Access Information

Head of Steam – Darlington Railway museum is in the original North Road station in Darlington.

The closest train station to the museum is North Road Station however this is an infrequent service. It is not accessible for wheelchair users and those who would find a large step between train and platform difficult to manage. The access to the station is stepped.

Darlington Station is 1.5 miles or a 30 minute walk to the museum.

There is a bus stop 300m from the museum with frequent bus services from the town centre travelling up North Road passing McNay Street.

The museum is approximately 1 mile from the town centre on foot, there is a slight uphill walk.

There are two carparks for the museum. The main carpark directly outside the museum has three accessible parking bays near the entrance with ramped access from these to the front door.

An overflow carpark is 150 meters from the main entrance. This does not have any accessible spaces.

If there are no available spaces in the main car park you are welcome to drop passengers off here then park in the overflow car park.

The entrance to the museum is through an automatic entrance door 2.5 metres wide up three slightly worn sandstone steps to a flat area covered by a canopy. There is also ramp to the right of the steps as you face the building.

There is free entry for carers/companions accompanying any person with a disability

There is no fast track entrance system, but if you need assistance when queueing please ask a member of staff.

The museum is generally all on one level.

Please be aware that this is an old station with sudden drops along the edge of the platform.

Seating is available throughout the museum.

There are two accessible toilets, one on the platform. The other is near the meeting room.

Both toilets have an alarm pull switch and assistance bars. Both toilets are not RADAR key operated.

There is currently no Changing Place facility on site, the closest facilities are:

Please see http://www.changing-places.org/ for further information about these facilities.

There are two baby changing facilities, one in the accessible toilet and one next to the toilets on the platform.

Mums are welcome to breastfeed in the museum, wherever they are comfortable. If you would like somewhere more private, there is a baby changing room. Please let a member of staff know if you would like a glass of water or if there is anything we can do to help make you more comfortable.

We have a baby food warmer at Reception.

Guide dogs and hearing dogs are welcome.

There is a hearing loop available in reception.

A wheelchair and walker are available to borrow during your visit. Please speak to a member of staff.

Relaxed sessions are available for anybody who would benefit from a visit during a quieter time. Additional noises will be reduced, lighting levels more consistent and additional smells reduced.

These take place the first Sunday of each month from opening until 12 noon.

If you need a quiet space during your visit please speak to a member of staff who will try and find you somewhere.

If you find it difficult to visit during the relaxed sessions then we have identified the following times when the museum is usually quieter with fewer visitors:

This is not a dedicated relaxed session and we cannot guarantee the low level of visitors.

Tours can be arranged in advance for groups. Please inform us on booking if an interpreter or audio description is needed, or of any other requirements.

There are written guides to the museum available in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Mandarin.

There is a picnic area within the museum in the glass corridor and picnic tables outside in the museum garden.