Accessibility at Orford Ness

Our access statement

We're passionate about making Orford Ness accessible to all needs and disabilities. Our Access statement, available here, gives more detailed information about our facilities. We are constantly making improvements and will keep this information updated. We’d also love to hear from you on suggestions for things that would make your visit easier.

We’re also on Euan’s Guide.

Making your visit easier

For your visit to Orford Ness you will find:

• Parking – We don’t own the car park in Orford and there is no car parking on Orford Quay itself. You can though drop off on the Quay and then park in the main car park. The car park does offer Blue Badge parking.
• Hearing impairment – Induction loops are available in all our front facing spaces. We also offer a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted welcome video. Please ask at our Quay Office if you’d like to view this.
• Visual impairment – Large print guides are available at Visitor Reception on request.
• Assistance dogs – Dogs aren’t usually allowed on Orford Ness, but Assistance dogs are welcome. Due to the ground nesting birds we do ask assistance dogs are kept on a lead and we’d ask you to let us know in advance, so we know to expect you and your dog.
• Eating and drinking – We don’t have any catering facilities on Orford Ness apart from a self-serve tea and coffee in our bookshop which is run on an honesty box basis.
• Wheelchairs – We have three wheelchairs for visitors to borrow. Please see below for more information.
• Mobility vehicles – We have two all-terrain mobility vehicles (“trampers”) available to borrow. These are designed to enable those with mobility requirements to access the wider parkland terrain. Please see below for details on how to hire one of these for your visit.
• Surfaces and terrain – There are three visitor routes on Orford Ness. Our main Red Route is open throughout the season, while our Blue and Green routes are seasonal opening. Our Red Route is mainly tarmac or concrete with a small section of shingle. It is accessible for our tramper and wheelchairs, although wheelchair users may find the shingle section bumpy. Our Blue route when open is concrete surface and the Green Route is half concrete, have uneven terrain – the concrete section is accessible (though with a steep gradient over the bridge) but the unsurfaced section is difficult for wheelchairs, tampers and pushchairs.
• Toilets – Accessible toilets are available at the Rangers office.
• Black Beacon and Bomb Ballistics– The interiors are only accessible up a flight of stairs. A picture book with views and information is available on request for those unable to negotiate stairs.
• Sensory bags – We have sensory bags available to borrow for those with sensory needs. Please ask at our Quay Office on arrival.