ACCESSIBILITY
Welcome to Paxton House
The Paxton Trust is committed to making our house and grounds accessible to everyone. Here you can find information about accessible facilities and resources to help you plan your visit.
Our ongoing commitment is to make our buildings, services and visitor programmes as accessible and inclusive as possible, removing and reducing barriers to visiting us.
Our staff undergo training to enhance awareness of visitors’ diverse access requirements and are here to support you. Please get in touch if you have any specific queries about accessibility. After your visit, please share feedback about your experience so that we can continue to improve our accessibility services and facilities.
Getting here
Paxton House can be reached by public and private transport. Our car park has 2 designated disabled spaces located close to the visitor reception. The car park is hard surface with paved flagstones to the shop. Access to the reception/gift shop, Stables Tearoom, courtyard and toilets is level.
If visiting the house, please notify our visitor services team in advance, where possible, so that we can greet you. A lift is available to access the main reception floor or the House and our trained guides will escort you to the Entrance Hall to begin your tour. The first floor (bedroom floor) of the house is currently only accessible via staircases due to our Grade A listed status. There is a video tour of the bedrooms with an audio description and subtitles which can be viewed from the main reception floor. We try to make all our exhibitions and events accessible to as many people as possible but access may vary. Please get in touch if you need specific accessibility information for an event.
You can borrow a wheelchair from us, just ask at reception or book one in advance of your visit.
getting around
There is step-free access to the courtyard, toilets, Stables Tearoom and the gift shop. Please bear in mind that some of the ground is paved with flagstones which may not be perfectly flat. Access to the Georgian Kitchen is level but across stone chips and some flagstones.
We have a lift to the main reception floor of Paxton House which is level through the Entrance Hall, costume gallery, Caribbean Connections exhibition, Dining Room, Drawing Room, Bust Room, Library and Picture Gallery. There is a smaller lift above the Stables Tearoom for access to the Hayloft Gallery. Access to Paxton House is by live guided tour. Contact us to pre-book an accessible tour led by a trained guide which will include an audio description and objects which can be touched, held and, for herbs and spices in the Georgian Kitchen, smelled.
We have an accessible toilet on the ground floor next to the courtyard. Currently, the nearest ‘Changing Places‘ toilet is at Tesco supermarket in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
If your wheelchair or mobility device is 75cm or wider, access to certain areas may be limited. Please contact us to help us plan your visit.
Assistance Animals
You are welcome to bring an assistance animal, recognised as being a companion without whose support a visitor would not otherwise be able to participate in a visit to Paxton House. No other animals are permitted in the historic building. Dogs on leashes and assistance animals are welcome in the Stables Tearoom, gift shop, marquee, courtyard, toilets and throughout the grounds and gardens.
In order to protect our collections and for everyone’s safety and comfort, we politely ask you to observe our guidelines. Your assistance animal should remain under your control throughout your visit, ideally on a leash, and can only eat or drink in certain spaces as directed by our staff. We provide drinking bowls in the gift shop, Stables Tearoom and courtyard.
Auditory Access
If you are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, please make yourself known to your guide in the house. There are fixed induction loops in the reception and gift shop and the Picture Gallery. By summer 2025, we aim to be able to provide portable induction loops, please enquire if one is available.
Visual access
Our interpretation labels are large print with a minimum of 16 point size. You can borrow a magnifying glass from the gift shop. We subtitle and provide transcripts of all audiovisual content in exhibitions. In cases where we cannot use subtitles, we will provide large print transcripts. We have an audio-visual tour of the bedroom floor of Paxton House as this area can only be reached by stairs. We have a virtual tour of the house focussing on the transatlantic slavery connections, the Sugar & Slavery Trail.
Neurodivergent and Sensory Access
Paxton House is in the rural Scottish Borders set in 80 acres of grounds and is generally a quiet environment. The house is accessed on two floors by a tour guide who will explain the history and collections. The gift shop and Stables Tearoom can be busier and noisier depending on the number of visitors. The courtyard has outside tables and you can request tearoom staff to bring your food to you. The harness room, which is wheelchair accessible, may be quieter and allows dogs.
Light levels are generally low and there is no strip lighting in the buildings. You can borrow ear defenders at reception on request. Events do take place in the marquee such as Pop-Up Markets on Wednesdays, check the What’s On calendar for quiet days, particularly weekday mornings. There are seats and picnic tables around the grounds near the house. There may be children playing and group activities led by education staff but for the most part our grounds are quiet and peaceful.
The toilets in the courtyard have electric hand dryers but the accessible toilet has paper towels and no hand dryers. You can find it between the mens and women toilets. You can borrow sensory backpacks for your use during your visit on request from the reception. A small deposit will be required while you borrow the backpack.
Download our visual story for more information about what to expect at Paxton House.
Babies
Visitors are welcome to breastfeed or bottlefeed their babies in all areas of Paxton House and Grounds. Please ask if you need any assistance.
You can find an accessible toilet with baby-changing facilities in the courtyard opposite the Stables Tearoom.