Accessibility Information

AccessAble guide 

AccessAble have created a detailed accessibility guide for Hexham Old Gaol.

Visual story

Download a copy of Hexham Old Gaol's visual story (PDF, 670KB) 

Download a copy of Hexham Old Gaol's access plan (DOCX, 34.4KB) 

There is a ramp leading up to the entrance of the museum. The entrance is a glass door, which opens outwards with the press of a button. 

There is a wheelchair accessible glass lift which takes visitors to all floors. 

Visitors can view the Dungeon from the glass lift by pressing the 'D' button. The doors will not open, and visitors will hear a 90-second audio clip before the lift moves to the ground floor. 

Visitors can also use the set of spiral stairs to access the upper floors. The staircase can be uneven in some places, please hold on to the handrail. 

There is stone flooring in the ground floor Welcome Desk area and wooden flooring in the display area. 

The upper floors have stone flooring and on the top floor there is a wooden ramp on exiting the glass lift. 

There are no toilets and baby changing facilities on site. 

The nearest public toilets and standard accessible toilets are at Wentworth car park, a three minute walk from the museum. 

The nearest Changing Places toilet is in Tesco Extra, Hexham, approximately a six-minute walk from the museum.

Exhibition panels are printed in large text and have illustrations where appropriate.

We have some sensory activities available, including a tactile map of the Borders and mini museum activity trollies for children aged three and up. 

Seating is provided throughout the museum. Please ask a member of staff if you need a seat and there isn't one available. 

There is a hearing loop induction system which covers the Welcome Desk and all displays with audio.

We have a designated quiet hour which takes place between 10-11am on the last Sunday of the month.
Please see our What's on page for more information.

You can borrow a pair of ear defenders free of charge from the Welcome Desk. Ear defenders are sanitised after use.

If you need any assistance during your visit, our staff are stationed around the site to assist with interpretation and information on exhibitions, information and heritage. 

All our staff receive regular customer service training that includes disability awareness, Dementia friends training and the Sunflower lanyard scheme.