlewood to Meadowhall. Just 160 metres down the road are the closest bus stops to the museum. The stops are called Western Bank/Damer Street and Western Bank/Clarkson Street and are opposite each other on the road. From these stops you can get the buses 51, 52, and 52a.
Accessible Toilets
Excellent
On arrival there was a small accessible toilet just outside the entrance to the café. This toilet was easily identifiable by a sign next to it with a wheelchair symbol and a baby symbol and Braille underneath. On the door there was also a large wheelchair symbol and baby symbol. The door for this toilet had a door handle that you used to open the door and it opened outwards. On the inside, there was a fixed, horizontal grab rail to make closing the door from the inside easier. The door handle could be used to pull the door shut too. Unfortunately, the lock was a very small twist lock below the door handle. It would require a fair amount of finger dexterity and strength to operate. Inside there was a toilet with space for a right-side transfer, although there was a large bin at the back of the transfer space which may have got in the way for some people. The toilet had a cushioned backrest which could be used to lean on. There was a grab rail which could be raised and lowered on the right-hand side (as you looked at the toilet) with an additional fixed, vertical grab rail mounted on the wall just next to it. On the other side of the toilet, a fixed, horizontal grab rail was mounted to the wall below the toilet roll dispenser. The flush was mounted on the toilet cistern which was raised above the toilet. The flush was on the same side as the transfer space so there was no need to lean across the toilet to flush it. Just in front of the toilet was a small sink which had a single, manually operated tap (no automatic sensors). The tap twisted to control both the temperature and flow of the water and it was operated with a handle that was fairly wide and extended out a reasonable distance. Above the sink was a large mirror that provided a good view at different heights and angles. To the right of the mirror was a fixed, vertical grab rail and to the right of that was a manual soap dispenser. On the opposite wall to the sink was a baby changing table that was mounted to the wall. To the left of this, and at a lower height, there was also a baby seat where a baby could be strapped in and left safely if their guardian needed to use the facilities themselves. As this toilet was quite small this would have been useful as a pram might not have fit in there while the changing table was lowered. As well as there being a limited amount of space for a pram, it would be a struggle for anyone with larger mobility aids or for someone requiring an extra pair of hands. Luckily, there was also a Changing Places toilet at the museum and it was a short distance from the step-free entrance. Changing Places Toilet A RADAR key was needed to access this toilet and the door opened inwards with a small push. There was a small fixed, vertical grab rail alongside the RADAR key lock on the outside of the door and a large fixed, horizontal grab rail on the inside. As with all RADAR key locks, the handle pushed upwards to lock the door. The handle was long and lifted easily. To the left of the door were six coat hooks, three higher up and three lower down. One of the lower hooks also had the control for the height-adjustable bench hanging from it, making it easy to access. To the left of the coat hooks was the height-adjustable bench which was controlled by an electric control that was attached to the bench. The bench had a safety rail that could be raised and lowered on the side not against the wall. At the head of the bench was a paper roll dispenser that was stocked with blue paper that could be used on the bench. Above this was also where the ceiling hoist was stored. There was a holder attached to the wall where the remote control for the hoist was stored when not in use. On the wall, between the hoist and the bench, were two signs with information and instructions about the bench and ceiling hoist. They both had a maximum weight limit of 200 kg. The toilet was placed centrally against the wall with the pictures on it. It had plenty of transfer space on either side of it. On each side was a grab rail that could be raised and lowered and both of them also had toilet roll holders on them which were both stocked when I was there. Next to each of these were also fixed, vertical grab rails, one on each side of the toilet. The flush was mounted on the toilet cistern and was easy to reach. To the left of the toilet (as you looked at it) was a colostomy shelf. Opposite the toilet was the height-adjustable sink. It was a wide sink with a single, manually operated tap (no automatic sensors). The tap had a twist mechanism which twisted to control both the temperature and flow of the water. On the right-hand side of the sink was the lever which controlled the height of the sink. On either side of the sink there was a fixed, vertical grab rail mounted to the wall. Above the sink was a sign with information and instructions. To the right was a manual soap dispenser, a paper towel dispenser and an automatic hand dryer. There were two emergency red cords in this toilet, one by the door and one by the toilet. They both had Euan’s Guide Red Cord Cards on them already when I went. The one by the door was hanging freely to the floor but the one by the toilet had been draped across the top of the toilet. So I made sure it was hanging straight down to the floor before I left. There were no privacy screens in this toilet, from what I could see.
Facilities: Accessible toilet, Changing Places toilet
Staff
I didn’t interact with staff while I was at this location.
