Visited 13 February 2024
Car Parking and access to the cathedral – no public parking is provided by the cathedral. There appears to be limited disability parking spaces nearby. The closest car park provision is on Westgate, St Paul's Lane and street parking on Bailgate. The largest provision is Westgate which has three carparks totalling 150 spaces within which 2 disability spaces are provided. Once parked getting to the cathedral can prove challenging in a wheelchair. It is appreciated that this is a historic area with cobbles to negotiate and these ancient streets were not designed with disability access in mind. However the pavements around this area of historic Lincoln are poorly maintained. An additional difficulty are the many drain channels which go across the pavement on Westgate.
Ease of movement in building – bearing in mind this is a medieval building with old stone floors, generally it was not too difficult moving around the cathedral.
Doorways – most doors are wide enough, but a few old wooden doors are quite narrow, making it difficult and tight to pass through. The automatic doors exiting the visitor centre started to close before clearing the doorway, so it needed to be held back while moving across its threshold.
Lighting – the Cathedral itself is quite dark, with low lighting. The cafe, shop and craft/play areas are brightly lit.
Sound – at the time of the visit, there were people talking in the cathedral. There was also soft background music for the Gaia exhibition.
Cafe – Good clearance between the tables. The cafe was full, but it wasn’t overwhelming and loud. The cafe has table service and the staff were helpful.
Toilets – there was two well equipped toilet for people with disabilities.
Atmosphere – in the cathedral it was calm and peaceful.
Colours – brown, muted gentle colours. Brightness around candle placement areas and stained glass windows.
Floor surfaces – old stone floor were uneven in places, particularly over the memorial stones, but generally the cathedral was not difficult to navigate. There are no floor stickers on the floors to guide people around.
Signage and information boards – there is gentle signage, not too bright, but still visible and noticable.
Dog access – assistance dogs are allowed.
Accessibility Guide – the cathedral has a comprehensive access guide available on their website, https://lincolncathedral.com/accessibility-2/
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