3.5
Step back in time experience
Yorvik Centre is an underground museum and experience, and we thought it would be inaccessible to people in wheelchairs. But we had a surprise, as it was!
In the years 1980s, a Viking village was discovered underneath York and massive archaeological workd began to save it and make it a public heritage. Now the village has been "rebuilt" with animated installations, lights, sounds and even smells from that period.
When we got there, there was a ong queue waiting and we asked the staff managing it if there was any chance of visiting. They said yes but we'd have to book an accessible slot by phoning the dedicated number on the leaflet. We were a bit put off, as the reception desk was just feet away and we wondered why couldn't we simply agree on a slot with the staff at the counter, but no, we were told to phone.
Obviously, no one answered our call. So we came back on an offpeak day and time (it was a rainy Sunday at 2 pm!) and a different - very kind young lady at the queue just popped inside, had a quick talk and came back saying that we could go in in a moment.
There's a glass panelled lift down the museum and it takes you literally down the ages through the layers of old York. Then the tour is done via gondolas and the staff take you through a door to gondola 13 which has a platform in front to accomodate a wheelchair, and a few seats just behind for the carer or the rest of the group. So it was all smooth and my husband could enjoy the tour from the front with nothing and no one hindering his view. Going through the Viking village is quite an experience, and when you finish the staff helps you get off the gondola. Then there's the museum display which is all level and you can enjoy the manufacts and the explanations of all the Viking finds. The only thing is: the room is quite dim, and this could create some problems for people with visual impairments, especially if the museum is crowded at the time of your visit. But overall it's really worth going.
At the end of the museum tour you go back up to street level via the same lift.
All in all, an immersive and interesting experience not to be missed if you go to York
Yorvik Centre is an underground museum and experience, and we thought it would be inaccessible to people in wheelchairs. But we had a surprise, as it was!
In the years 1980s, a Viking village was discovered underneath York and massive archaeological workd began to save it and make it a public heritage. Now the village has been "rebuilt" with animated installations, lights, sounds and even smells from that period.
When we got there, there was a ong queue waiting and we asked the staff managing it if there was any chance of visiting. They said yes but we'd have to book an accessible slot by phoning the dedicated number on the leaflet. We were a bit put off, as the reception desk was just feet away and we wondered why couldn't we simply agree on a slot with the staff at the counter, but no, we were told to phone.
Obviously, no one answered our call. So we came back on an offpeak day and time (it was a rainy Sunday at 2 pm!) and a different - very kind young lady at the queue just popped inside, had a quick talk and came back saying that we could go in in a moment.
There's a glass panelled lift down the museum and it takes you literally down the ages through the layers of old York. Then the tour is done via gondolas and the staff take you through a door to gondola 13 which has a platform in front to accomodate a wheelchair, and a few seats just behind for the carer or the rest of the group. So it was all smooth and my husband could enjoy the tour from the front with nothing and no one hindering his view. Going through the Viking village is quite an experience, and when you finish the staff helps you get off the gondola. Then there's the museum display which is all level and you can enjoy the manufacts and the explanations of all the Viking finds. The only thing is: the room is quite dim, and this could create some problems for people with visual impairments, especially if the museum is crowded at the time of your visit. But overall it's really worth going.
At the end of the museum tour you go back up to street level via the same lift.
All in all, an immersive and interesting experience not to be missed if you go to York
For additional detailed accessibility information, please contact: jorvik@yorkat.co.uk
