Update Jan 2017: The Design Museum has now moved to a new home in Kensington. They sent us this information on accessibility:

“The Design Museum is a must-see for anyone who loves stylish and creative design. Established by Sir Terence Conran, this museum is a haven of creative thinking and inspired problem solving, celebrating the talent of the world’s best designers and architects.

The museum has opened in a spectacular new location on Kensington High Street. For the first time in the museum’s history it has a free permanent display of its collection: Designer Maker User tells the story of contemporary design through these three interconnected roles.

The Access: There are no steps into the building from street level. Inside the floors are flat, with lots of space to move around and there is a lift between all floors. There are accessible toilets on the lower ground floor.

Where to go after: The new museum has a coffee and juice bar on the ground floor. The Parabola cafe bar restaurant has opened on the top floor and serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.”

We will be auditing ourselves soon but in the meantime do take a look at a recent post and the comments at the end regarding disabled access/facilities. They don’t appear to be that friendly?? They do have an enquiry form for access information on the website but could do with a BBS Access Gallery showing the journey through the building. We will investigate further and if anyone else has been please tell us what you think here.

The New Design Museum Occupies The Former Commonwealth Institute in Kensington. The 1960s Grade II* Listed Building Includes a Copper Hyperbolic Paraboloid Roof

Cocktail Bar Looks Good Overlooking Holland Park But Not Sure if There’s a Lowered Part for Wheelchair Users or People Who Can’t Manage Bar Stools!!

The Floors are Flat, Connected by Stairs & Lifts

In the meantime they get a provisional 2 BBS Ticks

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2015: London is so full of interesting museums and galleries that often, with the massive places like the Natural History Museum, The Science Museum and The Tate being so well known, it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller one’s. But there are so many other interesting specialist museums out there. We’ve compiled a list and found out about the access at some of the best ‘sleeper hits’ in London. This is just a small selection of the brilliant places to visit in London which are slightly less well known. Oh, and we included the Tower of London too. Just to confuse you.

The Design Museum

28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD

The Museum: This is a personal favourite of ours at Blue Badge Style. The Design Museum is a must-see for anyone who loves stylish and creative design. Established 24 years ago by Terrence Conran this museum is a haven of creative thinking and inspired problem solving, celebrating the talent of the world’s best designers and architects.

One of the current exhibitions is the Designs of the Year 2013 competition which features several designs we’ve highlighted on Blue Badge Style including the Air Access Seat and the Morph Folding Wheel. But, focusing less on products for the less able, there are so many iconic designs in the museum. It’s worth a trip for anyone who enjoys good design.

The Access ( See Previous Review): It shouldn’t be too difficult to navigate the Design Museum. There are no steps into the building from street level and there is a small ramp to reception from the main entrance. Inside the floors are flat, with lots of space to move around and there is a lift between floors. You may need to notify staff in order to use the lift. There are accessible toilets on the ground floor.

The museum bosses intend to move the museum to the former Commonwealth Institute on London’s Kensington High Street when they raise enough money. When that relocation happens we will have to check out the access in the new building. Since the best architects and designers around should be working on the move you’d presume there will be an improvement on the (good) accessibility that they have now.

Where to go after: The Design Museum’s own restaurant, The Blueprint Cafe, is a convenient option which we gave 2.5 BBS Ticks. We found the decor to be a little uninteresting, especially for the Design Museum, but we enjoyed the view of the Thames. For a real treat head just down the road to Le Pont De La Tour at Butler’s Wharf – a wonderful 3 BBS Tick venue.

Churchill War Rooms

Clive Steps, King Charles Street, SW1A 2AQ

The Museum: The Churchill War Rooms is a museum based in the actual bunker that sheltered Churchill and his cabinet during the Blitz. Just down the road from Number Ten, you can see exactly how the war was conducted from underground. It comes in two parts: the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. It’s a brilliant museum dedicated to the ‘Greatest Briton’ and an incredible chance to look at how the government was coordinated whilst under attack.

The Access: The Churchill War Rooms are nearly entirely accessible. There are disabled toilets. There is a ramp to get into the building and a lift to get down into the main museum area. Some corridors in the Cabinet Rooms are 70cm wide, but these can be by-passed, making the vast majority of the rooms accessible. Considering that this site was originally used as a 1940s bunker it is surprisingly accessible. It puts to shame a lot of other locations which say they can’t install lifts because the building is too old.

Where to go after: We gave Roux at Parliament Square 3 BBS Ticks. The food’s great and the only problem is that you may bump into an MP. It’s very accessible despite being in a listed building designed by Alfred Waterhouse who was also the architect of London’s Natural History Museum. More proof that an old building is no excuse for poor disabled facilities.

London Transport Museum

Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB

The Museum: The London Transport Museum is an awesome display of the history of travel in the Capital. Established in the 1920s the museum has been keeping up to date with all the updates in London travel over almost one hundred years. This is a great way to see some historic trains and buses.

There’s also a great temporary exhibition, of the best London Underground posters in its 150 year history, running until the 27th of October. There are some really cool posters in there worth checking out.

The Access: Getting into the museum is step-free but the building is located in a corner of cobbly Covent Garden. There is a variety of different ramps and lifts to get around. If you are unsure which lift to take you can ask a member of staff for directions and assistance. Accessible toilets can be found near the entrance and cloakroom.

Where to go after: There are lots of stylish places in and around Covent Garden but a particularly nice spot is Polpo which we gave 2.5 BBS Ticks.

Sherlock Holmes Museum

221b Baker Street, NW1 6SE

The Museum: We’ve already featured one real-life national treasure with the Churchill War Rooms but here’s another one, this time fictional. The Sherlock Holmes Museum is located 221B Baker Street – the famous home of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s iconic super-sleuth.

The museum has created an accurate period depiction of what Sherlock and Watson’s home may have looked like had they ever existed. The rooms are stuffed with oddities and antiquities that you can imagine them to have owned and there is normally a photo opportunity with a man dressed as Sherlock standing by the front door.

The Access: It doesn’t seem all too accessible for the physically less able. There’s no disabled toilet and quite a lot of deep stairs to climb to see the whole museum. However, the staff do receive disability training and there is a wheelchair for some reason. Certain areas are accessible to certain people.

Where to go after/instead: Bistrot De Luxe received 2.5 BBS Ticks when we reviewed it. They serve outstanding French food there.

Museum Of Brands

2 Colville Mews, Lonsdale Road, W11 2AR

The Museum: The Museum of Brands, Advertising and Packaging, to give it its full name, is a relatively new addition to the London Museum scene which offers display after display that will have you saying “I remember that”. Featuring over 12,000 items, this collection of brands, packaging and advertising is a treasure chest of design classics. Their ‘time tunnel’, which charts the journey from Victorian times to the present day will give everyone a healthy dose of nostalgia.

The Access: The whole museum is on the ground floor and access from the street level is step-free so there shouldn’t any problems there. They have a disabled toilet in the museum. Although it is narrower in some areas than others, it’s never too narrow for wheelchair to pass through with space for others to pass too. All in all, the access sounds very good.

Where to go after: The nearby Ledbury is a 3 BBS Ticks restaurant. It has 2 Michelin stars, has been listed as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world and it’s just around the corner from the Museum of Brands.

The Tower Of London

The Museum: Probably one of the most conventional attractions in all of London, there’s probably not much to be said about the Tower of London that you don’t already know. Ravens, Crown Jewels, Beefeaters, Ghosts, The Princes in the Tower… you know the drill. There’s something for everyone.

The Access: Unfortunately, the ‘Towers that be’ say that wheelchair access is limited in the Tower of London due to it being a historic building with difficult stairs and passageways. There are also a large number of steps throughout the Tower (surely these could be negotiable) and there are cobbles laid in some of the roads.

So some areas are apparently inaccessible but at the very least the Jewel House and Crown Jewels are fully accessible. There is also a disabled toilet behind the Jewel House and near the Salt Tower.

We’re not sure if they’ve done enough or not to make everything as accessible as possible. They have made this interactive tour available but could they do more? What do you think?

Where to go after: The closest BBS recommendation on the North side of the river is Prism. It’s an impressive restaurant in the old New York Bank building, in the City, which we gave 2.5 Ticks. It’s not hugely near to the Tower of London so an alternative option would be to go over Tower Bridge to one of the places we mentioned near to the Design Museum.

Hunterian Museum

The Museum: Based on items assembled by surgeon and anatomist, John Hunter, the Hunterian exhibits thousands of anatomical, pathological and zoological specimens that are either incredibly fascinating or increasingly gross, depending on your point of view. One of the oldest collections of its type, it comprises more than 3,500 anatomical and pathological preparations, fossils, paintings and drawings and also includes specimens donated by Edward Jenner and Sir Joseph Banks.

The Access: The main entrance to the Hunterian has lots of steps so less able visitors are advised to enter through the entrance at the Nuffield College of Surgical Sciences building, to the left of the main college, where there is a wheelchair lift. The two buildings are linked internally by a direct level route with no stairs. The building is wheelchair accessible throughout and there are accessible toilets.

Where to go after: The Delaunay received 3 Ticks when we reviewed it. It’s a good spot for a snack or small meal at a reasonable price for the area. The access is obviously great too.

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN

The Museum: A world famous art gallery in an old London town house, The Wallace Collection is one of the best collections of fine and decorative arts you will ever see. You’ll find a brilliant array of 18th Century French paintings alongside beautiful pieces of furniture, ornaments and armour. It’s a less obvious place to go than one of the really big galleries, like the Tate or the National, but it has an equally impressive collection of paintings by the Old Masters including two paintings by Titian, four Rembrandts, three Rubenses and four Van Dycks.

The Access: The entrance is sloped so there aren’t any stairs and there are double width automatic doors to get inside. All public areas are wheelchair accessible and there is a lift to all floors. Remote door openers are available from the Security Desk. There are accessible toilets on the lower ground floor.

Where to go after: Giorgio Locatelli’s restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, in the Churchill Hotel is a couple of streets away. We enjoyed it there and gave it 2.5 Ticks.

That’s our recommendation for now! Please get in touch if you know any other sleeper highlights on the London museum scene. We plan to bring you more in the future.

Blue Badge Style

We Re-Define Disability With Style

Design Museum, The, London

Design Museum, The, London

Share this:

Share this:

Login

Sign up for Blue Badge Style