Coventry Transport Museum is committed to increasing access to the Museum and its collections. We hope the information below will help you plan your visit.
If you have specific access requirements, please do contact the Museum in advance on 02476 234270. We will do our best to advise you, so that your visit is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Travelling to the Museum
Opening times, travel and car parking information can be found on the Visiting page on this website.
Parking spaces for blue badge holders are available on weekends only by booking in advance. Please call 02476 234270 to book.
For weekday blue badge parking, please use the Bishop Street car park and a member of staff will escort you through the museum to the box office. Please call 02476 234270 to arrange.
Getting around the Museum
There are full-colour museum guides available in the shop for £5. There is also a large wall map available near the Box Office.
There is wheelchair access suitable for unaccompanied wheelchair users to most parts of the Museum. Please ask for help in accessing Model World.
Lift access is provided to both floors of the Museum, and we also have a small number of wheelchairs available free of charge for visitors to use whilst at the Museum. These chairs are allocated on a first come first served basis, although any advance requests will be considered. Please contact the Museum on 024 7623 4270 for more information.
WelcoMe:
Introducing WelcoMe
We have partnered with WelcoMe to give you the most dignified, discreet and personal method to share your requirements and access needs to enhance your experience, making you feel confident when visiting us.
How to Use WelcoMe:
- Click on ‘Plan a visit’. If you don’t have an account, sign up and complete your accessibility profile.
- Share your access needs, requirements, and what help you may need.
- We will get notified so the team can ensure they are prepared to greet you and have what you need ready.
- On the day of the visit, once you are at the venue click on ‘Arrive’. We will get a notification and be with you shortly.
Enjoy your enhanced experience!
Facilities
Toilets and changing places facilities
The toilets, including accessible facilities, are on the ground floor to the left of the main entrance beside the Cafe and in Gallery 8 Workdays and Holidays by our Picnic Area.
Additional toilet facilities, including accessible facilities, are located on the first floor in Transport Technology (first gallery on the first floor) and one accessible toilet in Champions Gallery (last gallery on the first floor).
Please be aware that, to minimise cross contamination between cafe and museum users, we have decided to close the entrance to the ground floor toilets by the main entrance.
Nearest facilities to the museum: Pool Meadow Bus station, West Orchard Shopping Centre, Coventry Central Library.
The nearest Changing Places facilities are located a short distance away at:
- Coventry Central Library, Smithford Way, CV1 1FY
- The Wave, New Union St, CV1 2PS
Food / Drink
Esquires Café is situated to the left of the main entrance. The café is fully wheelchair and pushchair accessible.
A Picnic Area is located in Gallery 8 Workdays and Holidays for you to enjoy your packed lunches.
Baby changing facilities and baby feeding
Baby changing facilities are available in the accessible toilet by Esquires as well as the parent room on the first floor in Gallery 10 .
Breastfeeding and bottle feeding is welcome throughout the museum. Should you and your baby prefer more privacy, a parent room is available.
Hot water for baby bottles is available from the café on request. Esquires also offers a child friendly menu.
Shop
The shop can be found to the right of the main museum entrance.
Safe storage
Lockers, wheelchair hire and buggy parking can be found on the right before the Box Office. Please ask at the Box Office if you need any assistance. The lockers require a token which can be purchased from the Box Office for £1.
Pets
Assistance/support dogs are welcome at the Museum.
Accessible Displays
Makaton symbols are at the entrance to each new exhibition to explain the theme for that space.
The exhibitions have a mixture of written material, pictures, audio, video and interactives.
The videos and interactives have special directional speakers. The sound does not carry across the space, but can still be heard when you stand close to the speakers. There are subtitles for main videos with commentary.
The Workdays and Holidays exhibition is a dedicated multi-sensory space, with scents, sounds and tactile items available to use. The scents and sounds are contained and can be accessed by lifting a handle or telephone handset.
All of our vehicle and object labels are in large print, with a special background tint to reduce glare.
Visual aids, such as magnifying sheets, are available to borrow free of charge from the Box Office.
Communications
As a Makaton-friendly museum, our shop and museum assistants are trained in basic Makaton signing.
Quiet times
Weekends and school holidays are usually very busy, especially when there are activities or events on at the Museum. During term time, school groups visit in the mornings. You might prefer to visit during quieter times, such as after 2.30pm during the week.
There is an alternative route available in our Second World War exhibition, to avoid the Blitz experience. Please use the corridor to the right of the Blitz experience entrance.