Access at Acorn Bank

An old red-brick house with autumnal light shining on it and trees and vegetation to the left — The house at Acorn Bank | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

We want to make sure that Acorn Bank is accessible for all visitors. The historic house, gardens and estate we care for present challenges in creating access for all, but we are taking steps to ensure that as many people as possible are able to experience Acorn Bank’s history and beauty. Here you’ll find information about access across the different areas of Acorn Bank and how to make the most of your visit.

Welcome to Acorn Bank

The house at Acorn Bank dates back to the 16th century, with the majority of the house built in the 17th century. The rooms open to the public are spacious, however, there is only visitor access on the ground floor.

The estate is varied, but there are paths through the woodland towards the watermill, the gypsum mine and engine shed, and down to Crowdundle Beck. The path gradients vary and there are several steep paths throughout the woodland. We would not recommend use of the Tramper on these areas, although some can be accessed by wheelchair. Advice and training is available from the Visitor Welcome team.

There is a cafe in the stable courtyard of the mansion from Thursday to Monday. There are some toilet facilities, including an accessible Place to Change toilet in the same courtyard.

Mobile phone reception varies throughout the site dependant on the service provider, however coverage is sufficient across the majority of the property to allow network use.

Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas of our property. Access for dogs into the formal walled gardens is prohibited, but well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the woodlands, and on leads throughout the estate. We welcome dogs inside the café, and in the café courtyard.
Acorn Bank is conveniently located for access from A66, A6 and M6 via car. The property lies 7 miles east of Penrith and 8 miles west of Appleby-in-Westmorland, just a short drive from A66. The property is signposted from the main A66 route.

There are 3 designated disabled car parking bays, located 20m from the entrance to the property in the disabled car park, which is past the Shepherds Hut and over the cattle grid. The surface of the disabled parking bays and carpark is small grade gravel and is uneven in some areas. There are no transfer vehicles available.

The main visitor car park currently has space for 78 cars. The surface is firm with a top layer of gravel held together by a plastic grid system. The car park is 250m from the property entrance over level ground.

The car park entrance is accessible 500 yards from a triangular junction with Milburn Road, Temple Sowerby. There are brown signs from this junction and a large ‘Welcome to Acorn Bank’ entrance sign next to the front gates, which are left open during opening hours. The road up to the car park from the front gate is a smooth, tarmacked surface.
Payment is made at the Shepherd’s Hut, located at the end of the footpath leading out of the main car park.

The cost includes the whole property (house, gardens and estate), and National Trust members get in free.

A hearing loop is available here.

A triangular junction, with grass inbetween the tarmacked roads, which leads to the tarmacked drive up to Acorn Bank — The triangular junction before Acorn Bank's driveway | © Chris Taberner

Entering Acorn Bank

The car park entrance is accessible 500 yards from a triangular junction with Milburn Road, Temple Sowerby.

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We have a Place to Change facility equipped with a hoist and bed. This Place to Change accessible toilet is located within the courtyard, 10m from the cafe, and is fitted with an emergency alarm. The facility measures 2.5m x 3m. More details about the Place to Change can be found on the Changing Places website.

The changing facilities for children and babies are located adjacent to the Place to Change toilet.

Both the Place to Change toilet and the baby changing facilities are lit by one window in each area. There is also additional non- fluorescent lighting.

Accessible bathroom equipped with grab bars and assistive devices for mobility-impaired visitors, and a forest-themed wall mural on the right-hand wall. — Place to Change facility at Acorn Bank | © Chris Taberner

Place to Change

The Place to Change facility is equipped with a hoist and bed. This Place to Change accessible toilet is located within the courtyard, 10m from the tearoom, and is fitted with an emergency alarm.

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Our Tramper is available to use free of charge. The Tramper can be booked in advance by emailing acornbank@nationaltrust.org.uk, otherwise it is used on a first-come, first-served basis. We also have 2 manual wheelchairs available to borrow, and we advise that you pre-book these.

Access through the woods to the watermill is possible, but only the interpretation room of the mill is accessible.
The easiest route to access for Tramper users, avoiding steep slopes, is the top footpath which stretches right from the watermill at the west end of the property to the Gypsum mines in the east end of the property.

There is space for mobility scooters and wheelchairs to turn around at both ends of the path.

Access in the house

The house is 50m from visitor reception (the Shepherd’s Hut). Paths to the property are fine grade gravel on a level surface.

The entrance to the property is on the same level as the paths and there are no steps or gradients. The doorstep is a 2cm lip, and the entrance door is operated manually and can be opened to its full width of 1.2m if required. There are no other entrance doors to the house.

The entrance hall is floored with large stone flags. The area is lit naturally by large windows, but on duller days there is LED lighting to illuminate.
There are no narrow corridors to negotiate, and we allow all manually and battery-operated wheelchairs within the ground floor of the house. All areas have sufficient space to negotiate with a wheelchair.
There are two softly-padded seats with arms within the entrance hall for visitors to use. There are also two armchairs available for use in the Drawing Room on the ground floor. Visitors are welcome to sit on windowsills.

A doorway into the second bookshop at Acorn Bank. To the right is a wooden cabinet with interpretation signs sitting on top. A door stands open next to the cabinet. — Entrance to the second hand bookshop | © Chris Taberner

The entrance hall and the second-hand bookshop entrance

The entrance hall is floored with large stone flags. The area is lit naturally by large windows, but on duller days there is LED lighting to illuminate.

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Second-hand bookshop

There is a second-hand bookshop on the ground floor during open hours. It is located 350m from the car park. There are no steps to the entrance, but there is a small lip on the floor of 2cm. The entrance door is 1.2m wide, manually operated and opens inwards. The door is kept open during opening hours.

There are no alternative entrances to the bookshop.

The bookshop is carpeted, and there is the required circulation space of 1200mm available around stands

Visitor Welcome staff and Bookshop volunteers are available to assist upon request.

The café

The café is 360m from the car park and 80m from the disabled parking bays.

There are two entrances to the café:

Entrance through a 92cm-wide door at the front of the House, at ground level up a slight ramp. The path to the entrance is level and consists of small grade gravel. This entrance is wheelchair accessible.
Via a 84cm-wide door in the courtyard, over small grade gravel.

Both entrance doors are wood manual operated doors that open inwards towards the indoor seating area. The doors are left open on fine days but may be closed on windy or wet days. Café staff are available to assist upon request.

Outside seating is available in the courtyard. This seating is on level ground and can be accessed via small grade gravelled paths. The outdoor tables are wheelchair accessible.

The serving counter in the café is 93cm high. Staff are very willing to facilitate service where needed. Allergen information is available for all items that we sell. Please let café staff know of any allergens or dietary requirements. Menus are not available in large print or braille, however, staff are available to assist visitors.

The café area is lit by two large windows. There is additional lighting which consists of hanging energy saving lights. The indoor seating area is located on the ground floor, and surfaced with wooden floorboards. There are no narrow corridors, and there is enough room to manoeuvre a wheelchair. Areas can be easily adapted by moving tables and chairs if required.

The toilets are located in the corridor adjacent to the café. The accessible toilet is located across the courtyard 15m from the café.

A room with a large fireplace, bookshelves, a counter and a window towards the back. There are second-hand books on a table in the centre of the room, as well as on the other bookshelves. — The second-hand bookshop at Acorn Bank | © Chris Taberner

The second-hand bookshop

There is a second-hand bookshop on the ground floor during open hours. There are no steps to the entrance, but there is a small lip on the floor of 2cm. The entrance door is 1.2m wide, manually operated and opens inwards.

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Access in the garden

Assistance dogs are welcome in all parts of the garden. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the woodland, but not in the enclosed gardens.

The enclosed gardens are mostly flat and composed of 4 connected spaces. All of these spaces are accessible to wheelchair users.
The paths in this area are level and surfaced with fine gravel.

Benches for seating are positioned at the main door to the house and in the courtyard. The courtyard contains the working tool store, machine store and byre for the garden and estate team. Access to the contents of these rooms is discouraged by keeping these doors closed when staff or volunteers are not using them.
The Walled Garden is accessible from 4 different gates, which are unlocked and opened before the property opens to visitors.

The gate to the woodland and the gate to the Top Orchard have stone steps with no handrail, while the gates to the Terrace and to the Herb Garden are level.

There is a combination of fine gravel paths and grass paths, and grass is kept short on the paths to facilitate access. The ground is mostly level with some very gentle slopes.

Occasionally, following heavy or persistent rain, the grass paths will be closed to conserve the grass surface.

There are benches for seating at the southern end of the Lily Border, in the Yew Hedge niche and underneath the pear tree.
Access to the Greenhouse is via stone steps from the Walled Garden, or via a gently sloping flagged ramp from the Herb Garden.
The paths in the Herb Garden are wide enough for wheelchairs and the Tramper, and there are passing places to allow this. Entered through a gate from the Walled Garden, the Herb Garden is well serviced by a network of fine gravel paths between the beds of herbs.

A gate at the southern end of the Herb Garden leads to the Top Orchard. Seating is placed outside the Greenhouse and under the Quince Tree in the middle of the Herb Garden and at the southern end of the Herb Garden.

There's a Silent Space in the Herb Garden, which is an area to enjoy the peace and quiet there, as well as to switch off from technology.
The paths in the Top Orchard are all grass, which is kept short. Occasionally following heavy or persistent rain they might be difficult to access for wheelchair users. The ground is mainly flat or gently sloping, allowing access to the fruit trees, cordons and vegetable beds.

In the south-west corner there is an enclosed apiary. Access to this is discouraged by fencing and a gate to reduce the risk of stings to visitors.

There is a gate to the Herb Garden and to the woodland both of which are accessible. There is also a gate from the Top Orchard to the Walled Garden which is down 3 stone steps, with no handrail.
The Sunken Garden is accessed through a doorway from the stable courtyard or through a wide cast-iron gate. Paths are flagged, and the grass in this area is kept short. The ground can become very soft following rain and may be occasionally closed to conserve the grass.

There is a flight of stone steps with no handrail leading to the Walled Garden. There is a gently sloping grass ramp to the first terrace and stone steps with no hand rail to the second terrace.

In the centre of the Sunken Garden, there is a pond which is 0.8m deep, and a bench for seating. There is no barrier around the pond.

Iron gate in a large stone wall adjacent to a path. — Gate into the Walled Garden | © Chris Taberner

Entrance to the garden

The Walled Garden is accessible from 4 different gates, which are unlocked and opened before the property opens to visitors.

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Silent Space in the Herb Garden

Acorn Bank’s Silent Space, part of the Silent Space initiative, is located underneath a beautiful Portuguese Quince tree at the centre of the serene Herb Garden. Enclosed by 400-year-old walls, it’s an intimate space with a tranquil atmosphere, full of fragrance – ideal for switching off for a while, or a calm space to settle down excited children. And did you know you can borrow items from the Acorn Bank Nature Toolkit at weekends and in school holidays? At the entrance gate, pick up tally counters (which also make great sensory toys), magnifying glasses, spotter sheets and lots more.

Access on the estate

Access from the car park to the start of the walks is through a wooden gate, found opposite the Shepherd’s Hut.

The surface along to both the mill and the gypsum mine on the top path is compacted gravel. There are some exposed tree routes along the paths. There are benches situated along this route to rest and take in the tranquility of the woodland. The paths through the lower woodland along the river are down quite steep slopes, and can be slippery if wet. The surface at the top of the slope is firm with a gravel covering, progressing to a firm surface underneath a general covering of leaves and some vegetation. The route down to the weir is down a number of gravel steps with no handrail.

The gradient of the slope from the river walk towards the gypsum mine path is 17 degrees. The gradient on the slope near the watermill is 14 degrees.

There is a public footpath which crosses the property and is accessed via kissing gates at the northern and southern ends. This path takes you across agricultural land which is used by grazing livestock; please keep your dog on a lead throughout.
Access to the lower woodland is via steep, gravelled slopes. Once there, there are a couple of wooden bridges over the mill leat, which have metal slip protection on the planks. The bridge near the pond is 108cm wide, and the bridge near the zig-zag path is 131cm.
To get to the river walk, you need to negotiate several gravelled steps or a steep gradient slope. The route takes you along the riverside walk alongside the river. There is a drop of 1.5m to the water from the path. When the river is fast and full, this path will be closed off to the public for safety reasons.

To return to the top woodland paths, you’ll need to go up either a steep slope along the public footpath or up several more steps.
The wildlife hide can be found waymarked from the main path to the Gypsum mine. This route takes you through a gate and across agricultural land used for grazing sheep. The ground is uneven and can be muddy and wet at times. The hide is accessed through another gate and down a gently sloped, gravel path which is often covered in leaves.

There may also be livestock grazing on the parkland, so please keep dogs on leads at all times.
The watermill is operated by the Acorn Bank Watermill Trust, an independent body.

The watermill is situated 350m from the Shepherds Hut along a level, compacted gravel footpath. At the mill entrance, there is a small incline and a space to turn around on a mobility scooter. The door to the upper mill rooms is always open when the property is open. There is, however, a small lip to the door frame.

The room inside has seating for visitors to watch video interpretation about the mill. The room has floorboards, which makes the space quite echoey. There is room for wheelchairs to turn in this space.

There is a large step down into the kiln room, with a handrail.

The lower mill rooms are accessed down 12 steep, narrow steps and a narrow corridor. The lower mill room has a large step down. The mill wheel is accessed through a wide room with flagstone floor, across a wooden platform and down three more steps.

The courtyard is cobbled and irregular. There are benches provided for visitors to use, but they don’t have armrests.

None of the lower mill area is accessible with the Tramper or a wheelchair.

More information can be found on the Acorn Bank Watermill Trust website.