General information
Hampton Court is very large! Visitors wishing to see all of the interiors and a bit of the gardens will travel over 2 miles.
- All our staff are happy to help - please ask if you have any special requriements.
- Nine disabled car parking spaces are available on site on a first come, first served basis.
- There are accessible toilet facilities in Base Court, Fountain Court, on the first floor, in the Wilderness Garden and the Tiltyard Cafe.
- Visitors with disabilities are admitted at the standard rate but an accompanying carer, personal assistant or a companion is given free entry. Please notify the admissions staff when purchasing your tickets.
- Guide, assistance or service dogs are all welcome.
Visitors with mobility needs
Hampton Court Palace is a historic building and, therefore, has uneven surfaces. However, many of the staircases are wide and shallow (having been built for William III who was asthmatic). Most of the routes within the palace are accessible to visitors unable to climb stairs as there is a lift to take visitors to the State Apartments on the first floor. Please ask a warder for assistance. However, for evacuation reasons, only six wheelchairs are permitted on the first floor at any one time. As a consequence, visitors may occasionally have to wait or visit an alternative part of the palace.
- Manual wheelchairs are available for use within the palace. Wheelchairs are available on a first come, first served basis and cannot be booked in advance. Please ask a warder for assistance.
- Single-person scooters are available for use in the gardens only, again on a first come, first served basis and they cannot be booked in advance.
- There are places to sit inside the building - either benches or window seats.
- Two of the four shops are accessible to wheelchair users: the Barrack Block Shop and the Garden Shop.
Visually impaired visitors
General audio tours for visitors with visual impairments are available for:
- King's Apartments of William III
- Georgian Rooms
- Tudor Kitchens
- The Young Henry VIII exhibition
Braille guidebooks are available free, on loan, from the Information Centre in Clock Court. Braille and large print folders are available in the Young Henry VIII exhibition. Please ask a warder if you wish to use them. The artefacts in the Tudor Kitchens may be handled as they are replicas.
Hampton Court Palace offers a room description service to take visually impaired visitors around the palace. The service is available seven days a week but room describers must be booked a minimum of 14 days in advance to ensure availability. To book a personal room describer (there is no additional charge - this is included in normal admission tickets) please telephone 0844 482 7777 or email hamptoncourt@hrp.org.uk giving the date and time that you would like to meet the room describer. Please also leave contact details so that your room describer may contact you before the visit to make appropriate arrangements.
Deaf visitors and those with a hearing loss
The video at the start of Henry VIII's State Apartments has a signed and captioned presentation that plays every hour. Induction loops can be found at all till points. Copies of the guidebook are available free, on loan, from the Information Centre in Clock Court for those with hearing impairments. The script of the audio tours is also available from the audio tour distribution desk in the Information Centre.
Costumed guided tours with British sign language interpretation
A British sign language interpreter will be available on site from 10.30 to interpret the scheduled tours and help answer questions about the palace on the second weekend of each month.
She will also join the evening ghost tours on Sunday 9 November. For more information visit our What's On pages
