YOUR VISIT

Disability

The V&A offers a range of facilities to make your visit more enjoyable. If you have any enquiries regarding facilities and services for disabled people, please contact the Disability and Access Officer by telephone on +44 (0)20 7942 2766, by textphone on +44 (0)20 7942 2002, or by email disability@vam.ac.uk.

Entry to the museum is free and people with disabilities are entitled to free admission to V&A exhibitions with up to two friends. All V&A events are accessible to disabled people, including BSL interpretation and other support as required. A carer can accompany disabled visitors free of charge.  All assistance dogs are welcome.

Please note: Due to the building works for the Ceramics, and Medieval and Renaissance galleries, it is not possible for wheelchairs to have access to Architecture or Glass galleries. Improved access for all visitors will be available from the opening of the Ceramics Gallery in September 2009.

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How to reach the V&A

The V&A is situated on the corner of Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London.

Cromwell Road Entrance

The Cromwell Road entrance is served by steps or ramps on either side of the entrance.   A wheelchair accessible door is located between the revolving doors. The Cromwell Road entrance is the meeting point for talks and tours and gives independent access to the galleries.

Exhibition Road Entrance

Exhibition Road has two entrances, one is a large revolving door and is not wheelchair accessible.  The second 10 meters to the left of the revolving door, has level access with push/pull glass doors.

Museum Tunnel Entrance

The tunnel leading from the tube ticket hall is about 400 metres long, and not wheelchair accessible.  Approximately 300meters on the right hand side is the V&A tunnel entrance.  There are 12 steps leading to two sets of glass doors.

Arriving by road

If arriving by car, taxi, Dial-a-Ride or minibus, four non-bookable Blue Badge spaces are located outside the Exhibition Road entrance.  Further pay and display parking  spaces are available on Exhibition Road.

How to reach the V&A by public transport

The nearest underground station is South Kensington (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines), which is not wheelchair accessible.

Buses C1, 14, 74 and 414 stop outside the Cromwell Road entrance to the Museum.

For more information about accessibility on public transport, contact Transport for London by telephone on +44 (0)20 7222 1234.

Facilities available for disabled visitors

• Facilities for visitors with hearing impairment
• Facilities for visitors with visual impairment
• Facilities for visitors with learning disabilities / dyslexia
• Facilities for visitors with physical disabilities

What to see and do

Staff on Information Desks are happy to help and advise, and there are information sheets on various aspects of the collections. Floor plans are available. If you would like one in large print, please ask at the Information Desks.

Complimenting the exhibitions and collections, there are also a variety of activities and events for visitors with hearing impairments and activities and events for visitors with visual impairments .

These activities range from evening lectures to courses, workshops and drop-in events, many of which are free. To find out about events for visitors with disabilities, please pick from the options below:  

Disability Equality Scheme

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 stated that from December 2006 all public bodies had a duty to promote disability equality (similar to the duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000). It aims to change the way our laws work in this area, from responding to individual disabled people making a complaint, to expecting the public sector to be positive in removing barriers.

The document below highlights the work undertaken by the Museum and sets out in the Action Plan how disability has become an integral part of the V&A's work.

• Disability equality scheme (PDF file, 62 KB)
• Disability equality scheme (Word file, 77 KB)

In December 2009 the V&A will be required to update the Disability Equality Scheme.  The V&A is currently developing an Equality Strategy which aims to pre-empt the proposed Equalities Bill.  In light of this, the Disability Equality Scheme will continue in its current form until the new Equality Strategy goes live in April 2010, where disability will sit with the equality strands set out in the new scheme.