Accessibility Guide for Cannock Chase Forest Centre

Welcome

Cannock Chase Forest is one of the best value family day's out that the Midlands has to offer.

With a children's play area, woodland walks to suit all ages and abilities, and the best family and mountain biking trails in the region, you will not be stuck for something to do.

If you don't have bikes you can hire them, bring a picnic or choose lunch at the café and come rain or shine you will all go home having had a fantastic forest adventure.

The site features Grounds cafe, GoApe and Cannock Chase Cycle Centre.

4 walking trails

4 cycling trails

Go Ape

Forest Segway

Orienteering

Dog activity trail

Play area

Bike hire

Café

Dogs welcome

Level access

The main entrance has level access.

There is level access from the main entrance to:

Accessible toilet Grounds cafe Cannock Chase Cycle Centre

There is level access from the car park to:

Cafe area picnic benches

Hearing

Some staff have disability awareness training.

General

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

Some staff have disability awareness training.

Getting here

Cannock Chase Forest Centre

Birches Valley Road

Rugeley

WS15 2UQ

Travel by public transport

You can get to Cannock Chase Forest Centre by train.

The nearest train station is Rugeley town. The train station is 2 miles / 3.2 km from Cannock Chase Forest Centre.

Rugeley Town train station is apporximately 2 miles from the visitor centre. The Heritage trail from Rugeley to Cannock will lead visitors directly to Cannock Chase Forest Centre.

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.

Visitors who are being dropped off must be driven into the car park. You are entitled to 15 minutes free parking at the site. From the car park to the entrance, there is level access. The path is sloped.

The route is 2000mm wide, or more.

There are several areas of accessible parking available. They are signed and when in use a blue badge must be displayed on the dashboard.

Accessible parking spaces ar elocated near the cafe, the play area and the GoApe cabin.

Carpark charges apply to all spaces.

View from accessible parking by GoApe cabin

Arrival

Path to main entrance

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

The path is 2000mm wide, or more.

The path is sloped.

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.

Grounds cafe and Cannock Chase Cycle Centre are all single floor buildings which are accessible.

They have manual doors.

The GoApe cabin is single storey building which is open fronted with no doors and a counter.

Getting around inside

Public toilet

Accessible toilet

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

From the main entrance to the public toilet, there is level access. The route is 2000mm wide, or more.

The toilet door is 860mm wide.

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

There is 270mm at the side of the toilet. There is 1230mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 490mm high. The toilets have handrails.

The toilet has a twist lock, lateral transfer space and fitted grab rails. A key is not required to use the toilet. The sink in the toilets is fitted with lever taps, soap dispenser, hand dryer and mirror. The sink is 72cm from the floor and the soap dispenser and hand dryer are 90cm from the floor. The toilet has an emergency alarm activated by a red pull cord

Place to eat and drink

Grounds cafe

From the main entrance to the dining area, there is level access. The route is 2000mm wide, or more. The door is 850mm wide.

To get to a table, there are no steps.

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

There is no background music.

The table and plates have high colour contrast.

The cafe is managed by Grounds (aecatering) not Forestry England. For any dietry needs or extra information please contact:

Grounds Birches Valley Café

Lady hill, Rugeley, WS15 2UQ

Tel: 01889 574475

or visit their website: http://www.aecatering.co.uk/grounds-birches-valley-2/

Cannock Chase Cycle Centre

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. The route is 2000mm wide, or more.

The door is 750mm wide.

Cannock Chase Cycle Centre is a single level shop. Access to the shop is to the front, down a moderately steep gravel slope. There are manually operated double doors to the shop with a width of 75cm each. The doors open both outwards and inwards.

They have a range of bikes for sale and for hire including e-bikes.

Website: https://www.cannockchasecyclecentre.co.uk/

Getting around outside

Designated Walking Trail

Lady Hill Accessible trail. See below for other trails

The trail is 1300metres long. The trail has a hard surface. The trail has seats.

The Ladyhill Trail is a 1 mile circular walk on a flat wide path. The trail has rest stops at least every 25 meters so may be accessible to those with limited mobility. The top of the mushroom seats are 80cm from the floor.

The Fairoak Trail is a 2.5 mile multi use circular route around Fairoak Pools and Valley. It is a relatively flat route but has moderate slopes and uneven ground in places with loose stone and a ford crossing. There are benches positioned around the pools with a maximum distance of 1km between them.

Mobility scooters are more suited to urban environments and may struggle in our forest.

We do not recommend the use of smaller three wheeled personal mobility vehicles, as these can be particularly unstable on uneven ground. Mobility scooters are not available to hire.

Other paths throughout the forest will become muddy and wet and may not be suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs, mobility scooters or people with limited mobility. They will also have some steeper gradients.

Picnic Area

Cafe area picnic benches

From the car park to the picnic area, there is level access. The path is 2000mm wide, or more.

The entrance is 2000mm wide.

You can bring your own food to the picnic area.

Picnic benches are located around the cafe and can be used by all visitors.

Visitors are also welcome to picnic around the forest, but we ask that you take your rubbish home.

Off the ground BBQs are permitted on our concert field, but you must bring enough water to extinguish them.

A water tap is avaialble outside the cafe for bottle refills and dog bowl refills.

Customer care support

Some staff have disability awareness training.