Natural History Museum Access review

View of Natural History Museum

Address: Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD

Telephone Number: +44 (0)20 7942 5000

Reviewer: Tia Ruel-Urry

Date of visit: xx xx 2025

Ratings:

Ease of Booking 3 out of 5 stars - Free tickets but had to book online (we didn’t know this!)

*****

Getting there 5 out of 5 stars - We booked a Blue Badge bay onsite. Very easy to find

*****

Onsite Access 4 out of 5 stars - Lots of really good lift access but at busier times of the day they are in use by all

*****

Accessibility Features 4 out of 5 stars - Disabled toilets are dotted around the venue and are fairly large and accessible. There is a Changing Places in the Blue Zone

*****

Helpfulness of Staff 4 out of 5 stars Didn’t really have much interaction with them apart from upon arrival. Always seemed friendly and smiling when we saw them around the venue

*****                           

Review:

We went as a family of four to show my dinosaur-loving nephew the ‘T-Rex’ display. It was early January when we went and it was HEAVING.

I’d like to say I’d recommend a less busier time to visit, to avoid crowds and over stimulation, but with a venue such as this I’m not sure there is a quiet time.

Upon arrival we encountered a hiccup at security. Although we had booked a parking space we HADN’T booked tickets for the venue (didn’t realise you had to as it’s free entry). So, after doing that quickly online we were let in.

Blue Badge parking on site takes you round the back of the venue and you are walked-in by a member of staff. The person assisting us had to wait quite a while whilst we unloaded the powerchair and bag etc but they did this happily.

If you’re after ‘the big entrance’ and the awe of rolling into the Hintze Hall, you’ll have to go ‘out and in again’ as entrance from Blue Badge area is through the basement (where there’s an indoor picnic area for large groups etc).

We had a wonderful visit and encountered very little issues on the day.

If we had a magic wand it would be good to see:

-        more information displays at wheelchair height

-        lifts operated by a staff members (giving priority to chair users and mobility needs)

-        easier shopping (I think the queue was hard to negotiate in a chair so a lower desk would be ideal.

Finally, although we had a great day, upon leaving, we encountered an issue. The disabled loo down in the basement was occupied when we wanted to use and when the person was finished, out popped a member of the security team from outside (guessing it’s ‘the nearest’ facility to their hub) and the loo was left, in quite ‘an impolite’ state.

Didn’t expect to see that!