Accessible Liverpool

There's a lot on offer, artswise, in Liverpool but is it accessible to everyone? Pat Elmour, a Target md reader, travelled there to find out.

Liverpool City Museum

There were plenty of disabled parking spaces outside. Inside, it was spacious with plenty of room for wheelchairs. There was a limit of two wheelchairs per floor in case you need a quick exit in emergency which was good thinking. There were lots of staff around and they were all really helpful. In addition, wheelchairs were available on loan.

Two complaints though - the lift buttons were too high for a lone wheelchair user and the fire doors between the exhibits and disabled toilets were heavy.

Walker Art Gallery

Access to the gallery was good and the lifts could be operated from a wheelchair. There were plenty of disabled toilets, which makes a change!

Again, the staff were helpful and wheelchairs were available on loan.

Liverpool Playhouse

The Playhouse stages a variety of shows - some old favourites and a few modern works. In the same way, the venue seemed to cater for everyone accessbility-wise. We entered on the ground floor and, in the auditorium, there were 18 disabled places, two of which were in the circle that could be reached by lift.

The staff were happy to fetch ice creams at the interval. If you fancied something stronger from the bar upstairs then you order and pay for your drink before the performance starts and collect it from a side bar during the interval.

The carer gets a seat a reduced price which I thought was quite civilised!

The Empire Theatre

The Empire Theatre, the place to catch all the big names in showbusiness, was the last place to visit.

There was some street parking and access to the theatre was at ground level. In the auditorium there were ten wheelchair spaces, all of which afforded a good view of the stage. There were disabled toilets on all floors. The bar was upstairs and reachable by a lift but, again, staff were happy to buy interval snacks and drinks for you.

Final thoughts

Our experience of visiting Liverpool's places of interests was a positive one. Access to each venue was easy enough and, apart from a few minor struggles, we didn't experience any big difficulties once inside.

Another plus point were the staff who were, without exception, considerate and helpful.

The visits have inspired us to explore other venues but only when we've had a little time to recover!