Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway

Reviews (4)
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Location:

Exbury Estate Office, Exbury, Southampton

Ratings:
  • Staff Helpfulness
  • Ease of Access

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Features:
  • Accessible parking spaces
  • Accessible toilets
  • Changing Places
  • Help points
  • Lifts
  • Personal assistance
  • Step-free access

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Reviews (4)

IanLoynes IanLoynes

I too am a frequent visitor to this lovely gardens
Access is as good as you’d hope for in what us an extensive gardens – some routes can be gravelly and bumpy and some steep, but others are tarmac and very good. We’ve been able to go almost anywhere we want with no trouble over many visits
Toilets are not big or luxurious but they are OK for access
Restaurant and cafe’s are accessible with helpful staff if assistance is required
Give it a try – I don’t think you’ll be disapointed.

matt85 matt85

Oh I also forgot to add if you have problems walking but don’t need to use a wheelchair there is a buggy service that will take you around the majority of the gardens. There’s also lots of benches dotted around so plenty of resting places.

matt85 matt85

This is one of my favourite places to visit during good weather, it’s best to go either in the spring or the autumn. They have plenty of disabled spaces along the front of the car park, the surface is gravel so could be hard to self propel if you’re a manual wheelchair user. It was okay for my electric wheelchair or a scooter.
The pathways around the main entrance are all tarmac as well as the main drive running from the railway to the house. The entrance hut has level access and the doors remain open so you don’t have any to open. I paid £10.50, my carer got in for free. The counter was at a reasonable height when seated but wasn’t lowered anywhere.
The majority of the gardens are wheelchair accessible on either tarmac, gravel or grass paths. When you purchase your tickets you will be given a map that shows which paths aren’t accessible due to either narrow or steep paths or steps, these are also marked on the signposts. Parts of the garden have a gradient to them especially the lower and upper parts, these are okay if you’re in a powered wheelchair but more difficult if you use a manual wheelchair and have to self propel or be pushed, these also tend to be gravel paths.
The railway is accessible and will take one wheelchair per trip in a specially adapted carriage, the conductor will put a ramp down and fold the seats up so you can drive into the carriage.
There’s a couple of disabled toilets dotted around the gardens, one at the main entrance and one at the sundial gardens cafe. I used the ones by the main entrance which weren’t massive but would be large enough to side transfer onto the toilet if there weren’t large bins in the space you’d park your chair. The baby change is also in this toilet, hence the large bins. The changing table was also down which also gets in the way.
In summery though it’s a lovely day out that’s always enjoyable if you’re into gardens. It’s also very peaceful and relaxing.

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