Blind or partially-sighted visitors at Windsor Castle
There are nine stone steps up to the entrance door to the Inner Hall.
There are then a further 11 stone steps up, but after the first seven there is a landing area.
Alternative access to the Inner Hall and State Apartments is via a platform lift on the North Terrace. The lift is operated by Castle staff, a Warden is positioned at the top and the bottom of the lift. The lift measures 232cm wide x 145cm long.
There are then six steps down to the State Entrance.
A second platform lift is available for step-free access.
There are 28 steps in the Grand Staircase which leads to the State Apartments.
Access to the State Apartments is also possible via a lift, next to the Cloakroom, in the Inner Hall. The lift is managed by Castle Wardens.
St George's Chapel
There are 3 stone steps into St George’s Chapel. An alternative entrance without steps is available, please ring the bell at the main chapel entrance. Inside the Chapel there are six sets of steps (minimum 1 step, maximum 3 steps) all of which have access ramps.
Flooring and surfaces
Floors are covered with thick pile carpet or polished wood.
St George's Chapel has stone floors and in some outside areas the ground is cobbled and uneven. As Windsor Castle is an historic building, the floors may be uneven and visitors should take care.
Visual aids
Orders of Service are available in large print for use during Services in St George’s Chapel. Some Orders of Service are available in Braille.
Audio Tour
A Descriptive audio tour, produced in conjunction with Vocaleyes, is available free of charge from the audio desk in the Moat Road building.
Non-descriptive multimedia tours, on touch-screen devices, are available for free in:
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Chinese
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Russian
Assistance animals
Assistance animals are welcome. We recommend that if possible animals wear a jacket or lead slip to identify them as working.
Staff reserve the right to ask visitors to remove their animal if it is deemed not to be behaving appropriately. Arrangements will then be made for the visitor to return without their animal. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
Shops
There are four shops at Windsor Castle, they are located in the Middle Ward, the Billiards Room, the Lower Ward and St George’s Chapel. All shops are on one level and accessible, with stone or carpet flooring. Middle Ward shop is the largest with easy access and plenty of room to manoeuvre. There are clear routes through all shops. There are hand sanitiser stations at entrance point and all shops are operating cashless.
In St George's Chapel, the Cloister shop is on a level with stone flooring.
Toilets
Accessible toilets are located on the North Terrace and off the Inner Hall. The North Terrace toilet requires a RADAR key, please ask a Warden if you do not have your own key.
Descriptive Zooms
Free Descriptive Zoom talks run on the first Tuesday of the month, from 2pm, and explore a different item in the Collection. For more information please see below.