Overview

Hampton Court Castle has been standing among it's pastures and parkland beside the River Lugg for 600 years. The Castle was rescued in the 1990's by an American Millionaire who furnished it magnificently according to his idea of how an English country manor should look. The original Victorian garden walls now enclose stunning new flower gardens divided by canals, island pavilions and pleached avenues. All of venue is wheelchair accessible, except the upstairs of the Castle, the Maze and Sunken garden. There are plenty of seats to stop, rest and enjoy the view, as well as a restaurant, gift shop, ice cream parlour and bar.

Transport & Parking

The disabled parking is in the section of the grounds next to the entrance , which is via the gift shop. It is a flat area of grass with some compacted gravel areas.

Access

There is good wheelchair access throughout most of the site with wide stone or manicured grass paths. However the Maze is too narrow for wheelchairs, and the Sunken Garden is reached by flights of steps which are uneven and slippery when wet. The downstairs of the Castle is easy to negotiate by wheelchair. But the only access upstairs to see the bedrooms is by the main staircase which is very wide,with shallow steps and one banister on the right when ascending. There are lots of seats positioned throughout the gardens, and several signs to help negotiate the venue. There are 3 manual wheelchairs ( Action 3's) available to be borrowed for your visit, it is recommended you contact the venue to reserve one before your visit.

Toilets

The large disabled toilets are next to the restaurant. It has grab rails on the door and walls, a drop down toilet frame and a detachable raised toilet seat. It has enough room to manoeuvre a wheelchair and for an attendant to go in with you. There are more toilets available between the car park and entrance, but these have 3 steps up to the door and are quite narrow inside.

Staff

All the staff we met on the day were welcoming, very friendly and happy to help. Our very entertaining Castle tour guide "Mike", ensured that everyone had plenty of time to see everything and take photos, and anyone who could not go upstairs had somewhere nice to sit and wait for the rest of the group. The ladies in the gift shop were also happy to let me inspect the wheelchairs which were available to be borrowed.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who likes history, architecture, gardens, beautiful scenery or wants space to escape for a day! We spent a whole, very hot day here and didn't get as far as the river or woodland walk or the zip wire! There are lot's of "Event Days" during the year such as exotic animal and bird encounters, classic car rally, fairs, jousting and theatre productions. The Castle can also be booked for weddings and private parties, so check the website before your visit.