Overview

The Roald Dahl Museum is extremely accessible and explores the life story and writing of Roald Dahl in a very fun, family friendly and interactive style. It focuses on his children's stories, so is very child focused, but also perfect for adults who enjoy the stories and who want to find out more about Roald's own fascinating and extraordinary life. The Museum is on the High Street in the village of Great Missenden and is a short 3 - 5 minute walk from the train station. Please note the Museum is a former coaching inn and not the former home of Roald Dahl. Also the museum is quite small, however it's stuff with fabulous things to see and do in its 3 galleries. My favourite was seeing Roald Dahl's Writing Hut, and finding out that Roald also had lower back pain like me. Also highly recommend visiting the Archives, having the opportunity to hold and read one of Roald's many school boy letters to his family and see original drafts of some of his most famous stories, makes the visit very special and very lovely.

Transport & Parking

From London Marylebone Station it is about a 45 minute journey to Great Missenden. When travelling from London, when you exit the train there is a either a footbridge with no lift to cross or there is a step free slightly uphill path, which is signposted Way Out and with a wheelchair symbol, see photos. I used the step free path, it had continuous hand rails on both sides and it brought me out into the street. From here I turned right onto the pavement and walked down street which had a notable, but not too steep slope, see photo. At the bottom of the hill you turn right onto the High Street, which is flat, and it is the road where the Museum is located. If you require a drop kerb, keep walking along the road until you get to the Cross Keys pub, where there is a step free crossing. The Museum is only 3 - 5 minutes walk from the station and is well sign-posted. On the way back there is no need to cross the bridge to get on the platform for trains towards London.

Access

The Museum is a former coaching inn and has excellent step free access. It's very well laid out and sign-posting is excellent, other museums could take note. The entranceway is open with just a barrier and it leads into a courtyard. On the left if the shop and ticket office, where I was given a copy of "The Gloriumptious Museum Guide", which had a pictorial map and information about each of their galleries. Most of the Museum is on the ground floor and the Archives and upper floors are accessible by lift, see photo or stairs. Throughout the Museum and in the corridor there is plenty of seating with arms. The café has a single step and there is a bell by the door of the café and staff will get a ramp when required. Inside the café there is free standing table and chairs, there is also outdoor seating in the courtyard and a Children's Eating Room, so although I visited on Roald Dahl Day and it was busy I found a seat easily. There is British Sign Language interpretation throughout the Museum via the Museum's Signly app, see photo. Videos have captions. Their website says "We have tactile maps, a hearing loop, and audio transcripts of audio visual presentations." As well as the Museum, there are also the Archives, which have an additional admission cost, and can only be visited on a guided tour. There were both stairs with a single handrail or a lift to the Archives. Then we were taken into a seating area, where most of the Archive visit took place. We were also taken into the Strong Room, where the letters, scripts, clothing, etc is stored. This involved a step without a hand rail. Although the Strong Room was small, the guide brought a chair into the room so I could sit down.

Toilets

There are 2 accessible toilets. One by the entrance in the courtyard and one between the Solo and The Story Centre galleries. Both are spacious and clean. They have automatic lights, grab rails and emergency cords, which reached towards the ground.

Staff

Staff were exceptional. There were 2 members of staff at the entrance way to welcome and assist. The shop/ ticket counter was well staffed and queueing times were short, although it was very busy. There were staff around the museum. Special thanks to Tilly who took the Archives Tour, for being extremely engaging and knowledgeable. The tour was suitable for both children and adults, as it was made fun and interactive. The staff in the restaurant were lovely, when I couldn't get a seat in the restaurant they volunteered to take my tray through to the Children's Eating Room. Throughout the day there were numerous children's activities which involved the staff, but I didn't partake in these. It was so lovely that all the staff were welcoming, helpful and engaging.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The Roald Dahl Museum is charming and fun. The café is filled with tasty treats including some amazing home made cakes. The shop has lots of books and gifts. When you buy your ticket it is valid for a year, so during that time you can return free of charge. The Museum is a lot of fun and well worth making the trip to, makes for a very enjoyable day out. Highly recommend.

Photos