Access
Planning your visit: Accessibility
The Great Exhibition Road Festival is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive space for all. Design your own weekend of awe and wonder with accessible activities, facilities and resources.
Getting here
The Festival is largely step free and located across Exhibition Road in South Kensington, Imperial College London and various partner institutions. Visitors are encouraged to travel by public transport where possible, and we recommend that you visit TFL to find the best accessible route.
Public Transport
Bus
The nearest bus stops to the Great Exhibition Road Festival are:
- Exhibition Road South End: Victoria & Albert Museum Stop (Stand R)
- Exhibition Road North End: Exhibition Road (Stop RB)
- Royal College of Music: Prince Consort Road (Stop RS)
The above bus stops are served by the 9, 23, 52, 70, 360 and 452 bus routes.
Rail & Underground
South Kensington is the nearest underground station to Exhibition Road. This station is approximately 550m to Exhibition Road and is served by the Piccadilly, Circle and District lines. South Kensington is not step free.
Gloucester Road Underground Station is approximately 700m to Exhibition Road. This is served by the Piccadilly, Circle and District lines and has a lift, but is not step free from the platform to lift.
West Brompton, approximately 2.3km away, has partial step-free access and is served by the District Line, London Overground and West London Line.
The nearest underground station offering step-free access from street to train is Green Park Station – from here, you can take the number 9 bus to the Festival site.
Parking
There are blue badge parking spaces located near the Festival site. The nearest spaces are on Queens Gate and Kensington Gore. These spaces are managed by the council, for more information please see The City of Westminster website.
Visitors can also pre-book to park on the Imperial College London South Kensington Campus. To book a space please email [email protected] by 12 Noon the day before parking is required with your name, vehicle registration, the day and time you will be attending the Festival. Spaces are limited so please note that all day parking will unlikely be permitted to enable other blue badge holders to enjoy the Festival.
Accessible Toilets and Changing Facilities
Unisex wheelchair-accessible toilets and baby changing facilities are located across the festival site and in partner institutions.
At Imperial College London South Kensington Campus, you’ll find accessible toilets on the Ground Floor of the Main Entrance, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, City & Guilds Building Foyer, and Dyson Building, and on the Ground and Lower Ground Floor of the Business School. There will be accessible portaloos on Watts Way (adjacent to Prince’s Gardens) and on Imperial College Road opposite the Queen’s Tower.
Changing Places Toilet
A Changing Places toilet provides sanitary accommodation for people who require use of a hoist. The nearest facility is on Floor 0 in the Science Museum, Exhibition Road. To gain access you need a Radar Key, obtainable from the tickets and information desk. If you require use of this facility, please approach any member of the Science Museum staff during the opening hours 10.00 – 17.30 for directions.
More resources
Hearing Assistance
Hearing loops systems are available for selected parts of the talks programmes and other activities including:
Moments of Wonder and Art of Science talk series; The Great Exhibition, Am I Made of Stardust, Amazing Molecular Science Show, and Nexus Film Screening.
Events with Sensory Elements and Minimal Verbal Communication
We understand that some of the Festival can be challenging for visitors that have very little or no little knowledge of the English language. Therefore, we have listed events that we think are self-guided to help plan your visit without relying heavily on verbal communication. If you require any more information on the events below or any others listed in the Festival programme please contact the festival team for more information on [email protected]
Earthquake Space | Urban Wildlife Project | Create-a-Crown | Discover the Royal Parks | Paper Brain Hat Workshop | Build a Robot Workshop | Love our Leaves: Make a Summer Garland
Quiet Space and Multi-Faith Space
The Quiet Space is in seminar room G60, level 0 in the Sir Alexander Fleming building, Imperial College. It has a few chairs and table and has a capacity of 6 people per room. The Multi-Faith Space is in seminar room G61, level 0 in the Sir Alexander Fleming building, Imperial College. There are toilets and a water fountain nearby.
Maps
To plan your visit, you can download a copy of the sensory map (pdf), download a copy of the timed events schedule and map (pdf) or see the printed programme (pdf)
Partner website links
Organisations along Exhibition Road have various provisions in place for your accessibility needs. Further information can be found below.