Visit · Access
Access guide
This page describes the building as it is, including the parts that are awkward. If something here doesn’t answer your question, call us on (555) 555-0167 and a volunteer will go and check.
Last checked by volunteers: August 2026
On this page
01
Quick facts
The ground floor is step-free from the gate: the Long Gallery, the Tarring Room, the Hemp Store, the tea room, the toilets and the front desk.
The upstairs gallery (the Hackling Loft) has a platform lift as well as stairs.
The reading room (the Counting House) has one 12 cm step. We put a ramp out when you ask.
There is one accessible toilet, on the ground floor.
Carers and companions come in free.
Every Sunday, 10 am to 11 am.
02
Arriving
2 accessible bays on Ropewalk Lane, right outside the gate. There is a drop-off point beside them.
The Tar Yard is laid with the original stone setts, which are uneven. A smooth concrete path 1.4 metres wide runs from the gate to the main door and on to the Hemp Store. Stay on the path and it is level all the way.
Step-free, 1.1 metres wide. It is heavy. Ring the bell on the left of the door, at 90 cm, and someone will open it.
Has a lowered section at 76 cm and a hearing loop.
03
Getting around inside
Level timber floor, 96 metres long and 4 metres wide. There are 8 benches, one every 12 metres. If the length is a problem, borrow a wheelchair or a folding stool from the front desk.
Step-free from the Long Gallery. The room smells strongly of pine tar; the walls absorbed it over 103 years of work. Some people find the smell hard, especially on warm days.
Reached by 22 stairs with handrails on both sides, or by a platform lift beside the stairs. The lift holds one wheelchair up to 80 × 130 cm plus one companion, up to 300 kg. It is slow: about 40 seconds each way. Lighting in the Loft is kept low (50 lux) to protect textiles and photographs. Torches and magnifiers are at the top of the stairs.
One 12 cm step at the door. We have a portable ramp; ask when you book and it will be ready. If the room doesn’t work for you, we can bring archive material to a table in the Hemp Store instead.
Step-free, with a hearing loop. Talks here have reserved seats in the front row with space for wheelchairs.
The concrete path is smooth. The rest of the yard is uneven stone.
Not open to the public except on tours. It is reached by 6 steps with no lift. On store tours, we bring a selection of objects out to anyone who can’t manage the steps.
04
If the lift is out of order
The lift was installed in 2019 and occasionally stops. If it is out of order we post a notice on this page and on the What’s On page. Call before you travel if the Hackling Loft matters to your visit. When the lift is out, we show a printed book of every object in the Loft, and our volunteers will bring small objects down to you when they safely can.
Lift status: Working
05
Toilets
One accessible toilet on the ground floor, next to the Hemp Store. It has grab rails on both sides, an emergency cord, and baby change.
Other ground-floor toilets also have baby change.
There is no toilet upstairs.
06
Seating and rest
8 benches in the Long Gallery, seats in the Tarring Room and the Hackling Loft.
Folding stools, 2 wheelchairs and blankets to borrow from the front desk, free.
The Hemp Store is a quiet place to sit when it isn’t booked. Ask at the desk.
07
Quiet hour
Every Sunday, 10 am to 11 am:
No school or tour groups are booked.
The film in the Long Gallery runs with subtitles and no sound.
The rope-making machine does not run. (The first weekend demonstration is at 11 am.)
Volunteers keep voices down and the radio in the tea room off.
08
Sight
18-point folders at the entrance to each gallery, with the text of every label.
At the front desk and at the top of the Hackling Loft stairs.
A box of objects you can handle at the far end of the Long Gallery, including rope at each stage of making.
Tell us when you’re coming and a volunteer can walk round with you and describe the displays. Please give us 3 days’ notice.
09
Hearing
At the front desk and in the Hemp Store, where talks happen.
The Long Gallery film is subtitled at all times.
Every talk has a printed summary. Ask for one at the door.
Email hello@yourmuseum.org or use the contact form. We reply within 3 working days.
10
Sensory map
Our sensory map shows where the building is loud, dark, bright, crowded or smelly, and where to sit quietly.
The short version:
The rope-making machine in the Long Gallery, Saturday and Sunday at 11 am and 2 pm, for about 10 minutes. It sounds like a busy road. Ear defenders are at the front desk.
The Hackling Loft, kept low for the textiles.
The Tarring Room, which smells of pine tar.
The Hemp Store, when it is full.
The Counting House (when not booked), the benches at the far end of the Long Gallery, and the bench by the gate in the Tar Yard.
11
Assistance animals
Assistance animals are welcome in every part of the museum. There is a water bowl at the front desk and a grass patch in the Tar Yard, left of the gate.
12
Companions and carers
A carer or companion of a disabled visitor comes in free. You don’t need to show a card or explain. Just tell the front desk.
13
How to ask for help
Call (555) 555-0167 (Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm) or email hello@yourmuseum.org. Tell us what you need and when you’re coming.
Ask anyone at the front desk, or any volunteer. Volunteers wear a blue lanyard.
If something made your visit harder, we want to know. It is how we got the lift. Use the contact form and choose “Access”.