WATTS GALLERY
- Rarars adventures
- Jul 2, 2022
- 4 min read
Hello, Welcome back. Today we are talking about our visit to "Watts Gallery".
On this visit we took Shirley with us as she is a massive Arts fan, so we knew she would enjoy this visit.
Also, Shirley has mobility/ health problems as well like me, so we decided to take both mobility scooters, this was a first for Shirley as she has never driven a mobility scooter before.
This also gave us the chance to share our experience by taking our mobility scooters to Watts Gallery to see how accessible it is as we go around.
Before our visit, we did a little research but we still weren't 100% sure what to expect before going.
But when we arrived we were surprised!
I personally thought it was all going to be in one place, but to my surprise, it wasn't, it was all separated, so with that in mind, I was so pleased that we brought the mobility scooters, but don't worry there are different car parks if you don't have a scooter to take with you, and at each part, there is one wheelchair you can borrow. If this is something that you think you will need, I would strongly advise calling before your visit to book the wheelchair in advance.
The car parks are all good sizes, my husband was able to get his long wheeled van in and still have room to get the ramps out from the rear of the van, and there are coach spaces as well, but for us, it meant that we didn't need to worry about space for the back of the van to put the ramps on to take of the mobility scooters.
We started our visit at
The Limnersleases Artsts Home which is wheelchair accessible but might be a little tight for mobility scooters. They do have 1 wheelchair that you can use as I said at the start. They currently don't have hearing loops or an App to listen to as you go around, but as we were talking to one of the members of staff they said that this is something that they are looking into, so hopefully, this will be something to look forward to. for people using a wheelchair, you will need to exit through the entrance, as the back door exit has a couple of steps. when you exit there is a lovely windy path leading down towards the car park and wooded area which is suitable for wheelchairs and scooters (if you watch the film we did with the link below you will see Shirley and me driving down.)
The Gallery
There is a Digital Guide at this part
"The SMARTIFY app is free to download, from google play and the app store. to use in the gallery spaces. the app uses advanced image recognition technology via your smartphone to unlock extra information, including rarely seen images from our archives, specially created audio interviews, curatorial and more of the inspirational stories behind our collections."
There are also lifts in this building as well, if you need any assistance there are staff there to help if you have any trouble or need to ask any questions.
This too is wheelchair friendly, and small scooters again should be fine, if you have a large scooter I would probably park it outside and transfer to a wheelchair.
Tea Rooms
Everyone needs to stop for a coffee which is something we did twice, there is a lovely little tea room, where you can stop for tea or coffee, and a lovely slice of cake.
They offer Gluten-Free, Vegan, and Vegetarian.
They also offer sandwiches, main dishes, cakes & Scones and they have a Children's menu.
The cafe has indoor and outdoor seating, and they allow guide dogs. Inside the cafe is wheelchair friendly.
The Chapel.
The Chapel is beautiful and well worth a visit, there is a small step at the entrance of the Cemetery which you may need help to get up, I was able to manage in my medium size scooter but some may struggle, also it's quite a steep path leading up to the Chapel, which may be a bit of a problem if you are pushing a wheelchair, so please bear this in mind. When it rains it can also be slippery.
When you do get to the top where the Chapel sits, the views are breathtaking and worth the visit.
We had a lovely day visiting, there is a park for children, but we were not able to go and see this as it is not accessible for wheelchairs/mobility scooters it also looked quite steep so I wasn't going to try and walk it. but if you are able to go and have a look I would love to see pictures or hear what your thoughts are.
If there is anything that you are unsure of please do call or email them as they will do whatever they can to help accommodate your visit.
(all links and contact information are down below)
We had a really lovely visit, it wasn't what we were expecting at all, it is stunning and if you enjoy art and history this is definitely a place to visit.
We would like to say a big thank you to "Watts Gallery" for letting us come along and visit, I would also like to say "thank you" to Shirley for coming along with us, she really enjoyed her day and taking part in talking on camera.
I would love to hear about anyone's visit and what your thoughts were.
I have left some pictures from our visit but not too many, I'll let you take your own on your visit.
Don't forget to also check out the film we did, the link is below.
Take Care and see you soon.
Links
To watch the film please go to this link below
