Accessibility Guide for JORVIK Viking Centre

Travel by public transport

You can get to JORVIK Viking Centre by bus and train.

There are several bus stops along Piccadilly, including busses service by First York, TransDev, and others. By heading North along Piccadilly (towards the main square and the Minster), you turn left at the main stop light onto Coppergate. Halfway down the street on the left hand side, there is a pedestrian area that slopes downhill. Follow this to the bottom of the Coppergate Shopping Centre, where the Jorvik Viking Centre is located on the right hand side. The bus stop is 0.1 miles / 0.2 km from JORVIK Viking Centre.

The nearest train station is York Rail Station. The train station is 0.7 miles / 1.1 km from JORVIK Viking Centre.

York is on the East Coast main line between London and Scotland. It takes less than two hours to get to York from London. Trains run every half an hour, with at least 25 direct trains each week day.

Direct rail services also run to York from many of the UK’s main regional centres. York can be reached easily from all the following stations: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Liverpool.

There are direct trains to and from Manchester International Airport and trains run every hour during the day.

Information on train times and prices is available by telephone from within the UK on 08457 48 49 50.

Travel by taxi

You can get a taxi with Streamline by calling 01904 656565. The taxi company has a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

You can get a taxi with Six Five Nine by calling 01904 659 659.

Parking

The nearest drop off point is along Tower Street, behind Clifford's Tower and outside the Hilton York, near the Castle Car Park. From the Hilton, follow Tower Street around the corner to the left, then walk along Castlegate for about 60 meters. On the right hand side will be a downhill pedestrian pathway alongside St Mary's Church. At the bottom of the hill, turn left and walk for another 25 meters. The Jorvik Viking Centre will be on your left.

The nearest car park is the Castle car park, just a five minute walk away (for Sat Nav Users, Castle Car Park Postcode: YO1 9SA).

FREE, secure car parking is available at York’s six Park & Ride sites. Park & Ride allows you to travel to York by car, park for free in secure car parks and complete your journey into the city centre by bus. A standard return fare is just £3.10. Up to three children (16 and under) can travel free of charge when accompanied by a full fare-paying adult.

Award winning car parking company Q-Park operate the Shambles car park a short walk away on Garden Place. Q-Park Shambles is a clean, well-lit and safe facility offering a range of convenient services. Pre-book your parking online and use promo-code ‘Jorvik’ and receive 10% discount on your parking. Address: Q-Park Shambles, Garden Place, York, YO1 7NT.

Path to main entrance

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

Main entrance

The main entrance has level access.

The main door is side hung and manual.

Visual Impairment - General Information

We have contrast markings on all glass doors and contrast markings on all full-height windows.

Some parts of the venue have low lighting.

Lift

We have 1 lift.

You can get a lift to all floors.

Lift to all floors

The lift is a platform lift.

The lift door is 905mm wide.

The lift is 905mm wide. The lift is 1555mm deep.

There are only two levels to Jorvik - one being our admissions entrance and one being below where our Centre is actually located. Staff members are posted close to the doors at both levels should you need assistance. Please note that these measurements are working measurements, which means that they cannot be exceeded. The maximum load for this lift 400kg and 2 persons.

Ticket/ information desk

Front Desk

From the main entrance to the desk, there is level access. The route is 930mm wide, or more.

The door is 1640mm wide, or more.

The desk has a low section.

Our Admissions area is a flat smooth surface with a lower desk area to the right as you enter. There is a lift that will take you to the start of your visit. The lowest section of the desk is 770 mm high. There are staff members posted both at the desk and at the door and are able to offer assistance. 

Things to See and Do

We have a complimentary ticket policy for personal assistants.

We have performances with: captioned, audio-described and relaxed.

We have display information in: braille, large print .

Discover Coppergate

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. There is a lift.

From the lift to this area, the route is 905mm wide, or more. The door is 905mm wide.

Some display information is low, for wheelchair users.

In our Discover Coppergate area, you are standing on the site of the famous Coppergate excavation. Here, you will experience a fully immersive display taking you back to the 1970s. You will hear the stories of the archaeologists who were involved in this revolutionary excavation and helped piece together the story of the Vikings of Jorvik, where they came from, how they lived, died and where they travelled to. Beneath your feet, underneath the glass floor, is a recreation of what the archaeologists found as they were digging. You can have a go at trying to excavate, conserve, and display some of the artefacts at one of our interactive stations. Sometimes, there's even a chance to handle some real Viking artefacts from the excavation (subject to staff availability). One of our trained archaeologists will even be on hand to answer any questions that you have. 

Please note that during the audio presentation, the lights dim and the sound can be very loud. Ear defenders are available, as well as a written transcript compilation of all parts of the presentation. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the audio presentation, it is not always possible to discern which part of the presentation matches up with which part of the transcript, though we are working to find a solution to this.

There is also a glass floor covering much of the area, but it is possible to avoid walking across the glass by following along the walls if you prefer. There are 22 stairs leading down to this level, as well as two landings.

Our toilets are also located in this gallery, but more on those later. 

Ride

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. There is a portable ramp. There is a lift.

From the lift to this area, the route is 1140mm wide, or more. Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There are seats.

There is a hearing loop.

Videos have subtitles.

As you travel around 10th century York aboard our state-of-the-art time capsules, you will experience what it was like living in the city. You will visit the houses, workshops and backyards, re-created on the very site where they were discovered, and meet the many different people who once called Jorvik home, from Old Norse speakers descended from the Vikings of Scandinavia to Anglo-Saxons, traders from the East and new settlers from Ireland.

The sights, sounds and even the smells of the Viking Age are brought vividly back to life as you journey back 1,000 years, with more attention given to the environmental evidence from the Coppergate dig. Look out for the fauna and flora across the settlement, as well splashes of naturals dyes that were found in a backyard.

Before boarding our ride, visitors of any age may feel apprehensive. We have an iPad with a pictures of the ride available for visitors to review, and special lanterns that can be taken around the ride for anyone who needs a little more light.

All capsules are fitted with a touch screen that allows you to choose from one of several audio commentaries, including a children's commentary, an audio described commentary, and several different languages. Closed captioning is standard for the regular English commentary. Hearing loops are fitted to all of our capsules. Please let the Viking assisting you onto the ride know if you need any assistance with this.

Standard capsule dimensions:
Seat Height: 365mm
Bench Width: 350mm
Footwell Width: 395mm
Bench Length: 1390mm
Seat Back to Bar: 398mm

There are two rows of seats in each standard capsule, and each row has three seats. We do have a number of booster seats for visitors who need a little extra height.

There is one wheelchair accessible capsule; it boards from a different area than the rest of the capsules, so please let one of our staff members know if you would like to use this capsule and they will guide you to where you can board at the next available time. Large wheelchairs can sometimes struggle to get on the ride; please refer to the dimensions below. If needed, we do offer a free wheelchair that fits comfortably onto our capsule.

To board our wheelchair accessible capsule: a Viking will guide you to our "caps off" area where a member of our technical team will help you board the ride. The narrowest part of the path to our caps off area is 655mm (or 1180mm if both doors are opened), while the capsule dimensions themselves are 760mm x 880mm. For further details regarding our wheelchair capsule, please email our reservations team at groups@yorkat.co.uk or access@yorkat.co.uk. 

Gallery

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. There is a permanent ramp. There is a lift.

From the lift to this area, the route is 1090mm wide, or more. The door is 1010mm wide.

Some display information is low, for wheelchair users. There are seats.

There is a hearing loop.

Videos have subtitles.

Once you’ve explored the Viking city you have the chance to see the incredible artefacts that were discovered at Coppergate and first inspired the creation of JORVIK.

These precious 1,000 year old artefacts are displayed in newly designed galleries, allowing you to get up-close with the past and explore some of the most beautiful and rare Viking artefacts in the world, from delicate earrings and socks to frying pans and padlocks and even a fossilised Viking poo!

You will have the chance to dig deeper into the Viking story of York using the latest in cutting-edge technology located throughout the centre and the opportunity to handle real artefacts whilst talking to our friendly Viking hosts.

There is a ramp from our Discover Coppergate area to our gallery, as well as a ramp at the very end of the gallery leading to the stairs which lead to the exit. This is where boarding for our wheelchair accessible capsule takes place, and has a portable ramp that is used as part of the boarding process.

Our "pod," where Vikings and archaeologists show different Viking-age artefacts to visitors, is equipped with a hearing loop. You may even get a chance to handle some of these artefacts, as well as replicas of our more fragile finds. 

Please note there are human remains on display in this area.

Public toilet

Accessible Toilet

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

You need a RADAR key to open the public toilet.

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 850mm wide, or more.

The toilet door is 850mm wide.

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

There is 1500mm at the side of the toilet. There is 900mm in front of the toilet. The toilet seat is 460mm high. The toilets have handrails.

A radar key is available from the Viking positioned in our Discover Coppergate area, near our accessible toilet.

There are handrails on both sides of the toilet, though the set to the right of the toilet raises and lowers to be out of the way when not needed. There is also emergency pull cord and an accessible-height sink with lever taps.

Public toilet

Public toilets - 2

There is a public toilet for disabled visitors.

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

There are two seperate public toilets, also located in our Discover Coppergate gallery. These two toilets are not equipped with accessibility measurements, as they are located near the accessible toilet.

Shop

Main shop

From the main entrance to the shop, there is level access. There is a permanent ramp. There is a lift.

From the lift to the shop, the route is 930mm wide, or more. The door is 970mm wide.

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

There are two ways to access the Jorvik shop:

- through the Centre: if you are exiting the Centre via the stairs (20 steps with 2 landings), this leads directly into our shop. The doorway here is 970mm wide.

- from the street: if you need to use the lift to exit the Centre, you will exit out through the admissions entrance where you came in. Our shop door is located at the end of the queue area on the right, and the door there is 1290mm wide. It is also left open as long as the shop is open, so you don't need to worry about opening it.

All of our shop staff are trained to help shoppers, so please don't hesitate to ask for anything!

From the main entrance to this area, there is level access. There is a lift.

Accessibility equipment

We provide wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are free.

We have a hearing loop in We have a hearing loop on all of our ride capsules and at our "pod" area..

At our admissions desk, we offer:
- Ear defenders.
- Visual stories (along with Smell Map).
- Large print guides.
- Braille guides.
- Dog bowl for assistance dogs.
- Traffic light sticker (see below).

Sensory bags are also available at all our admissions desks subject to availability on the day. They contain a set of ear defenders and various tactile & visual items, some of which can be bought from our attractions shops. **PLEASE NOTE** Due to a high number of bags disappearing, you will need to leave a card at our admissions desk in order to borrow one of our sensory bags. Your card will be returned to you when you drop the sensory bag back off at the admissions desk.

Additionally, we offer lanterns for our ride, as it is much darker than other parts of the site. We also offer many interactive and hands-on learning experiences throughout the attraction.

JORVIK Viking Centre operate a sticker system for visitors with autism should you wish to participate. If you are wearing a red sticker it shows you do not wish to be approached, a yellow sticker means you would like staff to answer questions when asked, green or no sticker means you are happy to be approached and spoken to. 

Though we do not have a quiet area, our tickets are valid for 12 months, so visitors who find themselves overwhelmed may leave and re-enter at any time.

For a list of more items, please go to https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/visit/access/.

Outside, there is a small area of grass between the Jorvik Viking Centre and the nearby St. Mary's Church that assistance dogs may use.

We have an area to charge mobility scooters and battery powered wheelchairs.

You can hire mobility equipment from Mobility Equipment Hire by calling 0800 994 9000.

Emergency evacuation procedures

We have emergency evacuation procedures for disabled visitors.

Customer care support

All staff have disability awareness training.

Some staff have BSL training.

We have information in braille, large print .

We offer visual stories about our attraction, describing the sights, sounds, and smells that someone might encounter on a visit to Jorvik.

Our team is committed to providing the best possible experience to all visitors, especially visitors with disabilities. Guide dogs are welcome throughout our attractions, and staff have undergone Blue Assist, Living Autism, and Welcome All disability awareness training. We are also in the process of training our staff members in sighted guiding (through the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society) for visitors who have visual difficulties, as well as Dementia Friends. Some of our staff have been trained in British Sign Language, and we are currently expanding this number.

Jorvik Viking Centre is a highly interactive experience through Viking York where visitors get to see, hear, and smell what life was like 1,000 years ago. By using multiple senses, we strive to make Jorvik an experience that everyone can enjoy, and are constantly working to improve our accessibility. For further information, do not hesitate to email (access@yorkat.co.uk) or call (01904 615505) or even stop in and speak to a member of staff. 

You can also book additional assistance for your visit, available from 3pm onwards. We will provide a member of staff to accompany you around the centre to help familiarise you with the surroundings and introduce you to each area. We hope this additional assistance, at what is usually a quieter time in the attraction, will help you enjoy your visit. To book this assistance please email access@yorkat.co.uk in advance of your visit.

Breastfeeding is welcome at all our sites.

We have other services for people with accessibility requirements.

In addition to our static accessibility offers (such as closed captioning, hearing loops, and lifts), we also offer other personal touches for visitors with disabilities. Our highly trained staff can assist with sighted guiding for visitors with visual difficulties. We provide ear defenders and lanterns for those with sensory needs, and we have iPads with photos at various points to allow someone to see the attraction before entering to make sure that it is an experience they will enjoy.

Jorvik Viking Centre operates a traffic light sticker system for visitors should you wish to participate. If you are wearing a red sticker it shows you do not wish to be approached; a yellow sticker means you would like staff to answer questions when asked; green or no sticker means you are happy to be approached and spoken to. Please speak to a member of staff if you would like a sticker to use.

If you wish to have a visit to Jorvik tailor-made for your group, please email access@yorkat.co.uk or groups@yorkat.co.uk to discuss details. We have hosted tours for the RNIB, for visitors with autism, and for visitors with learning disabilities and are happy to create a specialised tour for your group as well!

Max card holders are entitled to free admission, and all carers are admitted free of charge.