Overview

The Derwent Pencil Museum is an accessible, interactive museum which is much more interesting than it sounds! On arrival we were asked if we would like to have a quiz sheet to take round, and I'm glad we said yes, as without it our experience would not have been as interesting and enjoyable. Entrance into the main museum hallway is via a themed cave tunnel which is narrow and twisty. The staff informed me beforehand that this section would be tight for my wheelchair and that I could enter via the exit doors instead if I liked. I decided to go through the cave. I have a Quickie Helium self-propelled wheelchair and it was a tight squeeze but I made it though - just. It should be noted that there are life sized models of miners in this area, and one of them has his foot sticking out which did cause a bit of an obstruction for my chair and would not be ideal for anyone with a visual impairment as it is also very dark. However this section is very short and can be avoided completely by entering through the exit. The museum itself is well lit, contains lots of information boards, and has at least three areas showing different video screens to watch. There are plenty of seats available if required. Once inside the museum hall, there is ample access for even the largest of power chairs, and the far end of the hall has a room with tables and chairs where you can have a go at drawing or watch an information video. The quiz sheet required searching for the answers contained in the information provided around the museum, and I learnt a lot of interesting facts along the way. The staff were very friendly and switched on in terms of disability awareness and good customer service. I went to the museum with my carer who was not charged admissions. There is also a cafe and shop at the museum. The cafe is called the Artisan Cafe, but it reminded me of a dinner hall in a children's nursery school, with basic chairs in bright primary colours! I had a tea and scone at the cafe, but wasn't overly impressed with as the scone was dry and hard, and jam was an extra 50p on top!

Transport & Parking

There is a large car park immediately outside the museum so ample parking is available, but only a couple of marked disabled bays. This is a pay and display car park that is free for blue badge holders.

Access

The signage into the museum was good. There are two manual, outward opening doors which are quite stiff to open, to enter the building via a level access threshold. Without my carer, I would have had to have asked for assistance to open the doors. Entrance into the building brings you into the shop / reception area which is fully accessible. Entrance into the main museum hall is via a short, dark, cave tunnel which was only just passable in my wheelchair and would not fit larger chairs. I would also not recommend this entrance to anyone with a visual impairment. The staff at reception when I purchased my ticket informed me of this and said I could enter via the exit doors instead to gain full access to the main museum hall.

Toilets

The pencil museum was re-built after the floods in 2015, and whoever decided to build the toilets outside of the main museum needs their head examined! To access the toilets, you have to leave the building via the main entrance and walk outside the length of the building to get to the toilet block at the far end. It rains in Keswick. A lot! So you are likely to get wet if you need to go to the loo whilst visiting the museum. Entrance to the accessible toilet is via a ramp (see photo). I was disappointed to see that my wheelchair access to the toilet was blocked by a large bin placed under a sign that stated the bin was for nappys only. I was not able to move the bin, so had to go out and ask my carer to move it for me. Whilst I appreciate many accessible loos are dual-use and double up as baby changing rooms, placement of nappy bins needs to be considered so that they do not block access for wheelchair users. The toilet was clean and tidy with a sink, but no hand drying options as the hand dryers are located in the ladies toilet area!

Staff

I found the staff to be very friendly, approachable, helpful and disability aware during my visit which contributed to my good experience of the museum.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I would recommend this museum to visitors. It is a great rainy day option for something to do in Keswick when the weather is bad, although you will get wet if you need the loo as they can only be accessed by going out the main building. I would definitely recommend taking the quiz sheet offered at reception as it provided lots of useful information. Improvements could be made by considering obstacles in the toilet area and providing hand drying options in the form of paper towels or a hand dryer. I would not visit the cafe again but may visit the museum again in a few years or if I am going with visitors who come to stay with me.

Photos

Venue Manager responded to this review

Thank you for your kind and honest review! We will discuss the improvements you have suggested to try and make our museum more accessible.