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Accessibility

Kellie Castle & Garden accessibility guide

The oldest towers of Kellie Castle date back to the 14th century, but the whole interior was restored in the late 19th century. Outside, take a wander through the Arts & Crafts garden.

Welcome

Contact for accessibility enquiries: Viv Wilson, Visitor Services Manager

Email: kelliecastle@nts.org.uk

Telephone number: 01333 720271

Web page: Kellie Castle & Garden

Please note we have a complimentary ticket policy for carers.

Our Visitor Services team wear name badges and navy Trust fleeces/softshell jackets. They will be happy to answer any questions you have about your visit.

At a glance

There is level access to the:

  • Organic garden
  • Tea room
  • Gift shop/reception
  • Hew Lorimer Exhibition
  • Accessibility Room
  • Toilets

The castle is accessed via a steep staircase and there are many narrow turnpike stairwells throughout – these are not accessible for wheelchairs.

A noted guide of the castle is available upon request at reception, as well as large print information in several languages.

Visual

  • Some parts of the visitor experience have low lighting.

Sensory

  • The gift shop/reception has an induction loop.
  • Noise-cancelling headphones are available.

Dogs

  • All dogs are allowed in the organic garden (on a lead) and around the grounds.
  • Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the property.
  • Water and treats can be provided.
The front of Kellie Castle seen from a meadow-like area just behind the gravel courtyard. A couple of picnic tables with white umbrellas are set up just beside the castle.

Getting here

Kellie Castle & Garden
Pittenweem
Fife
KY10 2RF

Kellie Castle is 3 miles north-west of Pittenweem, approximately 1 mile east of the village of Arncroach.

Parking and public transport

  • There is car parking available on site. It is a short walk to the castle via a tarred driveway.
  • Disabled parking is accessed by following the drive to the castle itself.
  • Please note that some route planning/sat-nav systems will take you to an alternative access. Please follow the brown Tourist Information signs in the local area.
  • There is no public transport access to Kellie Castle. A flexi-bus from local villages is available by pre-booking on 01382 540624.
A fairly narrow drive winds between trees on either side. It is a tarmac surface with loose stones over the top. A large gravel courtyard area, in front of Kellie Castle. Beside the castle walls are a couple of square wooden planters with bay-like trees in them. A narrow gateway in an old stone wall, with a very fine metal gate across the opening. Two wooden planters stand either side of the gate on a flagstone path. A narrow path made from paving slabs runs along the perimeter of Kellie Castle, with a gravel area on the other side. A tall stone wall encircles the courtyard.

Reception and gift shop

The gift shop is accessed via the castle grounds and is a 5-minute walk from the car park area.

The gift shop is a single-storey building, with some seating. It is spacious with smooth, hard surface floors. There’s normally low-level music playing in the background.

  • There is a double front door which is open for visitors, followed by an internal door into the shop.
  • The front door width is 80cm and the internal door width is 90cm.
  • The counter height is 90cm.
  • There is an induction loop located at the till point.
  • The access door to the organic garden is 90cm wide and is down a paved path onto gravel.
An open doorway into a stone reception building. Wooden plants stand either side of the doorway, and a large rubber mat is on the ground just before the entrance. Looking through an open internal doorway into Kellie Castle shop. The floor is a smooth lino, and there are shelves around the edges of the room, with a wooden table in the centre. Looking through an open doorway, out onto a gravel path that leads towards a walled garden. There is a rubber mat just outside the door.

Accessibility Room

  • This room is accessed through the gift shop main entrance.
  • It has a paved entrance.
  • The door width is 85cm.
  • There is a video giving an introduction to the castle and the Lorimer family, highlighting key dates and a brief history.
  • Collections from the Hew Lorimer Exhibition are also on display in the room.
A tv is mounted on an old stone wall in an exhibition room. A glass cabinet is below the tv, displaying some collection items. Two wooden benches are in front of the tv, standing on a smooth wooden floor. Looking through an open doorway into a room with old stone walls and a wooden floor. A number of statues and sculptures stand behind a barrier by the far wall. Two wooden benches are positioned just in front of them.

Getting around the castle

There is no wheelchair, rollator or buggy access to the castle due to spiral staircases.

  • Entry to the castle is via a wide staircase with 15 steps. There is a handrail on either side of this staircase.
  • The entrance door has a width of 1.2m, with a small step to access.
  • There are steep spiral staircases (90cm width at narrowest) around the rest of the castle. These have a mixture of fixed and rope handrails.
  • Rooms in Kellie Castle are split across 2 floors, with spiral staircases to ascend and descend.
  • There is a seat in all principal rooms.
  • Portable folding seats are also available upon request at reception.

Visitor experience

The visitor experience is a mixture of guided tours and self-guiding times throughout the week. The route around the castle is designed to show the rooms as they were lived in by the creative Lorimer family, who were the last family in residence. The guides will share details of how the castle was built over a period of 700 years as well as stories of its four custodians.

During self-guided visiting hours (see property page for times) you can go at your own pace and spend as much or as little time as you like in each room. The visitor experience is usually busiest mid-afternoon.

  • Tickets for the visitor experience are purchased at reception in the retail shop.
  • The ticket desk counter height is 90cm.
  • The visitor route starts in the hall and progresses through the drawing room and dining room before heading up to the second floor, which is 28 steps from the ground floor. There are a further 22 steps spiralling up to the top of the tower and the descent is 47 steps spiralling down to the entrance hall.

Sensory experience

  • Lighting may be low in certain rooms due to controlled light levels to protect the collection, but our volunteer guides do have torches.
An old wooden door stand slightly ajar, set into an old stone castle wall. There is a step up into the doorway from rough paving slabs. Shallow and worn stone steps form a staircase inside a historic building, with a small landing area at the corner. A tall window is set into the exterior wall halfway up. Wooden bannisters run either side. A narrow, spiral, stone staircase in a castle, with red stone walls either side. A black hand rail runs on the outside wall, and a rope on the inside. The top of an old stone staircase as it reaches two fairly steep steps to go through a white wooden door. There is a black handrail on the right. A large tapestry fills the end wall of a grand dining room in Kellie Castle. A round polished wooden dining table stands in the centre of the room on a green rug.

Tearoom

  • The tea room is situated in the heart of the castle.
  • The external door width is 90cm.
  • One room has seating accessed through a door which is 1m wide with a very small ramp.
  • The second seating area is accessed by stepping down 2 stone steps. This access door is 85cm wide.
An open, wide, low wooden door is set into a thick stone wall of an old building. The corridor inside is made from flagstones, with rough paving slabs outside. A number of doors can be seen along the corridor. An old, open, low, studded wooden door leads from a stone-floored corridor into a room with a painted stone floor. Uneven flagstones and steps lead through a doorway into a stone-floored corridor. Two sets of wooden tables and chairs in front of an old black metal cooking range, with pots arranged in size order on a shelf above.

Getting around the garden

Most of the organic garden has relatively level paths and can be accessed without steps from two gates around the walled exterior, as well as through the gift shop.

  • There are wooden and picnic benches placed around the organic garden and grounds. The tearoom offers indoor seating, giving shade and shelter. Please ask a member of staff for directions to your seating area.
  • There is no set route around the organic garden.
  • Path surfaces are either grass, gravel or stone steps.
A gravel path leads through a garden towards Kellie Castle, with blooming flower beds either side. A paving slab path leads though a garden, with bare beds either side since it's winter. The beds are bordered by low little hedges. At the end of the path is a garden arch. A wide grassy path, speckled with frost, leads across a garden, with bare beds either side. A garden arch stands in the middle of the garden.

Getting around the grounds

  • There is a walk around the wildflower meadow, which has relatively flat grass paths cut to allow visitors to wander a wider area.
  • Access to the woodland walk is via paths from various points around the grounds. The woodland walk paths are relatively flat and can be slippery when wet. There are a few wooden steps built in where the ground is steeper. There are wide bridges to cross the burn.
  • Access around the pond area has paths that can be slippery during the winter months.
  • The lawn area is at the front of the castle and is easily accessed over cut grass.
A path weaves through a woodland, with ferns either side. A pond reflects Kellie Castle on a sunny day! It is surrounded by tall leafy trees and an enormous outcrop of gunnera. A gravel path leads across an area of manicured grassy lawn. Tall trees surround the lawn.

Summerhouse

  • The summerhouse is situated in the north-west corner of the garden. Plants and produce are sold here.
  • It is accessed via gravel paths around the garden.
  • The doorway is 1m wide with a small step to access.
  • Plants are sold outside this area, which is on the gravel path.
Looking through an open doorway, with a green wooden door and surrounds, into a summerhouse building with a flagstone floor. There is a wooden table and some cabinets around the edges. Wooden benches display a lot of potted plants beside an old stone garden wall. The path is made from gravel.

Toilets

The toilets are located within the grounds in a round building near the disabled car parking area, and adjacent to the woodland walk.

  • All doorways are level and the floors are tiled.
  • The disabled toilet door is 90cm wide.
  • All other toilet doors are 80cm wide.
  • An accessible toilet can be found in the block.
  • There is a wall-mounted baby-changing unit in the accessible toilet. Please note we do not provide nappy sacks or baby wipes.
  • The door to the accessible toilet opens outwards and is not automatic.
  • There are no toilet facilities or baby-changing facilities at other parts of the site.
An octagonal building with a mossy roof stands at the edge of woodland. A compacted dirt path leads up to it. A dog waste bin is by the entrance. A close-up of the green wooden door leading into the toilet block, with a compacted surface outside.

Guide last updated: January 2025

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