Access for all

We strive to make The Bug Farm a safe, accessible site for all to visit. Please note this page is a work in progress with more information to be added soon, so please just e-mail or call us if you have any more questions.

Before you visit

We are aware that not all disabilities are visible and we will never assume a disability. Disabled guests pay standard entrance and carers come in for free. We charge per person for additional activities. If you have any issues with the booking process, please give us a call or an e-mail.

On arrival

Part of the car park is surfaced in Suregreen grass mesh, while at least half the car park is tarmac. The parking nearest the entrance (less than 20m away) is tarmac.

Except on busy days during schools holidays, you generally do not need to queue for long. However, a bench is located by the entrance for those needing to sit while queuing. There is also a seat where you pay for your tickets. If queuing will make the visit challenging for any reason, just let us know in advance so we will try to usher you through more quickly if we can.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are very welcome – the site is largely dog friendly. Please let us know if your dog is an assistance dog, as we will then let your dog into the dog-free areas of the site where safe to do so (the Tropical Bug Zoo, Indoor Play Barn and Up-Close Meet the Bugs sessions).

Site accessibility

The site is largely wheelchair accessible. The main entrance is flat with an extra-wide (1.2m) doorway in and out of the Ticket Office and shop. All doorways have low thresholds. Access to most rooms is flat. Many of our stone buildings are Grade II listed, so some doorways (including doors to the Art Gallery) are narrower. However, all doorways are wider than 775mm, including access to the toilets.

There are moveable ramps into the Museum and the Nature Recovery Centre and a small concrete incline to the Art Gallery. There is a concrete ramp, with handrails into the courtyard behind Grub Kitchen, which is also the smoking area onsite.

The path to the toilet is surfaced in concrete and tarmac. The Walled Garden is surfaced in stone dust, with plant material growing through and plants growing over the paths. The Farm Trail is a mown grass path, while the Fairy Path is extremely uneven and often wet (it is a wetland!). The Wildlife Watching Hide and Indoor Play Barn are surfaced with woodchip.

Seats are located in every room and benches are located around the Farm Trail and marked on the map. Please ask us on entry if all are in situ, as we have changed the location of a couple of the benches since printing the map. There are also seats in the Wildlife Watching Hide.

There is one wheelchair access picnic bench on the main courtyard and plenty of tables in Grub Kitchen that you can get your knees under if you are using a wheelchair.

Toilets

We know the importance of good, accessible loos – they can make or break a visit. We have one fully accessible toilet with handrails. If you are sitting on the toilet the wall is on your right side and the drop-down rail is on your left. There is turning space for a wheelchair, a low mirror and sink and alarm system. The changing table is in this space. This toilet does currently have a heavy outdoor door and so assistance may be required to open and close the door in windy weather. We’re trying to address this issue. There are ambulent toilets in both the ladies and men’s toilet blocks, with a small ~10cm step up into each block. If you require urgent access to the toilet at any time, just ask us and we will help to find the quickest route.

Quiet spaces

Our site is extremely popular with many neurodivergent visitors and we will do our absolute best to make the visit a joy for everyone. If there is anything we can do to help make your visit easy, please just let us know on arrival.

We are at our busiest on rainy days in school holidays. Outside of those times, the site is much quieter and is at its quietest on sunny days. The Tropical Bug Zoo is often the busiest part of the site, but all other rooms are much quieter. Grub Kitchen extension is often quieter than the main cafe area. The 1km walk provides lots of places to enjoy a mindful meander, stopping on a bench to listen to the birds, walk through the dappled shade of willow tunnels or enjoy the immersive mural in the Wildlife Watching Hide.

Please call us on 07966 956357 for more information and, if you think we should add anything to this page to help other visitors, please let us know.