Overview

The National Maritime Museum occupies a large site in Greenwich, South London, which is also the home of the Royal Observatory and the Queen's House. Access has been fairly well designed, though with variable conditions across the site.

Transport & Parking

The museum has a car park, with some blue badge spaces, which it is possible (and advisable) to book in advance by phone. The car park is a considerable distance from the main entrance to the museum, and some of the paths are gravelled, so may present some difficulty to wheelchair users. A bus route runs along the road at the front of the museum, and most London buses should be accessible.

Access

There is step-free access throughout the museum, including lifts to each floor - though the signage to the lifts could be better. Entrance to some of the exhibitions is through heavy doors, which may require assistance - automatic push-button doors would be an improvement. The cafe by the main entrance is a bit cramped for wheelchairs - the patisserie on the first floor is more spacious. Outside, the pathways between the museum and the Queen's House are variable, and there is a platform lift to get down some steps.

Toilets

We found one accessible toilet near the information desk on the ground floor, and another on the mezzanine. The toilet on the ground floor seemed better designed, including fixed rail on the right and drop-down rail on the left, with space to side transfer. The accessible toilets have open access, not via RADAR key, and we experienced one of them being misused by able-bodied visitors.

Staff

We had booked the use of a manual wheelchair in advance for one of our party, and collected it as arranged from the information desk. Unfortunately, as we left the museum to go to another part of the site, a member of staff chased after us and said that the wheelchair could only be used within the museum building, insisting that the person using the wheelchair get out of it so that it could be returned, despite our promise that we would return it before leaving. A very poor awareness of disability!

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Shame about the staff attitude we encountered - otherwise access is pretty fair, and a visit to the museum is a good day out.

Photos