Accessibility Guide for The Beatles Story Ltd

Welcome

The Beatles Story is Liverpool’s leading, award-winning attraction telling the story of The Beatles’ rise to fame. Located in the Fab Four’s hometown, on the waterfront at the Royal Albert Dock, The Beatles Story takes visitors on an immersive journey through the lives, times, culture and music of the world’s greatest band. Multi-media audio guides are available in various languages, beautifully narrated by John Lennon’s sister, Julia. For younger visitors, the Discovery Zone includes a range of fun learning activities. Finish your experience in our Beatles-themed Fab4 Café or browse through our range of gifts and souvenirs in our Fab4 Store.

Watch the video: The Beatles Story

Level access

The main entrance has level access. with a lift.

There is level access from the main entrance to:

Main Exhibition Discovery Zone & Chill Out Zone Welcome Centre Customer Toilets Fab4 Cafe

Access with steps

There are steps from the main entrance to:

Fab4 Store

Hearing

We have a hearing loop in Welcome Centre, Main Exhibition , Discovery Zone, Fab4 Cafe and Fab4 Store.

Some staff have disability awareness training.

Visual

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

General

We have a concessionary rate for disabled visitors.

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

Some staff have disability awareness training.

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Getting here

Britannia Vaults

The Royal Albert Dock

Liverpool Waterfront

L3 4AD

Travel by public transport

You can get to The Beatles Story Ltd by bus, train and boat or ferry.

The nearest bus station is located within Liverpool One and is a 10 minute walk to Albert Dock. The bus stop is 0.3 miles / 0.5 km from The Beatles Story Ltd.

The nearest train station is James Street Station. The train station is 0.5 miles / 0.8 km from The Beatles Story Ltd.

The nearest port is Mersey Ferries, Pier Head. The port is 0.6 miles / 1.0 km from The Beatles Story Ltd.

Bus - Liverpool One Bus Station is a 10 minute walk from Albert Dock, for further details please contact National Express on 0871 781 8181

Rail - Liverpool Lime Street is the city's mainline station with routes from London, Manchester, Scotland and the Midlands. The station is just 25 minutes walk from The Beatles Story or you can transfer with Merseyrail from Lime Street to James Street Station, just a 10 minute walk from the Albert Dock. For further information regarding Lime Street Station or James Street Station please contact National Rail on 0800 0277 347.

Ferry - The Pier Head terminal is a 10 minute walk from the Albert Dock, for further information relating to the Ferry please contact Mersey Ferries on 0151 330 1003.

Travel by taxi

You can get a taxi with Merseycabs by calling 0151 289 2060. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

You can get a taxi with Britannia Taxis by calling 0151 298 2222. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Merseycabs have over 350 black cabs that are fully accessible

Britannia Taxi's have over 25 wheelchair accessible taxis within their fleet.

Parking

We have a car park. There are accessible parking spaces. The parking is less than 50 metres from the main entrance. Parking is not free.

There is a drop-off point at the main entrance. The drop-off point does not have a dropped kerb.

Across the Albert Dock estate there are 11 out of 171 bays that are classed as DDA compliant, they are located as follows - Car park A - Salthouse Quay - 4 spaces and Car park D - Gower Street - 7 spaces. Parking fees do apply and start at £3 an hour, further details can be found at www.albertdock.com.

Arrival

Path to main entrance

From the street to the main entrance, there are 19 steps. There is no ramp and no lift.

The path is sloped.

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.

There is a lift.

The door is 1630mm wide.

The main door is side hung and manual.

The lift at the main entrance verbally tells you what level you are stopping at, the numbered buttons are raised and the floor numbers are displayed within the lift.

The lift door is 770mm wide and inside the lift is 860mm

Getting around inside

Visual Impairment - General Information

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

Lift

We have 1 lift.

You can get a lift to all floors.

Main Entrance Lift

The lift door is 770mm wide.

The lift is 860mm wide. The lift is 1270mm deep.

The lift says the floor number at each floor.

The lift buttons have raised numbers or letters.

The lift shows the floor number, at each floor.

Wheelchair access is limited to three on site at any one time, as we are a basement location and need to comply with fire regulations.Walking around the exhibition rooms, the guest will encounter several different floor surfaces from linoleum, flag stones, cobbles, textured metal, fake grass, and wooden floorboards. Whilst most of the exhibition space is on one level there are a couple of areas where the floor raises, or the surfaces become uneven. The below is worth noting to those with visual impairments or who use walking aids. From Hamburg into Merseybeat the floor becomes a shallow ramp, there are uneven cobbles in Hamburg and Mathew Street. Two steps take you down into the Cavern, their edges are marked clearly with white paint, or there is ramp access further down Mathew Street into the Cavern area. The lighting in the Cavern is darker than some other areas of the exhibition, with the lighting projection showcasing the stage, there are usually multiple chairs available for people to use within this section.Doors from the Cavern into NEMS are heavy and narrow, though can easily accommodate a wheelchair through the space, assistance may be required to pass through into the next section. Entering and exiting the Yellow Submarine are textured metal ramps, these are shallow angled with railings either side on the entry ramp only, if required. The Let it Be room has wooden sleepers, which are spaced and uneven in parts, there are cables on the floor and chimney pots placed around the room. Whilst in our India room there is fake grass married to linoleum. The Beatlemania section is a mirrored walkway with televisions that show footage of screaming girls, this can become cramped and potentially overwhelming to people with audio sensitivity. The lighting varies across the exhibition, with some rooms are brighter than others. In our Casbah, Hamburg, and America rooms there are neon lights which flicker on and off, these could be a trigger to people with photosensitive epilepsy.

Ticket/ information desk

Welcome Centre

From the main entrance to the desk, there is level access.

We have hearing loops available at the ticket and audio guide collection desk.

Our Multimedia Audio Player comes in 12 languages, we have hearing loops available for the tour, please contact a member of our team when collecting your player for assistance

Things to See and Do

We have a concessionary rate for disabled visitors.

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

Main Exhibition

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There is a hearing loop.

Some displays have flashing lights.

Discovery Zone & Chill Out Zone

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There are seats.

There is a hearing loop.

Interactive touch screen has the ability to be lowered to the floor to allow all guests access to the entire screen making it user friendly for all ages and abilities

Public toilet

Customer Toilets

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access. There is a lift.

From the lift to the public toilet, the route is 1240mm wide, or more.

The toilet door is 880mm wide.

The direction of transfer onto the toilet is to the right.

There is 1340mm at the side of the toilet. There is 970mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 510mm high. The toilets have handrails.

Shop

Fab4 Store

From the main entrance to the shop, there are 22 steps. There is no lift and no ramp.

The route through the shop is 800mm wide, or more.

The Fab4 store is located on ground level and one internal entracne from the exhbtion and two external entrances., located on Gower Street and Anchor Courtyard.

The Anchor courtyard has one step and is accessible via a portable ramp, the Fab4 Store team will assist with the placing of the ramp and any assistants needed. The door is 940mm wide and located to one side of the door is a fixed alarm system stand.

The Gower Street entrance has four stone steps leading up from the public walkway, the door width is 940mm wide and located to one side of the door is a fixed alarm system stand.

The entrance from the exhibtion is via a steel staircase consitin of 22 steps and the door wide is

The layout of the store has shop products situated alongside all walls from floor to ceiling with a circular paying counter lcoated within the middle of the floor. The counter have three countertop paying terminals with longer cables to make this reachable to vistors, the counter does not have a low counter point. This counter has a hearling loop available. Located at the back of the store is another paying counter with one paying terminal, which is a more acccessible area.

Around the store we have floor fixtures displaying clothing, there is an unobstructed route at least 800mm wide for wheelchairs to move around the shop to allow easy access. However, this might possibly be an obstruction for the larger motorized scooter, but the fixtures are moveable to allow an easy route and are staff will assit if assiatnce is needed.

Within the store we have background music playing.

Watch the video: Fab4 Store

Place to eat and drink

Fab4 Cafe

From the main entrance to the dining area, there is level access. The route is 1240mm wide, or more. The door is 560mm wide.

To get to a table, there are no steps.

The dining area is self-service. If you need table service, staff can help you.

There is background music.

We cater for vegetarian, gluten free (celiacs), lactose free (dairy free) and vegan specific diets.

Menus are displayed on TV two 52" screens located above the counter, our team are happy to assist.

Within the Cafe we have background music playing and a hearing loop is available.

Within the Fab4 Cafe we have a selection of seats - both seating, seats with no arms and tables, which are suitable for all heights and 2 highchairs available.

For any information regarding food allergies, please contact a member of our team within the Fab4 Cafe team.

Our Fab4 Cafe team are happy to assist any visitors who require assistance, please see a member of our team.

If you have specific dietary needs please contact our Catering Manager on 0151 705 6605.

Watch the video: Fab4 Cafe @ The Beatles Story

Getting around outside

Customer care support

Accessibility equipment

We provide wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are free.

We have a hearing loop in Welcome Centre, Main Exhibition , Discovery Zone, Fab4 Cafe and Fab4 Store.

There are two manual wheelchairs available free of charge, if you would like to reserve a wheelchair for your visit, please call 0151 705 6615.

For a list of more items, please go to https://www.beatlesstory.com/accessibility/.

You can hire mobility equipment from Liverpool One Shop Mobility by calling 0151 709 0990.

You can hire mobility equipment from Shop Mobility - St John’s Shopping Centre by calling 0151 709 5245.

Emergency evacuation procedures

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Customer care support

Some staff have disability awareness training.