Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium

Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium

Accessible Things to Do and Places To Stay In Hampshire

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Hampshire welcomes all ages and abilities. This page aims to help you plan your trip to Hampshire with some suggestions for accessible breaks. 


Accessible things to do in Hampshire


With a vast amount of attractions that fully or partially accessible you will have difficulty deciding where you want to go first. Often carers will gain free entry to an attraction, please just double check ahead of arriving. 

Here are some of our more accessible attractions, please do check facilities are in place ahead of your visit. 


The Hawk Conservancy Trust

The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a fully accessible attraction, easy to navigate by wheelchair with designated viewing points for the Trust’s bird displays and accessible toilets. 

For visitors with visual impairments, there are menus in large print and live commentary during the bird displays to help with discovery and enjoyment. 


The Spinnaker Tower

The Spinnaker Tower is great year round attraction a 190 metre tower with spectacular 350 degree views. With an internal lift, marvel at the vista on View Decks 1 & 2, for hearing impaired hearing loops are available.


Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World

The vast majority of the rides and attractions at Paultons, including Peppa Pig World, are designed to be fully accessible to disabled guests. A queue assist scheme is in place. Other facilities include an accessible changing facility, manual wheelchair hire and designated disabled parking. 


Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium 

One of Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium’s aims is to break down the barriers to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Facilities for visitors with disabilities include: lifts between floors, sensory backpacks and ear defenders, wheelchair loan, a hearing loop system, a Changing Places facility and the Recombobulation Room – a designated quiet space. 


Marwell Zoo

Marwell Zoo offers an accessible toilet in each of its 5 toilet blocks as well as an additional Changing Places toilet facility. Quiet spaces can be made available upon speaking to a member of the Marwell team. Hearing loops are available at reception, in the shops and mobile hearing loops are available for the talks. Daily talks are Makaton friendly. 


Beaulieu

The majority of Beaulieu is accessible. Facilities include: wheelchair hire, large print information, hearing loops, a DVD tour of the upper floors of Palace House (which are inaccessible to wheelchairs) and designated parking for Blue Badge holders. 


Lepe Country Park

There are several facilities in place making Lepe Country Park an accessible place to visit. Lepe has: a Changing Places toilet facility, an accessible classroom and toilet, an accessible path leading to the pond dipping area, accessible paths along the beach accessed via ramps from the car park, dedicated parking for Blue Badge holders and platforms along the side of the path for wheelchair users. 


Gilbert White’s House & Gardens

The ground floor of the house, the café and the gift shop of Gilbert White's House has level or ramped access. The second floor, which houses the Oates Galleries and Gilbert White’s Bedchamber and Study, is only accessible via the stairs. However, upon request you can see a video that shows you the less accessible areas of the museum. There is also an audio descriptive tour of the house.


Queen Elizabeth Country Park

Queen Elizabeth Country Park is partially accessible for wheelchairs users. There are accessible toilets adjacent to the visitor centre and near the Juniper BBQ site. Mobility scooters are available for hire.


Royal Victoria Country Park

Royal Victoria Country Park is largely accessible to users of wheelchairs. The play area has accessible equipment including accessible ramps for the climbing frame, and wheelchair accessible roundabout. All of the buildings are fully accessible and there is also a Changing Places site.


Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

The gardens at Sir Harold Hillier have a vast network of accessible paths. Mobility scooters are available to hire on site and the gardens has accessible toilet facilities. 


Bombay Sapphire Distillery

The Bombay Sapphire Distillery has been designed with accessibility of all guests as a top priority. Facilities include: 5 disabled parking bays, a hearing loop system at the admissions desk, wheelchair loan, handouts in large print and unisex accessible toilets. 


Eling Tide Mill Experience

Eling Tide Mill Experience has a FlexiStep for wheelchairs/mobility scooters to access to the ground floor of the mill. However, the first and second floors are only accessible via stairs, therefore, some visitors may be unable to access all floors. With this in mind, there are live camera feeds of the upper floors, connected to a large screen on the ground floor, for visitors to see the rest of the mill. This also includes further videos with subtitles of how the mill works and its machinery.

A hearing loop is also in place for visitors who are hearing impaired. 


Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral has several things in place to best support visitors with disabilities. These include; disabled toilets available within the cathedral located in the Fleury building and Café, there is a stair lift within the north transept to improve accessibility around the cathedral. However, it is designed for standard wheelchairs and has a weight limit of 250kg (roughly 40 stone) and there is also a lift within the Kings and Scribes exhibition which makes all 3 floors accessible.

In addition to this, facilities include: a braille guide, a 3D display of the Cathedral that visitors can touch, wheelchair hire and visitors can request information about any planned alarms/organ practices etc that may affect visitors with sensory overload. 


Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve

The reserve, including hides, is wheelchair accessible. Parts of the reserve may become difficult to access in very wet weather.


New Forest Wildlife Park

The New Forest Wildlife Park welcomes wheelchair and mobility scooter users and visitors with limited mobility. However, the woodland trails and natural forest environment may pose difficulties for some visitors.


Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway

Most of Exbury’s facilities (including the railway) are accessible for all. The main paths are suitable for wheelchairs and special maps that identify these routes are obtainable at the Visitor Entrance. Manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available to hire. 


Accessible Boating – the Basingstoke Canal

Fancy a day on the canals? Accessible Boating is a charity that operates on the Basingstoke Canal providing boat rides for disabled and limited mobility passengers. Trips are run on set dates throughout the summer.

Finkley Down Farm

Finkley Down Farm offers early access SEN sessions for visitors with additional needs on selected dates. They have also recently opened up a Changing Places facility. 


Accessible walking routes in Hampshire 

Whether you are looking for walking routes suitable for wheelchair users or pushchairs, there are many options to choose from.

Take a look at some of the accessible routes offered around Hampshire’s country parks

Follow the circular tarmacked route around Andover’s Charlton Lakes

See accessible routes in the New Forest.

Follow the Winchester Visitor Trail by wheelchair.


Accessible accommodation in Hampshire


Why not stay a little longer in one of the many accessible accommodation providers?

Hilton Southampton - Utilita Bowl is a great location for guests, located at the home Hampshire Cricket where you can catch a game. The hotel provides accessible queen-sized bedrooms, the best of which is the Queen Accessible Deluxe Room with balcony which overlooks the pitch.

The Holiday Inn Winchester is located 5 min drive from the city centre, and ensures that it is accessible throughout including specially designed rooms. The bar, lounge, restaurant and outdoor terrace are all located on the lower ground floor accessed by the hotels lifts.

Wallops Wood Cottages offers self-catering accommodation that has been designed accommodate several disabled guests and their carers in the same cottage with everyone enjoying privacy and comfort.

Our Bench Cottages, in the New Forest offers a choice of self-catering holiday cottages, all of which are wheelchair accessible. 

Flat Space Ropley sits beside the Watercress Line and provides fully accessible holiday accommodation for the severely disabled and less abled traveller. The three bedroom bungalow provides equipment that many rely on in their own home, but cannot find in accessible holiday accommodation.

Shorefield Country Park holiday village has an adapted lodge as well as some wheelchair-accessible caravans. There’s also designated disabled parking areas in the leisure car parks. 


Wheelchair and accessibility equipment hire in Hampshire

There are several places from which you can hire wheelchairs and other mobility aids from in Hampshire including:

Solent Mobility  
New Forest Mobility Services
British Red Cross 
SMS Mobility Hire 
Hampshire Mobility 
KJ’s Mobility 

Changing Places Toilets in Hampshire

There are a number of accessible Changing Places Toilets across Hampshire, some are found at some of Hampshire's attractions and others in our towns. Please visit the Changing Places' website for up-to-date information on where to find Changing Places Toilets. 

Check before you go

These suggestions have been put together based on the information at the time of writing. Visit Hampshire accepts no responsibility for inaccuracies or subsequent changes to facilities. We strongly recommend checking with the attraction and accommodation provider prior to travel to ensure your requirements can be met.

The following websites also contain lots of useful information for visitors with disabilities:

Tourism for all
Visit England