Accessibility Information

Visual story 

Download a copy of Woodhorn Museum's visual story (PDF, 8.9MB)

Download a copy of Woodhorn Museum's Access Guide (PDF, 654KB)

Welco-Me 

Let us know your access requirements in advance using Welco-Me.

The Entrance Hut  

The Entrance Hut is the first welcome point on the site. Our Visitor Experience Assistants are working behind a Perspex screen which can affect how they are heard. Please let them know if you are having difficulties hearing them through the screen.

The Entrance Hut has a portable hearing induction loop.

Cutter Building

• The main Cutter Building is set out over two floors. It has level entrances on both the upper and lower floors
• Both entrances have automatic doors which are 200cm wide
• There is a long indoor access ramp between the upper and lower ground floors hung with iconic miner banners
• There is no lift
• The main entrance is situated on the ground floor, with step free, level access throughout. There are some cushioned seats in this area. The floor surface is carpet tiles. The area is evenly and well-lit with overhead lighting from florescent lights
• The Welcome Desk has a lowered section
• There is a hearing induction loop located at the Welcome Desk and shop in the main Cutter Building and the entrance to the Workshop Gallery, where you will find our special exhibitions
• Pens and paper are available at each of our entrance desks
• There is a 3D plan of the Cutter Building with braille situated in the entrance foyer by the Welcome Desk.

Shop  

• The shop is located on the ground floor of the main Cutter Building, opposite the Welcome Desk 
• There are two sets of automatic glass doors to enter the shop, both are 200cm wide
• The shop is level throughout 
• The shop counter has a lowered section  
• There is ample room within the shop for a large wheelchair or mobility scooter to manoeuvre and turn
• There are tall display racks and low tables, accessible from a seated position  
• There is a hearing induction loop located at the Welcome Desk and shop.

Winding House Café 

• The Museum café is situated on the ground floor and has step free, level access from the entrance through an automatic sliding door from the outside. You can also access the cafe via an entrance in the Cutter Building 
• The entrance doors are 130cm wide 
• Tables in the café are spaced well apart. They are 609mm or 24 inches in height
• Chairs are upright and have no arms  
• Lighting in all areas is natural daylight, with additional overhead lighting
• The flooring is non-slip vinyl 
• The cafe operates as self-service from a counter, but staff can assist with table or tray service on request
• Staff can also support with the menu.

Historic buildings  

• The entrance to our historic buildings is at ground level or via ramps
• The doors to the buildings are propped open to allow easy access during public opening hours 
• Our historic buildings still have their original floors 
• The Heapstead contains an internal ramp to a lower level 
• The floor surface inside the stables and at the south side of the Heapstead is uneven  
• Where historic buildings are not fully physically accessible, information and photographs of interiors are available 
• Our winder in Winding House No.2 can be viewed from the ground floor.

Museum grounds  

• We have extensive external grounds and are located next door to the Queen Elizabeth II and lake, which is accessible via a footpath from our main car park. There is a level pathway all around the lake 
• Around the buildings and main pit yard there are either concrete paths or compacted gravel 
• The main site concrete pathways are between 190-250cm in width 
• Around the main museum site and on the events field, there are grassed areas which can be uneven underfoot 
• Signage and interpretation is placed at a low level around all buildings for visitor information and orientation.  

Children’s Pit Yard Play Area 

• Our pit yard play facility is fully accessible for children with a broad range of physical and sensory disabilities. The play equipment includes a range of experiences to help children interact and learn through movement, sound, vision and memory  
• The play area includes a wheelchair accessible rotating plate
• The play area is accessible by a path which is suitable for visitors with mobility needs, wheelchairs, buggies and pushchairs
• There are seats available next to the play area. 

There are toilets and standard accessible toilets located on both floors of the main Cutter Building, the Tourist Information point in the car park, and there is a standard accessible toilet in the Workshop galleries.  

Baby changing facilities are in the Changing Places toilet on the Upper Ground Floor of the main Cutter Building and the Workshop galleries.  

All toilets have both hand dryers and paper towels available.  

The standard accessible toilets have:  

• Doors which are 900mm / 35.5 inches wide  
• A toilet height of 400mm / 15.7 inches 
• Vertical rails on either side of the basin and toilet  
• A horizontal rail on the side wall adjacent to the toilet  
• An emergency alarm pull cord  
• A flashing light when the fire alarm sounds  
• Well-lit toilets with fluorescent tube lighting overhead and a low-level light switch  
• Non-slip vinyl flooring  
• Lever taps on the basins.  

A Changing Places toilet which provides sanitary accommodation for people with multiple and complex disabilities who have one or two assistants with them is located on the Upper Ground Floor of the main Cutter Building.  

The Changing Places toilet has:  

• Doors which are 900mm / 35.5 inches wide  
• A toilet height of 400mm / 15.7 inches 
• Vertical rails on either side of the basin and toilet  
• A horizontal rail on the side wall adjacent to the toilet 
• An emergency alarm pull cord  
• A flashing light when the fire alarm sounds  
• Well-lit toilets with fluorescent tube lighting overhead and a low-level light switch 
• Non-slip vinyl flooring 
• Lever taps on the basins 
• A height adjustable, adult sized changing bench mounted to the wall.  
• A ceiling track hoist system  
• 10 sq.m space for the disabled person and up to two assistants  
• A centrally located peninsular toilet with space on both sides for assistants  
• A privacy screen  
• Wide paper roll  
• Large waste disposal bin  
• Height adjustable wash basin  
• Colostomy shelf 
• Non-slip vinyl flooring.  

The Changing Places toilet is also a certified Stoma Friendly toilet. 

• Interpretation boards are all printed in large text and have photographs and images where appropriate. All are at the maximum top height of 165cm
• Information boards are printed in large lettering and use Arial, a sans serif font. Information brochures and evacuation procedures are available in large print
• In most of our public buildings, on site interpretation is available in audio, film and text panel formats
• Our permanent exhibition Coal Town has a hearing induction loop throughout, and all films have captions  
• Some parts of the permanent Coal Town exhibition are dark
• There are flashing lights in the 1918 Making of a Man display area in the permanent Coal Town exhibition. Please do not enter if you have photosensitive epilepsy
• Should you need to leave the permanent Coal Town exhibition, you can via any of the fire exit doors
• There are laminated, printed transcriptions of all permanent exhibition audio available from the Welcome Desk in the main Cutter Building. These are sanitised after use
• The Ashington Group Gallery has interactive iPad guides available to provide visitors with additional interpretation. If they are not immediately available in the Gallery, please ask a member of our Visitor Experience team 
• Some objects are uncased and can be touched. Hand sanitiser across the site should you wish to use it. 

There are benches and seats available both indoors and outdoors across the whole museum site. Please ask a member of staff if you need a seat when queuing.

We have two wheelchairs and three mobility scooters which can be borrowed for free from the Entrance Hut. We recommend booking in advance to ensure a wheelchair or mobility scooter is available for you on the day you’d like to visit. 

To book, please telephone (0191) 277 2410 or email info@woodhornmuseum.org.uk

Assistance dogs are always welcome and can accompany their owner everywhere at Woodhorn Museum.  
Water bowls are provided in the car park and outside of the main Cutter Building. 

There is a hearing induction loop located at the Welcome Desk and shop in the main Cutter Building and the entrance to the Workshop Gallery, where you will find our special exhibitions. The Entrance Hut has a portable hearing induction loop. 

Our permanent exhibition Coal Town has a hearing induction loop throughout.

If you need a quiet space during your visit, we can make one available. Please ask a member of staff for the Visitor Experience Supervisor, who will be able to help you during your visit.

If you know that you need a quiet space in advance of your visit, please let us know by telephoning (0191) 277 2410 or emailing info@woodhornmuseum.org.uk and we can direct you to it on your arrival.  

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 in the main Cutter Building.
Ear defenders are sanitised after use.  

If you need any assistance during your visit, our Visitor Experience Assistants 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.

Woodhorn Museum worked with Different Narrative to produce a 3D Virtual Tour of Woodhorn Museum. Please use the tour to familiarise yourself with the site before visiting. The tour includes accessibility information, measurement tools and much more.

This project has been funded and facilitated by England’s first Destination Development Partnership – Destination North East England. A partnership between NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham, benefiting all seven local authorities. Destination North East England is funded by UK Government.