Access
Find out more for your visit
Welcome
We want to help everyone to enjoy visiting Kettle’s Yard. We are always looking at ways to improve access and we value feedback on your visit.
On this page you will find some information to help you plan your visit. Please get in touch if you have any further queries or requirements by phone 01223 748100 or email mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk. If you want to get in touch with an individual staff member you can find our contact details here.
Access at Kettle’s Yard in British Sign Language
Watch this video to learn more about access at Kettle’s Yard with our British Sign Language interpreter, Rachael Dance.
At a glance
- The galleries, entrance area and education wing are all fully wheelchair accessible.
- Around three-quarters of the house is not accessible to wheelchair users.
- The café has limited access.
- Trained assistance animals are always welcome at Kettle’s Yard.
- Please note that the house is not suitable for buggies.
- We have hearing loops fitted at the welcome desk and in event spaces.
- There is no parking at Kettle’s Yard. Please refer to the information below on the nearest parking and for information about public transport and local taxi companies.
- Generally, Kettle’s Yard is quieter on weekdays and in the mornings, but this can fluctuate.
- If you have any further questions or there are other ways we can best support you in advance of your visit, please let us know by phoning 01223 748100 or emailing mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk.
Assistance Animals
You are welcome to bring your trained assistance animals to Kettle’s Yard. We do ask that visitors with emotional support animals please contact us in advance to ensure this is possible at a selected time.
We recognise an assistance animal as being a companion without whose support a visitor would not otherwise be able to attend and participate. No other animals are permitted at Kettle’s Yard.
Owners are expected to take responsibility for their assistance animal throughout their visit. In order to protect our collection and exhibitions, and for everyone’s comfort and safety, we politely ask you to observe our guidelines:
- your assistance animal should remain under your care and control throughout your visit, remaining on a leash for the duration
- your assistance animal can only eat or drink in certain spaces in the building, as directed by our staff.
If you would like to bring an emotional support animal to Kettle’s Yard, please let us know in advance, if possible. You can call 01223 748100 or email mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk
The House
- We regret that around three-quarters of the house is not accessible to wheelchair access, this is due to the historic nature of the building. The ground floor extension area of the house is, however, accessible for wheelchair users with a ramp. There is no lift in the house.
- There is a virtual tour of the house online here. You can also look at the virtual tour on an iPad when you arrive, please ask at the information desk. Most of the artworks in the permanent collection can be viewed online here.
- There are several sets of stairs in the house, including a spiral staircase. Please let a Visitor Assistant know if you would prefer not to use the spiral staircase and we can provide an alternative route around the house.
- Kettle’s Yard welcomes assistance animals in the house, but in order to protect our collections and for everyone’s comfort and safety, we ask owners to take responsibility for their assistance animal throughout their visit, ideally remaining on a leash. If your assistance animal needs to eat or drink during their visit, please let a Visitor Assistant know and we can assist with finding a suitable space, as no food or drink are permitted are permitted in the house. Please do not allow your assistance animal to touch or sit on the furniture or artworks.
The Galleries, Entrance Area, Ede Room and Clore Learning Studio.
- The galleries, where exhibitions are shown, and all areas of the Clore Learning Studio (level -1) and Ede Room (level 2) are fully accessible. There is a lift giving access to all floors located past the galleries, just beside the Clore Learning Studio on the ground floor.
- We have wheelchair accessible toilets on the lower ground, ground and first floor.
- Hearing loops are fitted at the information desk and in event spaces.
- We provide visual description tours for most exhibitions for partially sighted people and their friends – email schoolbookings@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk to find out more. We can provide large print versions of texts in the exhibitions, please ask at the information desk, call or email us to request this. We also have magnifying glasses available from the information desk.
- Kettle’s Yard welcomes assistance animals in all areas, including the galleries, shop and café. For everyone’s comfort and safety, we ask owners to take responsibility for their assistance animal throughout their visit, ideally remaining on a leash. Please refrain from feeding your animal in the gallery spaces.
- We can lend visitors small folding seats for taking around exhibitions or using at non-seated events. Please ask a Visitor Assistant for help finding a seat. There are plenty of seats that you can sit on in the house.
The Café
- The lower area of the café, next to the entrance area, and the outdoor seating is accessible for wheelchair users.
- Unfortunately, the upper level of the café is not fully accessible to wheelchair users. As space is limited, wheelchair users and their party can reserve spaces at the entrance level café area. Priority is given to visitors in wheelchairs for these seats at all times, so if you have not been able to book, you should still be able to get a seat.
- The counter is up some steps.
- Café staff are trained to look out for visitors in wheelchairs in the lower area and there is also a bell that you can use, to alert staff to come and assist you and take your order.
- Call ahead, email or visit the information desk to book. The café email is gardenkitchenky@gmail.com alternatively call 01223 748100. Please check with a member of café staff if you have any particular dietary needs.
Sensory Access
Kettle’s Yard can be a busy and vibrant place to visit. Our temporary exhibitions may sometimes include sudden noises, stimulating lighting and highly emotional content. Please look at our current exhibition pages or get in touch to find out about the latest access information. This is also signposted throughout the exhibition.
Sensory backpacks are available for both children and adults to collect from the welcome desk. Sensory backpacks include ear defenders, tactile toys, a weighted lap blanket and colour filters. These are also small enough to be carried through the house during your visit, although we recommend these are held in your hand rather than on you back due to the small spaces in some areas.
If you are looking for somewhere quiet during your visit, we suggest visiting either the Reflect & Respond space on the 2nd floor outside the Ede Room, or visiting the cottage garden between the house and Northampton Street.
For families, Kettle’s Yard regularly hosts Disability-Friendly openings with our partners at the University of Cambridge Museums. We also have a free, pre-bookable Disability Friendly hour from 12–1pm during our fortnightly Studio Sunday family workshops. These sessions are designed for families with members with additional needs in mind and include regulated lighting, relaxed sessions with breakout areas and tactile resources.
Events
Wheelchair users and their carers can reserve spaces at seated events at Kettle’s Yard, including concerts and lectures. Please get in touch if you would like to reserve a space on 01223 748100 or email mail@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk.
Getting to Kettle’s Yard
Cambridge Station and Cambridge North Station have level access. To book assisted travel ring 0800 0282878. Some taxis with wheelchair access stop at the station. Most of the Citi and Guided Busway buses that go from Cambridge Station, Cambridge North Station and elsewhere in Cambridge to near Kettle’s Yard are accessible for wheelchair users. They have ramps and a kneeling action, and do not need to be booked in advance. However, please be aware that there is only one wheelchair space per bus, and that some of the older buses used on longer routes are not accessible for wheelchair users. All buses have priority seats at the front for elderly or disabled people. The company does not guarantee that an accessible bus will be used.
Almost all buses used on the park and ride routes are low floor easy access buses. They do not have to be booked in advance. However, please note that there is only one wheelchair space per bus, and that the company do not guarantee that an accessible bus will be used.
Taxis can drop you off on Northampton Street, a short walk around the corner on to Castle Street takes you to Kettle’s Yard. About a third of the Hackney cabs in Cambridge are wheelchair accessible. The following taxi services in Cambridge can provide wheelchair accessible taxis if booked in advance: A1 Cabco Taxis: 01223 313131, Diamond: 01223 523523, Panther: 01223 715715.
A Cambridge City Council-sponsored Taxicard service operates in the city to provide registered disabled and sensory impaired residents with subsidised transport using taxis, see the website for more information.
Cambridge Dial-a-Ride is a charitable organisation which provides transport for groups and individuals who otherwise have difficulty accessing public transport. It offers this service around the entire city of Cambridge and from neighbouring villages.
For more information see their website or contact them, tel: 01223 506335, email: camdar05@hotmail.co.uk
You can walk to Kettle’s Yard, however, please be aware that some of the nearby streets, particularly Magdalene Street, which you would walk down to get here from the centre of town, are quite narrow and a little uneven in places.
There is level access from Castle Street. From Northampton Street there is stepped access to Kettle’s Yard. There are automatic doors at the entrance to Kettle’s Yard.
All on street pay and display parking is free to Blue Badge users, the nearest pay and display is on Pound Hill, 2 minutes walk away. There is level access to Kettle’s Yard from Pound Hill to the Castle Street entrance, but it is quite a narrow pavement and steep in parts. Kettle’s Yard does not have any of its own parking.
The nearest Changing Places toilet facilities can be found in the Grand Arcade Car Park, approximately a 12 minute walk from Kettle’s Yard.
There are public toilets in the Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, as well as two accessible toilets, a parent & child toilet, baby changing room and baby feeding room.
You can also find public toilets and an accessible toilet in the Lion Yard Shopping Centre, an 11 minute walk from Kettle’s Yard.
Visual Story
View our visual story to see what it will be like to visit Kettle’s Yard.