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Accessibility

Inverewe accessibility guide

Explore a heritage lochside garden amid a barren wilderness on the Atlantic coast in the North West Highlands.

On this page:

Welcome

Contact for accessibility enquiries: Mandy McBeath

Telephone: 01445 712952

Email: InvereweGarden@nts.org.uk

We look forward to welcoming you to Inverewe Garden, known as the ‘Impossible Garden’. However, it’s just the planting that’s impossible; we aim to make your access and enjoyment easy.

Upon arrival, visit our Welcome Hub (via step-free access) where our team, wearing green shirts, are on hand to help you make the most of your visit. Or you can give us a call in advance and let us know how we can help.

We offer the loan of wheelchairs, noise-cancelling headphones and items from our Sensory Pack.

We have a complimentary ticket policy for carers.

Defibrillators are located at Osgood’s Café and in the garden at the Bothy.

At a glance

There is step-free access to:

  • Welcome Hub
  • Osgood’s Café
  • Inverewe House
  • Bothy Café
  • Plant sales
  • Gift shop
  • Many areas of the garden and the wildlife hide

Please note that, due to the nature of the Woodland Garden, not all areas are accessible by wheelchairs or mobility scooters.

A view of the terraced garden at Inverewe, dropping down to the lochside. Visitors walk along one of the narrow gravel paths. Bright pink flowers are in the foreground.

Getting here

Inverewe
Poolewe
Wester Ross
IV22 2LG

Inverewe is 76 miles (about 90 minutes by car) from Inverness.

It is 6 miles from Gairloch and 50 miles from Ullapool.

By bus

Westerbus run a service between Inverness and Gairloch that stops outside the garden.

Parking

Parking is available immediately outside the visitor centre.

Coach parking is available 100m from the visitor centre.

Accessible parking

There are accessible parking bays at both the visitor centre and Osgood’s Café, leading on to shallow ramps to access both buildings.

A disabled parking bay in a car park is outlined in yellow paint with a wheelchair symbol in the bay. A paved stone path leads from the car park towards a visitor centre building.

Visitor experience

Dogs

Assistance dogs are allowed across the whole site, but there are a few restrictions for pets. Dogs must be kept on a short, fixed-length lead at all times. Please talk to the team for further information.

Mobile signal

Depending on your phone provider, some areas of the garden have poor reception.

In an emergency, please call 999 and then the Welcome Hub on 01445 712950.

Our gardeners and other remote team members carry radios and can call for assistance.

Nearest facilities

  • Doctors’ surgery (6 miles): The Health Centre, Gairloch IV21 2BP; tel: 01445 712229
  • A&E hospital (76 miles): Raigmore Hospital, Old Perth Road, Inverness IV2 3UJ; tel: 01463 704000
  • Pharmacy (6 miles): Gairloch Pharmacy, Seascape, Strath, IV21 2BT; tel: 01445 712840

Visual

  • The lighting in the Welcome Hub is sympathetic to the nature of the building and does not have fluorescent overhead lights.
  • Osgood’s Café is flooded with natural light from the huge windows, giving you the feeling of being right in the woodland.
  • Inverewe House has muted lighting in keeping with the 1930s décor, while the gallery has brighter lighting and white walls.

We can provide magnifying mats to help you appreciate the detail of plants and artefacts.

Some information is printed for a variety of visual access needs – please ask one of the team.

Hearing

  • Our Welcome Hub, gift shop and Osgood’s Café have hearing loops.
  • Our Garden Ambassadors can carry a portable hearing loop.

Sensory

The scents and sounds of the garden and sea surround you as you explore Inverewe. Brush through the foliage and feel the beautiful ironwork of our gates and handrails. Identify the smells in the kitchen of Inverewe House as you listen to the period music. Maybe you will take a message on Mairi Sawyer’s phone!

We have a sensory pack available – please ask one of the team

Throughout the garden, there’s ample opportunity to take a seat and relax with a variety of seats and benches. In 54 acres there’s always a quiet spot, even on busy days.

Our peak visitor times are between 11am–3pm, with fewer visitors before 11am. You will get a lovely bookmark ticket so you are welcome to come and go throughout the day, showing your ticket for re-entry.

A row of desks stand in the middle of a room, with holes in the top panels to allow for scented pots. Information is displayed on the panels. A shelf on the back wall contains a variety of flower pots and jugs, with illustrations of flowers painted on the wall behind.

Facilities

Toilets

  • Gender-specific toilets are located at the Welcome Hub, Osgood’s Café and the Bothy.
  • Accessible cubicles are available at the Welcome Hub and Osgood’s.
  • All doors are manually operated.

Babies

  • Baby changing stations are available at the Welcome Hub and Osgood’s Café.
  • There are highchairs at the café.
An accessible toilet cubicle, with the toilet on the left and then a baby changing unit folded up against the wall next to it. There are handrails either side of the sink and a red emergency cord beside the toilet. There is a fold-up hand rail beside the toilet.

Shop

  • There’s step-free access to the shop, just a few metres from the main car park.
  • Double doors allow plenty of access space.
  • Inside, the shop is spacious.
  • We have hearing loops and low-level counters.
  • Staff are available to assist with any objects too high or heavy to reach and can provide price information for items.
A wide stone ramp leads into a shop through wide open double doors. A bench with potted plants for sale stands the other side of the ramp. A view of the main sales counter inside Inverewe shop. Small bags of compost and guidebooks are displayed in front of the till.

Tearooms

  • Osgood’s Café can be accessed step-free directly from the car park.
  • Double doors open into the toilet facilities and café.
  • There is a high ceiling and spacious layout, with a mix of free-standing and fixed seating to accommodate all needs.
  • Whilst we operate a counter service, our team are available to assist with getting you and your refreshments to a suitable table.
  • Lidded and double-handled cups, and straws, are available on request.
  • A hearing loop is available.
  • If you prefer to sit outside, there are benches and picnic tables nearby.
  • The Bothy Café is accessed via double doors but there’s limited circulation space.
The airy, high-ceilinged Osgood’s Café at Inverewe. Large picture windows look out across the garden. Tables and chairs are spaced out across the room. A view of the front of a chalet-style café building, with wooden slats and a steep arched roof. The double doors have a painted illustration of a green teapot above, pouring liquid onto tall white flowers beside the doors. The building is labelled The Bothy.

Getting around

Visitor centre

  • A shallow ramp allows access straight to the visitor centre from the car park.
  • The visitor centre is spacious with smooth, hard surface floors.
  • The double doors will be open, weather permitting.
  • Exit to the garden is via a shallow ramp through either a single width door, opening outwards, or a double outward-opening door that is usually open (weather permitting).
  • This is a single-storey building, with some seating.
  • There’s normally low-level music playing.
Wide open double doors mark the entrance to Inverewe Garden visitor centre. A metal handrail is in the foreground.

Garden

  • Garden pathways have mixed surfaces but most are gravel.
  • Maps indicate the access level of each path.
  • A specific mobility map indicates paths suitable for mobility scooters.
  • Some paths have a steep incline and others have steps.
  • There is no set route around the garden although our guidebook does suggest routes for specific interests.
  • There are several ponds that are not fenced, as well as a jetty with handrails by the loch.
  • The jetty often has a wet surface due to the tidal nature of Loch Ewe.
  • There are a number of benches and seats around the garden – some are undercover, giving shade and shelter.
A wooden pagoda-style covered bench stands at the end of a gravel path, looking out across a loch and surrounded by tall trees. A view of a wild-looking landscape of a rocky hillside. Far below is a large sea loch and Inverewe Garden on its shores.

Inverewe House and the Sawyer Gallery

  • The rooms are accessible with a wheelchair but not a motorised buggy.
  • The house has original 1930s layout and furniture, with limited customer seating.
The wide, wood-panelled hallway inside Inverewe House. A long carpet runner runs the length of the hall on top of smooth wooden floors. Looking through an open single doorway into an art gallery space with paintings displayed on the wall. The floor is smooth wood with an inset coire carpet mat at the entrance A composite image of three photos. On the left is a view of the gallery, showing a single open doorway inside leading into a gallery space with a smooth wooden floor. The middle image is the sign for the Sawyer Gallery on a dark slate with an oak leaf. On the right is a view of the gallery space, showing paintings hanging on the white walls, a sculpture at the far end and a wooden desk in the centre of the room.

Wildlife hide

  • The wildlife hide can be reached along a gently sloping 200m tarmacked drive. This is traffic-free, apart from estate vehicles.
  • There’s a 4ft-wide pedestrian gate before the hide, and then the final few metres are gravel and grass.
  • Step-free access is available to the hide.
  • The hide has large windows, seating and sufficient circulation space for a wheelchair.
The exterior of a green, wooden wildlife hide with an open single doorway. A worn grass path leads to the concrete path outside the door. A wooden wildlife hide with a turf roof and a bird feeder hanging from the outside wall. The hide overlooks a sea loch, where the tide is out.

Guide last updated: June 2023

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