Windsor Castle

I went not expecting the world's oldest continually inhabited castle to be very wheelchair accessible and was amazed to find it is very much the opposite! There's staff everywhere who are very attentive and approachable, all eager to assist, and everyone had open, friendly demeanour with nothing too much trouble. We didn't pre-book but turned up on spec and were told there was no queue and we could go straight in. I was in a powerchair and my friend on crutches, with my abled partner. There's a ramp off to the left by the ticket office steps (not immediately obvious so don't be deterred, just go through the gate and it's on the left for you). No tricky manouvering required anywhere. Free carer ticket with my disabled access ticket, and my ticket is valid for a whole year. Paths around the place are smooth and not too steep, although Windsor town itself is on a hill and has steep bits, so be aware of that, but the castle itself is fine inside and out. Photography is not allowed inside the castle itself, only in the grounds, so my photos are only exterior and accessible toilet. Inside, staff again were attentive and let me know to "go to X and my colleague there will show you to the lift" etc, everyone seemed ready and waiting to show any disabled visitors to accessible routes without delay. The chapel was closed that day but we went to see the doll's house and the state apartments which were wonderful, and again no pinch points for wheelchairs - everything was easy to navigate, and plenty of staff on hand to answer questions and assist if needed. My friend needed to pause and take meds with a bottle of water, but I was worried as most musuems or spaces like that won't allow food/drink inside, so I checked with a nearby staff member and she replied that of COURSE we were free to drink water to take meds even inside the great hall, it was no problem at all. Finally, the changing spaces bathroom in the courtyard was wonderfully constructed. There are THREE red cords (only one was tied up so I untied it and added a red cord card from Euan's guide) but the other two hung freely. Hoist, washing table, shower, the screen was even decorated in a theme to go with the historic location which is a nice touch. The toilet even had Japanese style built-in bidet function with option to wash/dry hands free, although I didn't test it. It also had a flush button on the remote in case you struggle to use the regular flush for any reason. There was even a sharps box in there which was a nice touch, in case any one needs to safely dispose of a needle after taking medication there. Definitely a 10/10 experience for me and now I know how welcoming it is, I will definitely be going back! Transport - we live locally so just drove over and parked in a town car park to explore the town first, although disabled bays were all full and at peak season, car parking spaces are hard to come by due to lots of tourists. I have also taken the train from Slough to there before, and a ramp can be provided by rail staff, although the train can be a bit hit and miss, as they tend to try to put you in the cargo area instead of letting you go in the proper wheelchair area - so make sure you tell station staff that you want to go in the wheelchair area, as the cargo area is not actually very accessible!

My wife (who is a wheelchair user) and I visited recently and read a few of the previous reviews on this website and thought we'd add a few comments of our own. We parked at the River car park and noted that parking was free for blue badge holders. Windsor town has some steep inclines but we have a motor assist on my wife's chair which helps me with the pushing. Being an old town there are lots of cobbles and narrow pavements, not good for my wife's kidneys. ;) We pre-booked our tickets the night before in our hotel to try and avoid too much queuing. On purchase you get the option to print the ticket (we had no printer) or collect from the box office. We chose collect. This was a big mistake, as you still have to queue as if paying on the day. In hindsight I would suggest to pre-book a slot but make sure you have a printer to hand, if not chose the printer option anyway and you may get sent the tickets as an attached PDF, and showing that on your phone to the staff may avoid some queueing. The castle itself was lovely and we managed to get access to every area. The staff were very helpful and there were plenty of disabled toilets.

I managed to find a rare high street car parking space, myself, with 2 children and companion went to this venue. On arrival through the entrance gates, there is a white rectangle in the ground.mif your chair fits this, you can fit in the lift. Considering the age and historical nature of this building, I was totally surprised how much has been done to make it accessible. I would say avoid buys days/times if you can as some parts need you to be escorted by castle staff to access and if you go off peak you have to wait less. I was in a power wheelchair, having just changed from using a manual and mobility scooter. Some places you need very good control to maximise your ability to turn through the narrow spaces etc. Note a good Venue for the new to using equipment as some places are narrow and twisty and you need to be able to navigate round people eg the dolls house room. Or back up and down a narrow ramp as there's only space for one user at a time, and it's the only way in or out of the house. However we will go back another day as my children weren't well which meant we had to end our trip early, but staff were amazing. It IS HILLY and STEEP and has COBBLES, some of the outer rooms have steps, so I didn't worry about accessing them, but worth knowing to help other expectations, and my companion was able to access help when we got stuck, or check out what I wasn't missing :) I previously visited this years ago (in the year after the fire) and from my memories as an I disabled person, I was put aware of missing much :)