Overview

Before Access Day 2019 I had never visited Woodhorn Museum before - but I had a fantastic day. The site was once the largest pit village in the world - but now it’s a popular visitor attraction and a museum that has a proud heritage and an interesting story to tell. For such a large and historic venue there is more accessibility than you might think possible with alternate routes, free wheelchair scooter hires, iPads to get closer to art and for subtitles, a step-free experience and starting next month BSL tours!

Transport & Parking

This venue is a little out of the way in Ashington Northumberland - but it is well worth it! Bus - the nearest major Bus Station is around 15 minutes walk away in Ashington - sadly no public transport is available directly to the venue - but there is a reduced rate from Ashington Taxis. Ashington Station has links to Haymarket Station in Newcastle (about 40 minutes) - making it easy to get to, and all public transport around the North East should be accessible and include space for at least one wheelchair. Parking - there are plenty of disabled parking bays on the site, and there is a lot of room in each bay for getting in and out of vehicles. Some parts of the car park were gravel when I visited and may cause some chairs a problem - but it’s not all gravel, and hopefully, it’s a temporary situation.

Access

Access to the site is through the main ticketing gate, and there is a flat hard surface route to all buildings - and alternate routes are available to each area to avoid gravel or steps. I was able to get into all exhibitions while using a wheelchair using these alternative routes. There are many individual buildings spread across the site including an art gallery, gift shop, coal house and the main building housing Northumbria Archives. They house some permanent exhibitions such as my personal favourite The Pitman Painters. All were accessible, and the staff are more than happy to help should you need additional help or information. I have to point out The Pitman Painters exhibition especially for access as it included iPads to take around the room and find out more information about the paintings contained in the display. It included extra information not available in the room, fully subtitled audio and video interviews and high-resolution images, so you get closer than anyone else to the paintings. For me, it’s the accessibility highlight of the entire venue! Signs are mostly clear and well placed throughout the whole venue - again staff are helpful and can help you find the smaller exhibits if you get stuck! There is a Cafe, Information Desk and Gift Shop in the main building and all are wheelchair friendly and have a portable loop at the point of sale or desk.

Toilets

Sadly no Changing Places toilet at this venue at the time of my visit but hopefully this could be something installed in the future. There are Accessible Toilets available in the main building and as seen in the pictures offers some space, several grab rails, arm rail and emergency cord. From personal experience, it was difficult to turn in a manual chair - and may be inaccessible to bigger chairs or to people who require help from a carer.

Staff

The staff made this venue stand out! They are knowledgeable, approachable and willing to help in any way they can. For Access Day 2019 there were posters, flyers, information on Euan’s Guide, several staff members with stickers in place mainly to help anyone who might need additional support and highlighted their wheelchair rental service when they noticed my crutch.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I would highly recommend this venue - it was a great day out, and I ended up staying until closing time. The highlight for me was the use of iPads / technology to be accessible but not be obvious or patronising about it. I plan to return and experience the new BSL Tours as soon as possible!

Photos