Accessibility

We have worked with AccessAble so you can find out about our facilities before you visit. AccessAble’s surveyors assessed our venue to create a Detailed Access Guide. Check out the Detailed Access Guide to Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum.

You can download a full copy of our Access Statement and Guide from this page.

Planning your trip

Visit Britain have created a guide to help you plan a visit to Britain. Visit the Accessible Britain guide to find useful information on accessible transport and facilities across the UK. Discover a range of diverse accessible adventures just waiting to be enjoyed – from accessible restaurants and bars to hiking wheelchairs, inclusive trekking, adaptive surfing and snow sports, museums, autism-friendly attractions, beach wheelchairs and more.

Arriving at the bridge

Bristol City council provides a list of accessible taxis.

There are two disabled parking spaces next to the Leigh Woods toll booth which blue badge holders are welcome to use – postcode BS8 3PA. If travelling from Clifton (Bristol), be aware there is a £1 toll to pay to cross the bridge, payable by debit/credit card or contactless. The Visitor Information Centre is situated just next to blue badge spaces and it and the bridge itself are all on one level. The bridge is 214m or 712ft long.

We welcome trained guide, hearing, and assistance animals. To safeguard our objects and collections we ask that your animals are appropriately trained, supervised, and kept with you at all times. When possible animals should wear the appropriate tabard or harness. If you plan to visit with an assistance animal other than an assistance dog, please get in touch 7 days prior to your visit to discuss your request with us so we may best accommodate your visit where reasonably practicable.

Our Front of House volunteers are here to welcome you! They love to chat and many of them also work as tour guides or are ex-engineers so they have a lot of information to share! Please also ask if you require orientation or about anything else you’d like to know.

Mobility

Inside the Museum, folding stools are available for your use. They are light, have a carry handle and can be used as a walking aid as well as a seat.

There is an enclosed lift to the first floor. Please remember to keep your finger on the button to keep the lift in motion. (We recommend that users with mobility scooters reverse in as this makes it easier to exit again.)

An accessible toilet is located on the ground floor level of the Museum, and another at The Hub on the Clifton side of the bridge. Access at The Hub is by Radar key. No key is required at the Museum.

Visual Impairments

The building is free to enter and has glass automatic doors which open when approached. On the left-hand side of the doors there is a glass panel which is used for the display of posters and informational signage. There is a small foyer area and a second set of automatic doors. Upon entering the building, the shop and reception desk will be to your left and the exhibition and stairs to your right.

Although the majority of our displays are text-based, our knowledgable volunteers are on hand every day to answer your questions about the bridge and talk to you about our exhibition.

A DVD which is 28 minutes long tells the story of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It has directional speakers which can be heard most clearly from the mezzanine level. The DVD is narrated by Susannah Harker and includes a number of interviews with bridge staff, historians and local residents. It includes some music and provides a coherent history without audio description. The content was scripted to work with or without images.

On the ground floor, a selection of handling objects are included within the ‘Engineering’ section of the exhibition: a nut from the suspension chains, a bolt with a thread worn by the constant movement of the bridge and a piece of asphalt road surface.

A set of tactile images with braille labels and a set of large print images with labels in written English are available in the Education Workshop, next to a table and chairs.

Hearing Impairments

The exhibition has a large amount of visual content – information and images.

A DVD which is 28 minutes long tells the story of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Subtitles are not available, but there is an audio transcribed booklet available. The content of the DVD summarises the information included on the exhibition’s text panels.

A portable T-Loop is available at reception.

Babies and Young Children

Two buggy lockers are available at the entrance to the venue. If your children would rather explore the centre on foot, you are welcome to lock your buggy away and keep hold of a key during your visit.

A family toilet is available. It is equipped with baby change facilities and a step to reach the sink and toilet. Further toilets with baby change are available at The Hub on the Clifton side of the bridge.

There is a children’s bannister on the main staircase to help younger visitors safely negotiate the stairs. A lift is also available. Please remember to keep your finger on the button to keep the lift in motion.

A range of children’s activities are available including imaginative drawing, a magnetic game and a weighbridge. We often have touring exhibitions or special exhibits which are Family Friendly.

Our venue is breastfeeding friendly.

English as a Second or Other Language

All of the information in our exhibition is in English. However, exhibition guides in French, Italian, German, Afrikaans, Spanish and Finnish are available at the start of the exhibition.

We are also able to provide a short summary of the history of the bridge in the following languages, which has been created by volunteers:

• Afrikaans
• Cantonese
• Dutch
• French
• German
• Hungarian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Urdu
• Welsh

Copies of the language sheets can be downloaded from this page or available at the welcome desk in the Museum. If you have spotted a mistake or would like to volunteer to help us translate the history into another language, please get in touch.

Our volunteers come from all over the world and speak a lot of different languages. If you would like someone to tell you about the exhibition in another language, please contact us and we shall advise you of the best time to visit.